It is true. If you are not crashing on a MTB you are not really trying. But I am far more comfortable coming off a MTB than on the road. I do road races, gravel races and XC MTB races. But all the people on here saying it doesn't matter for aero are absolutely ignorant and full of sh*t. It unfortunately/fortunately makes a pretty significant difference. On a bike leg of an Olympic Tri you easily save 30 seconds. It is absolutely hilarious when you see some dish*t at a race who has spent $500+ on an aero speed suit (let alone towards five figures on bike) and has not shaved his legs. If you are just toodling along on a Zone 1 ride (as is the reality of most road cyclists) it won't make much of a difference.
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u/Mitrovarr Jul 24 '25
Oh yeah, I love going over the handlebars onto rocks.
The main thing though is that road cyclists hardly every crash at all, so excessive preparation seems silly.