COMFORT COMPOUNDS.
BUT SO DO AERO GAINS.

Six watts.

That's what we left Silverstone with.

But not six watts once. Six watts every second, for more than 6,000 kilometres.

In the context of One Way North, it could mean thousands of calories saved and valuable time and distance clawed back from the ever-ticking clock.

Which is why, in mid-April, we found ourselves standing in a wind tunnel, metres away from the majority of the Formula One teams on the planet, holding a bag of samples.

Watch the short film, then read more detail about how we got here, what we found - and what it means for our products - below.

Our overall thesis is way too long and nuanced to post in an article like this one.

But when we speak specifically in terms of ‘performance’ our conviction is that it’s comfort that matters most. And this is further enhanced by our core focus on long distance endurance cycling, ultra racing, Audax, multi-day and mixed surface riding.

What use are aero gains if your body is too sore to make use of them?

How can you give the best of yourself, mentally and physically, hour after hour - in some cases, day after day, with the added challenge of sleep deprivation - if you are suffering from irritated skin and overly-tight fabrics on swelling limbs.

The same can be said to some extent of the trend towards ever smaller, thinner, lighter products. Of course, packability matters when taking on a multi-day ultra race. But so does functionality. And so, of course, does reliability. If your paper-thin gilet tears, or featherweight zip fails when you need it most, where does that leave you? And what about the impact on the planet of frequently replacing worn or broken technical garments?

It’s the conjunction of these points that ultimately brings us here. Not just specifically to the SSE Hub, but to the brink of supporting a world record attempt that could genuinely redefine human performance on a bicycle.

Because - after her well-documented comfort issues, that nearly brought her incredible LEJOGLE world record to an early end - our thesis is one to which Dr. Sarah Ruggins also subscribes.

If you’re not familiar with the full backstory of how we came to be supporting Sarah, you can read the first part of this article - and the accompanying short film - here.

Our earliest conversations were focused around our bib shorts, thanks to their reputation among Audax, ultra cyclists and professional reviewers as one of the most comfortable long distance bib shorts on the market. But also the fact that we have had a strong and authentic focus on women’s cycling since day one, and were one of the first to pioneer the clip-free dropseat for toilet breaks across all our Bib Shorts.

But as time went on, and as we learned more about the specific environmental challenges of the One Way North route, it also became evident that the timing of her training and record attempt would sync perfectly with our development schedules for key new products at either end of the extreme weather scale, including our UPF 50 sun protective Cargo Jersey, and our as-yet unreleased weatherproof Winter Bib Shorts (a further iteration of our weatherproof Winter Bib Tights that Sarah will also be using for the challenge.)

And whilst it’s true that we don’t shout about watts and aero gains, that does not mean we aren’t constantly obsessing about how we can improve all aspects of our products, providing it’s not at the cost of comfort, reliability and environmental impact.

And so it was that our critical pathway for our brand new Cargo Jerseys - with a more aero fit and full UPF 50 sun protection - led us into a closer collaborative effort aimed at bringing the best of all worlds into a range of existing and new products that could meaningfully help Sarah achieve her incredible goal.

The reality for most people buying and using aero-focused products for non-race purposes, is that the true extent of any realised gains are incredibly small. And you’re often making compromises that arguably are not worth making.

But when you start looking at very long distances, at sustained high speed, this is where aero starts to really matter. And that is quite simply because aerodynamic drag increases as speed rises - the faster you ride, the more aerodynamics matters. With a challenge like One Way North, you don’t need a PHD in physics to understand that it’s an area where significant time - and energy - can be saved over the length of the course.

But there are other critical considerations too. At one end of the spectrum, there’s extreme heat and sustained exposed climbing, with the route starting in Southern Spain in early June and heading quickly towards the Pyrenees. And in the North, Sarah will then be faced with below-freezing temperatures, and likely wind and heavy rain.

And it’s here that products like our Winter Tights and the incredibly broad operating window of our Cargo Gilet and Winter Cargo Jersey - products Sarah has trained in for the entirety of winter - will come into their own.

But it would also be essential that our all-new jerseys could match the 10/10-rated performance of our bib shorts.

As a brand derived from long distance Audax riding, our product development has always been led by personal experiences, intuition and observations. But over time we’ve also built an incredible and trusted network of ‘real world’ riders, who consistently achieve eye-popping test mileage in our products, providing us with exceptional feedback in all conditions.

Riders like Rory, Jess and Iza. Clubs like Audax Club Bristol and Newtown Park.

But there is no denying that the unique demands of racing can further help you to find the limits of a product. Working very early on supporting Alan Colville allowed us to make numerous rapid improvements to our range.

Those collective 4+ years of shared product insights since are what have fed into the design direction of our all-new v2 Cargo Jersey. And then the subsequent work with Sarah has allowed us to not only refine our original ideas, but also inspired us to have new ones. As a result we have not one but three new derived products launching in the coming months, including the aforementioned Winter Bib Shorts, UPF 50 Arm Screens, and a new iteration of our UPF 50 Jersey specifically designed for Sarah, which we are revealing for the first time here as the Minimalist Jersey.

It’s a product we are uniquely excited about, not just because of its performance, but for the breadth of riders it's built for. And also how it aligns with our overall brand ethos. The direction might surprise you when we launch it on June 26. Here is a sneak preview of it in action.

All of which brings us back to Silverstone, the wind tunnel, and the experts at Aerocoach.

