About Watt Coach
Cycle faster, without breaking the bank.
Cycling kit and equipment is hard to shop for. Riders are swamped with a barrage of claims and counterclaims from manufacturers pushing their latest, “most-aero ever” bikes, wheels and jerseys. But it turns out that, in the wind tunnel, some of the biggest speed gains can be found from simple changes to your set up and cheap bits of kit.
Unfortunately, wind tunnel testing doesn’t come cheap. So we built Watt Coach, a tool that brings together the latest testing data on all the types of equipment you could choose for your bike to tell you how you can get faster. Importantly, the tool recommends upgrades based on your existing setup, position and race type.
Simply upload a photo of yourself on the bike, verify the tool’s observations, and then see your upgrade rankings, based on watts saved per pound spent. Happy riding!
Who made it
I am Rory. I’m an amateur cyclist who spent too many hours optimising my road bike in the run up to an Ironman triathlon. I knew I was not going to do a second Ironman, and I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a new TT bike or expensive wheels.
Thankfully when I dug through the data, I realised that I could optimise my road bike set up and find many of the gains I might expect to see from a TT bike, with a lot less expense.
I left no low-priced stone unturned in pursuit of this goal, and subsequently turned my findings into this tool.
What the tool does
The kit and equipment watt figures come from published wind tunnel tests where those exist, and from estimates where robust testing has not been done. Every number in the tool gives a confidence level and sources, if you hover the ⓘ next to it.
The tool has not been backwards validated against real wind tunnel measurement. But you can use it confidently to guide the best “bang for your buck” upgrades.