When working with athletes I often talk in terms of watts per dollar when thinking about making upgrades to a bike. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the watts saved for a product but cost is a serious consideration for most athletes. All the charts I’ve ever seen show a product and the estimated number of watts saved for using a product. However, this is only half of the story. The other half is the duration of the product being used. We make wheels and after 12 years in business, I can confidently tell you that a good set of wheels can last more than 10 years. Other products such as chain wax will last about 300 miles at most. Considering you ride 10,000 miles per year your wax will last you 11 days. Let’s look at the products that save you the most watts for using them and their real costs over 10 years.
Watts/Dollar for Using a Product
Watts savings for products are calculated by comparing them to a baseline product. For wheels, we look at an OEM wheel like the Mavic Open Pro in a wind tunnel. On average FLO wheels will save you 11 watts over the Open Pro.
To determine the watts/dollar you divide the product cost by the number of watts saved.
FLO Wheels Watts/Dollar = $1,498/11W = $136.18/W
Below is a tablet that shows the Watts/Dollar by product. Note: this does not consider time so don’t pay much attention to this chart.
| Product | Cost | Watts | $/Watt |
| Aero Socks | $30.00 | 5 | $6.00 |
| Chain Wax | $40.00 | 6 | $6.67 |
| Tires | $220.00 | 24 | $9.17 |
| Kit | $269.00 | 15 | $17.93 |
| Helmet | $225.00 | 12 | $18.75 |
| Tire Pressure | $200.00 | 9 | $22.22 |
| Wind Tunnel Fit | $1,290.00 | 15 | $86.00 |
| FLO Wheels | $1,498.00 | 11 | $136.18 |
| Aerobars | $1,250.00 | 8 | $156.25 |
| Other Wheels | $4,400.00 | 11 | $400.00 |
| Wheel Bearings | $900.00 | 2 | $450.00 |
Watts/Dollar @ 10,000 Miles Per Year Over 10 Years
What is important to note is that not all products last the same amount of time so this needs to be taken into consideration. For example, wheels can last 10 years, a helmet lasts for 3 years, socks may last 73 days (5 pairs a year), kits a year, etc. To find the true cost per watt, the following changes have been made to the chart below.
- We consider the cyclist to be riding 10,000 miles per year.
- We consider 10 years.
- We look at how long each product lasts.
- We calculate the total cost of the product over 10 years.
- Annual maintenance is taken into consideration.
- We recalculate the Watts/Dollar.
| Product | Cost | Annual Maintenance Cost | Watts | Duration | Cost Over 10 Years | $/Watt Over 10 Years |
| Tire Pressure | $200.00 | $0.00 | 9 | 3,650 | $200.00 | $22.22 |
| Helmet | $225.00 | $0.00 | 12 | 1,095 | $750.00 | $62.50 |
| FLO Wheels | $1,498.00 | $20.00 | 11 | 3,650 | $1,698.00 | $154.36 |
| Aerobars | $1,250.00 | $0.00 | 8 | 3,650 | $1,250.00 | $156.25 |
| Wind Tunnel Fit | $1,290.00 | $0.00 | 15 | 1,825 | $2,580.00 | $172.00 |
| Kit | $269.00 | $0.00 | 15 | 365 | $2,690.00 | $179.33 |
| Aero Socks | $30.00 | $0.00 | 5 | 73 | $1,500.00 | $300.00 |
| Tires | $220.00 | $0.00 | 24 | 91 | $8,824.18 | $367.67 |
| Other Wheels | $4,400.00 | $20.00 | 11 | 3,650 | $4,600.00 | $418.18 |
| Wheel Bearings | $900.00 | $75.00 | 2 | 1,825 | $2,550.00 | $1,275.00 |
| Chain Wax | $40.00 | $0.00 | 6 | 11 | $13,272.73 | $2,212.12 |
Watts/Dollar @ 10,000 Miles a Year Over 10 Years
After making these changes the chart almost flips upside down. When you think about it, it makes sense. The cost of a product must consider time. It’s why we’ve stated for years that the number one upgrade you can make on a bike is wheels. That’s considering the helmet is not part of the bike and tire pressure is more of a knowledge item than a real product.
Final Thoughts
Here is the advice that I generally give athletes based on the chart above.
- Get a great fit: Without a good fit, you will lose access to power in your legs and have trouble holding an aero position for long periods. Remember, your body accounts for about 80% of the drag on the bike so staying in the aero position is crucial.
- Get great wheels: Wheels are the number one upgrade you can make on the bike. FLO Wheels are as fast if not faster than other wheels on the market. This has been third-party tested and verified. The only difference is we sell our wheels consumer direct so your Watts/Dollar value drops greatly as shown in the table above.
- Understand tire pressure: Become knowledgeable about tire pressure and get an accurate pump like the FLO Air Gauge.
- Use an aero helmet: Get a helmet and make sure to replace it every three years to keep yourself safe.
- Use certain products sparingly: For short-duration products use them in special cases like races not all the time.
Co-founder at FLO Cycling. Jon manages the day to day operations and acts as the lead engineer for all FLO products.