Is that what they managed to do in the video? Every single aspect of position identical in spatial geometry? That would surprise me. I can’t see how you can get a road frame far enough over the BB, but maybe that is covered in the video.
As you say, if you did manage to replicate the position precisely, then the whole running off the bike thing is a non-starter. If you’re in the same position you’re in the same position, regardless of what frame type you are wrapped around.
We can’t ignore the fact that the AIR is not a ‘standard road bike’ – it has been designed to be tinkered with and taken very close to a TT ready rig, with a four-position seat post. This allowed for effectively a 76 degree seat position and a low front end on the X-Small road bike I was aboard, and a taller rider might not be equally rewarded on a larger bike.
@stenard @midlifetrisis
The key flaw (for us) is that they replicated the same rider position on the road bike and the tri bike. This is as spoken by the fitter.
Fundamentally this doesn’t even attempt to address the question “which one would I be faster on?”.
Secondly as others suspected, her position is not run friendly (imo) she’s stretched with a terrible hip angle that would crucify my run ability:
Road/clipons
Thanks for that. I guess the video is a little misleading regarding “Same Position”
Right. So they put her in an “optimised” Road bike position (whatever that is) and then just replicated it on the TT bike? Rather than having a good TT position and then being able to replicate that on the road bike?
That makes a lot more sense. And is why I don’t think the conclusions are valid. Those images you’ve shared imply a very closed hip angle (as expected with the seat post angle of a road bike), that would likely both inhibit power output and running off the bike.
Sounds like you have been listening to Hambini 
I do follow Hambini, interestingly when I did aero test on wheels with my son, my results were quite similar to Hambini.
Columbo mode: one more thing.
That position on then road bike above looks.fucking awful. Yes it’s very aero with a nice flat back and low head. But look at the hip and shoulder angle. The 3rd image above with the pedal at the top she is almost folded in half, if you listen closely you can hear her hip flexors crying. That shoulder angle does not look comfortable at all. Her elbow is well over 90 degrees, meaning her shoulder joint and arms muscles are holding the weight, I dont see how you could hold that for any length of time. Look at this photo of Alex Dowsett
His elbow angle is 90 degrees and his shoulder directly above it. Meaning he can relax his weight down I to it and his elbows and forearms hold the weight in a relaxed position.
I’m an old cynic but this looks like they have gone out of their way to make TT bikes look shit. I bet if 220 Traithlon magazine repeated it they would get a different result.
I’ve got Flo wheels so I’m hoping It’s BS haha
Before getting into the nitty gritty of any of these type of tests I always like to look at the source, the funding etc. and ask what they were trying to achieve. rarely is it a completely independent review with no agenda - that’s not to say the result is false, just that it should be taken in context.
Source - Cycling Weekly - not a Tri publication so running off the bike probably wasn’t considered in the slightest.
Bikes/Facilities - Boardman - bike manufacturer, TT bikes small and specialised sector of market, aero road bikes bigger sector - which would they like to look best?
Rider - very small height & build, significantly alters the frame geometry and impact on the test compared to a 6’ hairy arsed Triantelope.
That’s just off the top of my head but I’m sure there are other factors that could be pulled out.
Ultimately I come back to my point earlier. The differences the frame make in the overall drag are minimal so, budget & goals dependant, pick the one you’re most comfortable on and you like the colour.
If they are replicating the rider position on both bikes, they are basically saying the TT bike is slightly more aero than the aero road bike - without a rider. No real surprise there.
For me the main takeaway is that if you want to be competitive then its a no brainer. What i see so often though is nice TT bikes that are never ridden until a week before race day or dry days only and if you spend all your training time on club rides and on your road bike, then dont expect to do well come race day when you wheel out your TT bike as you will not be adapted to it. Unless you are prepared to spend lots of long days riding solo on a TT bike you will not lose much power on the road bike and potentially be faster as you are adapted to that bike and can handle it better also. Hip angle is a moot point come that scenario as you won’t run well off a bike you are not adapted to anyway! Ride the way you choose to race for most of the time for performance benefits, for most of the people doing IM, save the money for your tattoo and merch 
Very valid points
This is what I do. I prefer riding my TT bike, mainly because it’s a far superior bike! So that helps. If I got a better road bike, then maybe that would bring things more into balance.
I also prefer being in control of my own destiny for longer weekend rides, and whilst I really enjoy the social aspect of the occasions on which I do make a club ride, the lack of personal input into the weekly route and variability of how the ride pans out, leads me to end up somewhat preferring just to do my own thing
Me too, plus I only ride indoors really. Aeroposition outside is like a relief by comparison, come race day.
I think some of us forget that on here we aren’t even normal triathletes anymore on here . Your example makes perfect sense, this is how it should be done. the pros live on their TT bikes. Its quite unusual in my experiences though. There were even decent athletes at my club and I’ll never forget one comment about it being winter so you had to ride a road bike for base miles, and the look of horror when i suggested base miles are a perfect time to adapt to a TT position. Its like the dry weather only riders who take out TT bike in summer months and wonder why they cant ride downhill in the wet come race day or say “they don’t handle very well” .
At least I’m doing something right. Shame I still suck in bike performance terms!
Definitely this. 20min blocks of the aero position on the turbo is a slog. But I know if I can do 2x20 holding aero indoors, holding it for prolonged periods out on the road is actually pretty easy.
Not that holding the aero position will be much of an issue in Nice!
I do all my rides solo, because I an anti social. I have made the mistake in the past of not riding the TT enough, Last year though when training for IM I was doing all my long rides on the TT as well as my quality power session on the turbo. Even in the sleet/snow I was out on my TT, had to take a spare pair of gloves for when they got soaked.
I am the same as @stenard in that my TT bike is far superior to my roadie, they are basically opposite ends of the spectrum. These days only really use my roadie for commuting.
While JP from Swiss side, who designs TT bikes for customers like Cube, say that a TT bike is also more aero than a road bike, but by a bigger margin than Boardman.
Basically these tests are all designed to prove an initial hypothesis, and don’t give many inights to the end consumer
I use my TT bike exclusively on the Turbo, and always try to hold an Aero position (even Alpe de Zwift)
As I can’t be bothered to take TT bike off trainer, I don’t ride it outdoors in winter
In the summer, most of my riding is on road bike as around 70% of my training is commute to work, although I do occasionally commute on TT bike
I will do some long rides on TT bike, and sometimes take TT bike out on club rides, but normally road bike.
If I include time in races, I would estimate that I ride TT bike for 25-30% of my total distance… however, I am doing a lot of distance, already over 7000km this year, 2000km on TT bike feels about right
I’m somewhere in between (not in terms of distance but %s). I use Road & TT bike during the summer (Brompton for commuting) but in the winter TT is consigned to turbo duties so I’m spending time in aero position year round.
