Recumbent bicycles · Public discussion

Fairings?

Started by seahorse · · Last activity · 4 posts · 569 views

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Recumbent bicycles
Published
7 August 2004
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8 August 2004
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seahorse
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  1. Most of the stories I've heard about fairings were about
    fending off the cold. I cannot see them as a factor in the
    rain while city driving. However, they do look cool, especially
    the painted ones. Does anyone have a statistic or thought
    about what the best use of a fairing is? I might buy one for
    my EZ-Sport but only if it will increase my speed.
    How about a fairing that goes from the front wheel to the
    rear. It sure would keep my donuts from getting soggy?

  2. The fiaring is the first and most delioghtful serious upgrade anyone
    interested in speed and comfort should buy. ust my opinoin, of course.
    There are other valid oints of view although I've never heard a valid
    argument against fairings except weight and cost.
    We put the bubble fairing on our EZSport for the looks and to keep the
    handlebar bag dry. But speed was never an issue for that bike. The TE
    is another story, I would never take the fairing off.

    The simple physics of fluid dynamics declare plenty of air movement
    behind a fairing. The rider's phyiscal feelings might suggest dead air
    but it is not the case. It's impossible. The lower pressure area
    behind the fairing fills with spilled air. The Bernoulli Effect has
    not been revoked by Zzipper nor has it been cancelled in Forida.

    Buy the fairing.
    Get the biggest and nicest unit you can afford. Forget our advice or
    our opinions. Try to ride a couple dozen miles behind one if you must
    before you buy but, I assure you: You will NOT regret putting a
    fairing on ANY recumbent.

    david boise ID

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

    Quoted message said:

    Most of the stories I've heard about fairings were about
    fending off the cold. I cannot see them as a factor in the
    rain while city driving. However, they do look cool, especially
    the painted ones. Does anyone have a statistic or thought
    about what the best use of a fairing is? I might buy one for
    my EZ-Sport but only if it will increase my speed.
    How about a fairing that goes from the front wheel to the
    rear. It sure would keep my donuts from getting soggy?

  3. "David Bogie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    The fiaring is the first and most delioghtful serious upgrade anyone
    interested in speed and comfort should buy. ust my opinoin, of course.
    There are other valid oints of view although I've never heard a valid
    argument against fairings except weight and cost.
    We put the bubble fairing on our EZSport for the looks and to keep the
    handlebar bag dry. But speed was never an issue for that bike. The TE
    is another story, I would never take the fairing off.

    The simple physics of fluid dynamics declare plenty of air movement
    behind a fairing. The rider's phyiscal feelings might suggest dead air
    but it is not the case. It's impossible. The lower pressure area
    behind the fairing fills with spilled air. The Bernoulli Effect has
    not been revoked by Zzipper nor has it been cancelled in Forida.

    Buy the fairing.
    Get the biggest and nicest unit you can afford. Forget our advice or
    our opinions. Try to ride a couple dozen miles behind one if you must
    before you buy but, I assure you: You will NOT regret putting a
    fairing on ANY recumbent.

    david boise ID

    That or buy a bike that doesn't require a fairing like an Optima Baron or
    Challenge Jester 🙂

  4. [email hidden] (David Bogie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:

    The fiaring is the first and most delioghtful serious upgrade anyone
    interested in speed and comfort should buy. ust my opinoin, of course.
    There are other valid oints of view although I've never heard a valid
    argument against fairings except weight and cost.

    My experience with a super ZZipper fairing on the front of a P38
    found two other concerns that David didn't mention. I agree with his
    response, but I found the added area of the fairing in a range of
    crosswind angles made the bike slower than it was with no fairing. The
    air would still hit my torso in a quartering wind because the fairing
    was too far forward to block it. That drag combined with the wind that
    was still hitting the fairing added up to more aero drag with the
    fairing than without.

    That said, the average speed of my particular commute was faster
    (typically 1.5 MPH on average speed) with the fairing, but I did not
    like the places where it made me slower. By removing it, I gave up
    some extra speed in the easy parts of the commute (flats and downhills
    without crosswinds) because I hated being slower where I was
    vulnerable to attacks from "Diamond Frames" (while climbing [Due to
    the added weight which David already acknowledged] and in crosswinds).

    The second reaon I removed it was maintenance time. The
    maintenance needed to keep it looking decent was too time consuming.
    The backside of a clear fairing is not a fun item to keep clean and
    clear of haze. Next time, I'd paint the lower portion to hide the wear
    and tear.

    enjoy,

    Edd

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