Sarah had already completed an initial round of testing with Aerocoach at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome in Wales, back in March - somewhere we were very familiar with after training there for years with PDQ.

These tests focused primarily on her ride position, as well as the impact of new hardware including aerobars and wheels. The results were an excellent 7 watt total gain from baseline.

As we arrived for the second and final aero test - this time in the unflinching scientific gaze of the wind tunnel - the focus moved to the apparel, as well as finalising the setup on the new bike for the challenge, a stunning Liv EnviLiv Advanced SL.

For any kind of aero testing, the most important thing is to have a reliable baseline to compare against. And so, once the bike was set on the rig, and initial calibrations were finished, Sarah completed a full test in v1 of our Long Sleeve Cargo Jersey (in her personal favourite #EDIT003.)

We chose the long sleeve to start because - generally speaking - long sleeves are often more aerodynamic than short sleeves. It’s why time trial suits are typically long-sleeved. The reason for this is quite simply that exposed skin often generates more drag than carefully selected aerodynamic fabrics (see also aero socks/calf guards) and the forearm area is a significant source of drag on a bike. And as such, careful choice of fabrics and fit here can make a meaningful difference.

As it turned out, the performance of our v1 jersey was better than expected, which we put down to using a textured fabric on the entire sleeve. But, of course, this raised immediate concerns for us as to whether the new design would actually step forwards after all!

This worry was initially compounded by our first test of the new jersey being the short sleeved - basically testing the 'better' option of the original jersey versus the less aero option of the newer version 2. But as it turns out, we did see a clear improvement in the numbers, which was promising.

Next, we brought out the penultimate sample of the jersey Sarah would be wearing for the actual challenge. Although mostly identical to our UPF 50 Cargo Jersey, for Sarah’s ride we’ve completely removed the rear pockets. Sarah is riding One Way North fully supported, and so the need to carry things on the body is virtually eliminated. Having less bulk would mean less heat/sweat/irritation. But would it be more aero?

Again, the answer was yes, albeit a less obvious difference than the sleeves. This is because the airflow around the front of the rider sets the stage for everything that follows. As you punch a hole through the air, small improvements to how the airflow first meets the body can have a significant impact on the turbulence and drag created further downstream.

At one point we discovered that a reflective tab - designed specifically to stand upright when leaning forwards to ride, for increased visibility - was protruding into the airflow like a miniature air brake. But, given Sarah will be riding mostly with a support car for the majority of the route, we decided for the OWN26 jersey to flip the tab 180 degrees, so it stays flat and out of the airflow.

Marginal gains continued with the decision to also lose the large reflective zip puller, which dangles immediately into the frontal attack area. It seems hard to imagine that such simple changes can make enough difference to be measured. But the controlled nature of the wind tunnel tests and benchmark comparisons means that the impact of almost anything can be checked and measured. It’s no coincidence that Formula 1 teams - of which the majority are based in the immediate vicinity of the SSE Hub - build their own high performance tunnels in order to test and improve their cars and aero configurations.

After running more than a dozen different individual sessions, and deciding on further changes - particularly the fit around the forearm of the long sleeve jersey, as well as Aerocoach moving the aerobars slightly closer to Sarah’s body - it was time to run one last test.

The result? A further 6 watts gained, on top of what was already achieved at the Velodrome!

Now, no doubt there will be some people reading this article questioning all of this effort for the sake of 6 watts. It doesn’t seem on the surface like a spectacular, game-changing gain. But it's important to understand that 6 watts is not 6 watts once. It is 6 watts every second, for thousands of kilometres. Combined with the gains already achieved through position and equipment changes in the Velodrome, Sarah left testing with approximately 13 watts of total aerodynamic improvement over baseline.

Over a ride lasting almost seventeen days it equates to more than 5.2 kilowatt-hours of mechanical energy. In practical terms, that could equate to tens of thousands of calories that Sarah no longer has to produce herself - or to put it more succinctly, the opportunity to ride slightly faster for the same physiological cost. And when you’re trying to break endurance world records, even small advances can be game-changing.

Sarah’s entire ethos for One Way North is to leave no stone unturned. That energy and fastidiousness runs through every part of the team.

We've pushed ourselves to the limits (and occasionally slightly beyond) this year to make our side of things happen, and being part of such an ambitious project has allowed us to do things with our products that will ultimately benefit all of our customers, not just the record-breakers.

That spirit even found its way into the final garments. We took the liberty of adding a hidden message of encouragement to the zip guards and bib short straps, paraphrasing a quote Sarah had used on the official website. A small detail that nobody else will likely see due to the location, but one that felt entirely appropriate for a project built on thousands of small details coming together in pursuit of one very big goal.

From searing sun in the South to cold, wet and windy in the North, the comfort, durability and very broad operating temperatures and weather protection of our product range for One Way North will keep Sarah as comfortable as possible whilst being as aero as possible. And, therefore, able to operate in the best performance window possible.

Here, for the first time, are some pictures of the final pieces Sarah will be wearing, taken on-site in Tarifa just 2 days before the start.

Huge thanks to James Busby for the pics. James will be documenting Sarah across the entirety of the route, so you can be sure that there will be some exceptional content to come.

Official One Way North website: https://www.own2026.com

Link to track Sarah from Friday June 5: https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/own2026/

Donate to official charity partner, World Bicycle Relief: https://www.own2026.com/world-bicycle-relief#donate

Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_ruggins