Fairing on a road bike

I still have a Zzipper fairing around somewhere, though I haven't used it for a decade or more. It
did the job well enough, though it used to flex a bit over the bumps with a sort of hollow noise. I
found it's principal value was in reducing the wind chill factor on cold winter mornings.

AFAIK they are still available. See zzipper.comzzipper.comOpen ↗.

Nick

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

Quoted message said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike

that

Quoted message said:

significantly cuts wind resistance and improves speed for the same effort

?

Quoted message said:

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

Andrew Price said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and improves
speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

Motorcycles have a lot more weight to minimize the affect of wind from the side hitting a large
surface such as a fairing? The average speed of a motorcycle is also higher than on a bicycle.

From what I have read, it seems that fairings on bicycles are very helpful under some conditions-
head winds- and hard to work with under other conditions- side winds.

I wonder how the windshields on recumbents affect handling with a tail or side wind.

Quoted message said:

best, Andrew

"But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight; Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a
wildcat can it fight... I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern, right straight away, at sight." A
B 'Banjo' Patterson - "Mulga Bill" 25 July 1896.

"Andrew Price" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:ILxOa.450$TX6.6599
@news-server.bigpond.net.au:

Quoted message said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and
improves speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

10 or 20 years ago, companies were selling front fairings for road bikes that you could clip on your
handlebars. Wheel covers were also available. These are rare now days, I assume because the demand
has dried up. Unless you're riding at over 20mph on relatively flat, smooth roads, farings aren't
worthwhile. They add weight, rattle, and cause stability problems in cross winds. Some of the
commercial farings were also poorly designed and had only limited aero benefits.

Lots of farings are available for recumbents, but you rarely see them on the road, for the
same reasons.

Andrew Price said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and
improves speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

There are a few fairings listed here: ihpva.orgPartsOpen ↗

If you build your own, there are a couple of old tech articles that might be of interest--first one
by me, second includes a simple math model:

cervelo.comarticle2.htmlOpen ↗

ihpva.orgcwind stat stab.htmOpen ↗ or in .doc format (with pics) from the link at very
bottom of this page-- ihpva.orgtoolsOpen ↗

Might find something interesting here (also look in the pictures section--need a Yahoo sign-in for
that page): groups.yahoo.comfilesOpen ↗

-- Doug www.millikenresearch.com

In article <[email hidden]>, Andrew Price

Quoted message said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and improves
speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

Motor cyclists obviously don't mind looking ridiculous. :-) (Or maybe it's because they go faster?)

Have you tried using a clip-on bar?

--Paul

Fairings on a conventional race bike wouldn't make much sense, because they are banned from the
races. Also using a recumbent increases the gains (comfort and speed) you get from fairings while
reducing the tradeoffs. There's also the aesthetics factor...

Dan Daniel <[email hidden]> wrote:

: I wonder how the windshields on recumbents affect handling with a tail or side wind.

To my knowledge, a partial fairing doesn't change things very much. A full fairing with high
speeds, strong winds and two wheels makes things much worse. Getting blown over is a problem for
recumbents trying to occupy the very high end of the speed range. Trikes with a full fairing are
much more stable.

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Quoth Andrew Price:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike

Also sprach Nick Payne:

Quoted message said:

I still have a Zzipper fairing around somewhere, though I haven't used it for a decade or more. It
did the job well enough, though it used to flex a bit over the bumps with a sort of hollow noise.
I found it's principal value was in reducing the wind chill factor on cold winter mornings.

AFAIK they are still available. See zzipper.comzzipper.comOpen ↗.

I've got one of these. I like it very much for use in the winter time, it allows me to dress for
weather 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature.

I find it absolutely intolerable in the summer, however, for the same reason.

I never noticed any improvement in speed, and, in fact, my maximum downhill speed is lower with the
fairing, because it prevents me from getting into a serious aero tuck (my head would bump into it.)

Sheldon "Gadgeteer" Brown +----------------------------------------------+
| Certainly the game is rigged. | Don't let that stop you; | if you don't bet, you can't win. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+----------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Lots of farings are available for recumbents, but you rarely see them on the road, for the same
reasons.

Huh?? Just about every Easy Racer recumbent bicycle I see is equipped with a front fairing from
Zzipper. (Here's a photo of some locals: easyracers.comDeltaPark2002.jpgOpen ↗ .) The
fairing improves speed on the flats by about 10%- more on the downhill, less on the uphill. There's
some influence in crosswinds, but it's quite manageable. I've ridden with mine with the wind gusting
to 30+ mph. At no time did I think the fairing was creating handling issues.

Here's a link to Zzipper's "upright" fairing: zzipper.comUpStdFairing.htmlOpen ↗

Jeff

Quoted message said:

Lots of farings are available for recumbents, but you rarely see them on the road, for the same
reasons.

