Does anyone ride with a fairing?

Pat in TX said:

On a diamond frame bike? The ride I went on last Saturday had winds gusting
to 35-40 mph. Most of the time, the headwind was so strong that I rode in
the drops (at 9-11 mph). Part of the time, I had to lean into the wind to
keep from getting blown over! The LBS is trying to interest me in a
fairing....

Pat in TX

Get an airspeed indicator and enjoy it. You root for high gusts.

A fairing with side exposure makes cross-wind gusts worse as to handling.

Incidentally most of the drops speed gain is from being in a weaker wind
rather than from streamlining. The wind is much stronger by your head
than by the handlebars, increasing quickly with distance off the ground.

In the drops, you drop out of the strongest wind.

The secret of recumbents is not being in the real wind in the first place.

--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Pat in TX said:

On a diamond frame bike? The ride I went on last Saturday had winds gusting
to 35-40 mph. Most of the time, the headwind was so strong that I rode in
the drops (at 9-11 mph). Part of the time, I had to lean into the wind to
keep from getting blown over! The LBS is trying to interest me in a
fairing....

Pat in TX

While I have never seen one mounte on a DF, 'benters use them and get
pretty good gains with them. Depending on the style of bike, positioning
of fairing etc,etc,etc. I have read that in the flats 'bents can gain
anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. And they make riding into the wind
easier. Not too sure about gains on a DF.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

I used one for a while; it didn't make much of a difference in speed,
but in very cold commuting weather (0-15F) it helped a lot. Much
warmer than that and the faring kept me TOO warm!. Alas, cold and dark
go together, and farings cause reflection problems with lights, both
your own and those of any following cars, so off it came...

I bought a Zzipper years ago, but I only took it out on one ride. I
didn't like the way it wobbled all the time, it attached on the rubber
brake lever hoods (Thus making them non-comfy for the hands), plus
people gawked at me and made remarks like "Well, I guess it keeps the
bugs off."

"Pat in TX" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On a diamond frame bike? The ride I went on last Saturday had winds
gusting to 35-40 mph. Most of the time, the headwind was so strong that I
rode in the drops (at 9-11 mph). Part of the time, I had to lean into the
wind to keep from getting blown over! The LBS is trying to interest me in
a fairing....

Pat in TX

I'm curious. Where do you live? I fight similar winds in Amarillo.
I have no experience with fairings on bicycles.

BobT

Ron Hardin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The secret of recumbents is not being in the real wind in the first
place.

Shhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

But I've seen documentation that any forearm rest system gets you almost as
much less drag as a bent. same principle, head down.

--ag

Sounds like you were in Fort Worth, Pat. :-)

You've probably never seen someone with a diamond frame and a fairing.
There's a reason for that. :-)

Lewis.

******

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you were in Fort Worth, Pat. :-)

You've probably never seen someone with a diamond frame and a fairing.
There's a reason for that. :-)

Lewis.

I went to the Aledo 100K ride on Saturday (that's west of Fort Worth and
east of Abilene for you out of state people). I did see a couple of
recumbents with fairings. When I asked how they "faired" in the wind, I was
told, "Wind? What wind?"

Why haven't I seen a diamond frame with a fairing? My first reaction to
seeing a photo of one was that it looked kinda silly....or gimmicky. Strange
that they don't look odd on a recumbent, though.

Pat

andy gee said:

Ron Hardin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The secret of recumbents is not being in the real wind in the first
place.

Shhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

But I've seen documentation that any forearm rest system gets you almost as
much less drag as a bent. same principle, head down.

--ag

Yes all about reducing frontal area. But that racers position places a
lot of stress on the lower back, which is the reason many 'bent riders
ride 'bents.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

Pat in TX asks -

Quoted message said:

Why haven't I seen a diamond frame with a fairing? My first reaction to
seeing a photo of one was that it looked kinda silly....or gimmicky.
Strange that they don't look odd on a recumbent, though.

Nor do they look odd on a motorcycle, and having ridden both with and
without a fairing on a m/c I am a huge fan of with if any speed or distance
will be involved.

Maybe the UCI banned them, along with 'bents in '32?

best, Andrew

Andrew Price said:

Pat in TX asks -

Quoted message said:

Why haven't I seen a diamond frame with a fairing? My first reaction to
seeing a photo of one was that it looked kinda silly....or gimmicky.
Strange that they don't look odd on a recumbent, though.

Nor do they look odd on a motorcycle, and having ridden both with and
without a fairing on a m/c I am a huge fan of with if any speed or distance
will be involved.

Maybe the UCI banned them, along with 'bents in '32?

best, Andrew

You know, now that you mentioned it, I think I read somewhere that any
device which increases the aerodynamic eff. is banned from uci
sanctioned events. But that doesn't explain the aero shaped frame tubes
and helmets. Thats uci for you, they make very little sense sometimes.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

In article <[email hidden]>, Andrew

Price () said:

Pat in TX asks -

Quoted message said:

Why haven't I seen a diamond frame with a fairing? My first reaction to
seeing a photo of one was that it looked kinda silly....or gimmicky.
Strange that they don't look odd on a recumbent, though.

Nor do they look odd on a motorcycle, and having ridden both with and
without a fairing on a m/c I am a huge fan of with if any speed or distance
will be involved.

Maybe the UCI banned them, along with 'bents in '32?

They actually banned them in 1914, possibly as a reaction to the death
of World Champion Piet Dickentman in a race in Berlin.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
If you want a bicycle, buy a bicycle. If you want something that folds,
buy a deckchair.

<snippage of Pat's q re fairings on diamond frame bikes>

You, know, Pat, some of us riders build our own fairings - that beer
gut may look ugly to some, but it adds 0.17 mph!

D'ohBoy

andy gee said:

Ron Hardin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The secret of recumbents is not being in the real wind in the first
place.

Shhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

But I've seen documentation that any forearm rest system gets you almost as
much less drag as a bent. same principle, head down.

Hmm. I guess I'll finally have to try out those aero bars that have
been on the Diamondback since I got it. My daughter's been running
off ahead on rides lately. (Of course, she gets more miles in per
week, so it's no surprise...)
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Hi, Pat, I wonder if you know any of the FWBA people?

Gary Howsley used to ride with a small front fairing about 20 years ago
but he is the only one I've seen in this area.

I guess if you rode with a fairing when it wasn't windy, you could be
pretty safe but I got blown off the road a couple of times when I had a
Ti-Rush with a front fairing.

Lewis.

******

Quoted message said:

Hi, Pat, I wonder if you know any of the FWBA people?

Gary Howsley used to ride with a small front fairing about 20 years ago
but he is the only one I've seen in this area.

I guess if you rode with a fairing when it wasn't windy, you could be
pretty safe but I got blown off the road a couple of times when I had a
Ti-Rush with a front fairing.

Lewis.

******

I've wondered if a fairing might work like a sail, which might not be
good or helpful. The wind gets annoying around here, though.

One problem with fairings on bicycles is that the wind will not cool
you off as well. Fairings may work well in colder climates but here in
Texas you could overheat.

Well, you see motor bikes with em. They make some really small ones that are
pretty light.............

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you were in Fort Worth, Pat. :-)

You've probably never seen someone with a diamond frame and a fairing.
There's a reason for that. :-)

Lewis.

******

"Dave" <> wrote> Well, you see motor bikes with em. They make some really
small ones that are

Quoted message said:

pretty light.............

I did go on the zzip website and they had one for a roadbike that weighed
about 7 pounds.