Half Fairing on P-38/Phantom II: Worth the Expense?

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Does the mini fairing for the Lightning P-38 and Phantom II with the LCD drop bars provide a speed
boost? If so, how much of an improvement did you notice after putting it on your bike? Thanks in
advance.

I have a P-38 with full fairing. Most often it is seen as a P-38 no fairing. It seemed simple enough
to occasionally put the nosecone on and shield the feet and H/B from disturbing the air. I found
that when I did this, I could see no measurable improvement over the unfaired P-
38. It appaera as others have said that the biggest aerodynamic improvement of a SWB is a tail box.
I tend to agree. Unless you are going to eliminate the airturbulance caused by peddling I don't
think there is any aerodynamic benefit to be gained with a front fairing alone on a SWB.

IMO the mini fairing is only good for keeping your fingers warm in winter. Save your money.
--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Cletus,

Thanks for your input. A followup question: Would the Lightning low drag panneirs serve the same
function as a tailbox? I suppose the danger of using panniers is filling them up with junk and
weighing the bike down.

Bob

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Does the mini fairing for the Lightning P-38 and Phantom II with the LCD drop bars provide a
speed boost? If so, how much of an improvement did you notice after putting it on your bike?
Thanks in advance.

I have a P-38 with full fairing. Most often it is seen as a P-38 no fairing. It seemed simple
enough to occasionally put the nosecone on and shield the feet and H/B from disturbing the air. I
found that when I did this, I could see no measurable improvement over the unfaired P-
38. It appaera as others have said that the biggest aerodynamic improvement of a SWB is a tail
box. I tend to agree. Unless you are going to eliminate the airturbulance caused by peddling
I don't think there is any aerodynamic benefit to be gained with a front fairing alone on a
SWB.

IMO the mini fairing is only good for keeping your fingers warm in winter. Save your money.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Cletus,

Thanks for your input. A followup question: Would the Lightning low drag panneirs serve the same
function as a tailbox? I suppose the danger of using panniers is filling them up with junk and
weighing the bike down.

I guess that is LCD's theory. I have not known anyone that had the LCD panniers. The last time I
checked on the panniers (3 years ago) they were not available and there was no manufacturer for
them. (They were never off the website).

For my money, I would spend less and get Ortlieb BackRollers Not as aero but they are truly
waterproof.

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -