I think the right wheels make the biggest difference (same track, under the same conditions), disk vs 4 or 5 spoke vs deep dish spoke are dependent upon track, indoor/outdoor, head wind, cross wind, etc. Beyond that, I believe rider comfort and positioning are the key factors. If you rarely train with aero bars, putting them on for a competition could actually be a hinderance. If you ride drops the majority of the time, you practice standing starts in them, can get fairly low and aero in them and can give 100% throughout the entire effort, they are faster for you. If you do all of your training in drop bars, then decide for competition that you need aero bars, have to slow down to go from standing start position to aero bars and then are all over the track trying to control yourself while in a foreign position, aero bars are actually slower. However, if you train all the time in aero bars, that may be a different story. This is coming from a Masters prospective, rather than an Elite rider that has time to train in them hours a day on a regular basis. By the way, anyone interested in buying a pair of 3T Revo LTD aero bars? Used twice....just kidding, but not really.