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Cheap aero upgrades: what actually saves watts

By Jack, Jack's Coaching Updated 7 November 2026 Bought with my own money

Best value

DAREVIE road skinsuit

One piece, no flapping jersey. Biggest gain if your kit is loose now.

About US$39

Buy on AliExpress ↗

Cheapest watts

DAREVIE aero overshoes

Smooth covers for your shoes. Big-brand pairs cost about US$65.

About US$19

Buy on AliExpress ↗

Nice extra

AHYKA aero bottle and cage

A Trek RSL-style aero bottle that locks in tight.

About US$34

Buy on AliExpress ↗

At race speed, most of your power goes into shoving air out of the way. Not weight. Air.

So aero is the cheapest speed there is, and the best upgrades cost the least. Below is the aero kit I actually use, ranked by watts per dollar with real wind tunnel numbers, plus the one thing I'd never buy cheap.

Which cheap aero upgrades save the most watts per dollar?

Position wins by a mile because it costs nothing, and aero overshoes are the best paid upgrade at roughly a third of a watt per dollar. A skinsuit comes next, but only if it's replacing loose kit. Aero socks and aero bottles are the weakest value.

These numbers come from different tests: BikeRadar's tunnel at 35 km/h, Cyclingnews' tunnel at 40 km/h, and Trek's own claim for the bottle. Your saving depends on your speed, your size and what you wear now. Ride slower and every number shrinks, but the order barely changes. My speed calculator shows what a few watts is worth to you.

How many watts is a better aero position worth?

More than anything you can buy. In BikeRadar's wind tunnel test, body position alone saved 22.38 W at 35 km/h, for free.

That makes sense once you know your body makes most of the drag, not your bike. A flatter back, a lower head and narrower arms all shrink the hole you punch in the air.

You don't need a bike fit to start. Ride on the hoods with your forearms flat ("aero hoods"), or in the drops with your elbows bent. Hold it for a few minutes at a time, and work on hip and hamstring flexibility so you can hold it longer.

Avoid the "puppy paws" forearms-on-the-bars position. The UCI banned it in races in 2021, and it's sketchy in a group.

BikeRadar's test also found clip-on aero bars saved 31.33 W, more than position. They're for solo time trials and triathlon, though, not bunch rides. Narrower handlebars saved 2.43 W in the same test.

Is a skinsuit worth it? My DAREVIE review

A skinsuit is worth it if your current jersey is loose, and much less so if your kit already fits tight. What you're really paying for is getting rid of flapping fabric.

In Cyclingnews' wind tunnel test at 40 km/h, a skinsuit was about 10 W faster than a basic budget jersey that flapped, and about 18 W faster with an aero base layer underneath. A premium fitted jersey was barely faster than the budget one.

Now the other side. BikeRadar tested a £395 road speedsuit against a well-fitted team jersey and bibs, and it saved only 3.69 W. Cycling Weekly lands in the same place: about 5 W over a close-fitting jersey, 10 W over loose kit.

That's why I buy a cheap one. The DAREVIE skinsuit is about US$39, and it's the one I wore in my aero positions test. The fabric is fine for racing and the chamois is comfortable for a few hours. Riders who've compared them say they're on par with mid-range western brands.

Do aero socks and aero overshoes actually work?

Aero overshoes work. Aero socks, on their own, barely do. Cyclingnews measured aero shoe covers 6.27 W faster than standard socks at 40 km/h (give or take 2.55 W), which is a real saving for US$19.

Your feet move fast through the air, and shoes have straps, buckles and vents that catch the wind. Covering the whole shoe in smooth fabric fixes that. A textured sock only covers your ankle.

The independent sock numbers are tiny. BikeRadar measured aero socks just 0.33 W faster than standard cycling socks, and Cyclingnews found the difference was within its margin of error. Brands claim more, and the experts Bicycling spoke to disagree: one put it at 4 to 8 W, another said it depends heavily on the rider. BikeRadar also found the sock grippers lose their stickiness after a few washes, so the socks fall down.

So if you want aero feet, buy overshoes. Big-brand aero overshoes cost about US$65. The DAREVIE aero overshoes are about US$19, and they're my rain hack too: they keep your feet warmer and drier on wet rides. (My other two rain tips: layer up, and drop your tyre pressure by 5 to 10 psi for more grip.)

Do aero bottles do anything? My AHYKA review

A little. Trek claims its pair of RSL aero bottles saves about 1.8 W, which is small, but it's the only aero upgrade on this page you can also drink out of.

The AHYKA bottle copies the Trek RSL and costs about US$34 with its cage. What I found using it:

• 90 g bottle, 39 g cage, 600 mL.
• It locks in tight and hasn't come out on rough roads.
• The cage also takes normal round bottles, so you're not stuck with the aero one.
• Dimpled grip, and the valve doesn't leak.

I also tried an Elite Chrono-style magnetic bottle. The holster is lighter, but the bottle fell out over potholes and leaked. For most riders, the AHYKA is the one to get.

Do shorter cranks help you get aero?

Indirectly, yes. Shorter cranks don't save watts on their own, but they make a low position easier to hold, and the position is where the watts are.

I went from 172.5 mm to 165 mm cranks. Your knee doesn't come up as high at the top of the stroke, so you can get lower and stay there more comfortably. I use the RIRO carbon crankset, which also saved me 165 g.

Is a cheap aero helmet safe?

I can't tell you it is, which is why I won't link one. An aero road helmet does save real watts (BikeRadar measured 7.56 W), but a helmet's first job is protecting your head.

Cheap aero upgrades FAQ