Quoted message said:

Motor cyclists obviously don't mind looking ridiculous. :-) (Or maybe it's because they go
faster?)

Actually, the reason that you rarely see them on the road is the lack-of-cooling problem. They work
very well - on uprights as well as recumbents - but riders get too hot behind them.

Doug

Quoted message said:

Lots of farings are available for recumbents, but you rarely see them on the road, for the same
reasons.

Quoted message said:

Motor cyclists obviously don't mind looking ridiculous. :-) (Or maybe it's because they go
faster?)

Actually, the reason that you rarely see them on the road is the lack-of-cooling problem. They
work beautifully on uprights as well as recumbents, but as long as they do, the rider overheats
behind them.

Doug

They used to make something called a Bullet that went underneath an aerobar. I think that's the best
approach for an upright roadbike fairing. ---Then maybe add a clear 'visor' to go above the aerobar
somehow. In any event a small fairing doing the most effective work is what you want. I think that a
lower section to fair the knees, coming down from a Bullet would be good, too. A little goes a long
way, I suspect.

I've fiddled with roadbike fairings along these exact lines with an invention project to make
aerodynamic panniers. THEY WORK GREAT!

Well, technically from my ad-hoc fullsize model and testing my time trials with race bike and
aerobar were the same as touring bike and aero-panniers + 20 lbs. Usually a full set of pans, etc.,
would slow one down a lot I'd think. I had no loss.

Who cares if they're illegal in races: take it off if you want to race. : )

Andrew Price said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and
improves speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

best, Andrew

"But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight; Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a
wildcat can it fight... I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern, right straight away, at sight." A
B 'Banjo' Patterson - "Mulga Bill" 25 July 1896.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC ski
culture, a Gulf Coast thriller folding bicycles ... with radical novels coming up! ...original
downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums!
HOLY SMOKES!

Ever see a set of Tailwind panniers? Designed by Glen Brown (a real aerodynamicist) and sold by
Specialized around 1980 or so. Wasn't able to find any pics on the web, but maybe they are out there
somewhere...

In the wind tunnel, wearing typical touring clothes of the day (shorts and T shirt) they had
essentially no effect on drag (installed or removed). Other "baggy" panniers added significant drag
(these were all tested at the same time).

Too bad Tailwind went out of the market, nice product.

-- Doug Milliken www.millikenresearch.com (day job)

On Sun, 7 Sep 2003, Jeff Potter wrote:

<snipped>

Quoted message said:

I've fiddled with roadbike fairings along these exact lines with an invention project to make
aerodynamic panniers. THEY WORK GREAT!

Well, technically from my ad-hoc fullsize model and testing my time trials with race bike and
aerobar were the same as touring bike and aero-panniers + 20 lbs. Usually a full set of pans,
etc., would slow one down a lot I'd think. I had no loss.

Who cares if they're illegal in races: take it off if you want to race. : )

Andrew Price said:

Leaving aside aesthetics and the probable reaction of the UCI ("Quell horreur!"😉 is there any
practical fairing for a conventional road bike that significantly cuts wind resistance and
improves speed for the same effort ?

They seem mandatory on road motor cycles, why none for us?

best, Andrew

Quoted message said:

Ever see a set of Tailwind panniers?

Yes they worked.

I used to tour with a set of front low-rider Tailwind panniers. Hopping into a paceline from Bourg
d'Oisans to Grenoble was fun as these French and Belgian guys couldn't believe a guy with bags like
that on his bike could hang on, let alone contribute.

-Bruce

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

Quoted message said:

Ever see a set of Tailwind panniers? Designed by Glen Brown (a real aerodynamicist) and sold by
Specialized around 1980 or so. Wasn't able to find any pics on the web, but maybe they are out
there somewhere...

In the wind tunnel, wearing typical touring clothes of the day (shorts and T shirt) they had
essentially no effect on drag (installed or removed). Other "baggy" panniers added significant
drag (these were all tested at

the

Quoted message said:

same time).

Too bad Tailwind went out of the market, nice product.

-- Doug Milliken www.millikenresearch.com (day job)

In article said:

Quoted message said:

Ever see a set of Tailwind panniers?

I used to tour with a set of front low-rider Tailwind panniers. Hopping into a paceline from Bourg
d'Oisans to Grenoble was fun as these French and Belgian guys couldn't believe a guy with bags
like that on his bike could hang on, let alone contribute.

Aided by the fact that the stretch from Bourg-d'Oisans to Rochtaillee over the Romanche to Vizille
is practically all downhill, being a false flat. The mass you were hauling would have been neutral
or even beneficial on much of that route. It must have been fun!