keesan@bbncca.ARPA (Morris Keesan) (12/07/83)
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The current issue of Scientific American has as its cover story an article
about the recent advances in human-powered vehicles -- i.e. bicycles and
other pedal-driven vehicles. To summarize, it appears that the major
slowing factor on bicycles going ~20 MPH and faster is wind resistance, and
that the most effective way of making a bicycle more efficient and/or faster
is to streamline it. By this I don't mean streamlining just the bicycle
itself, but rather the bicycle/rider unit, since most of the wind resistance
is actually on the rider. There are various examples and pictures in the
article of full enclosures to get the maximum streamlining, and some much
simpler devices for the commuter and tourer. These latter include a couple of
different recumbent designs, and the simplest device which is nothing more than
a properly shaped plastic fairing, which sells for about $60, and which the
article reports as giving more than a 10% increase in speed for a constant
power output by the cyclist. I recommend reading the article for greater
detail.
Does anyone have any experience using any streamlining accessories such
as this?
--
Morris M. Keesan
{decvax,linus,wjh12}!bbncca!keesan
keesan @ BBN-UNIX.ARPA4341gbs@houxn.UUCP (G.SHERWOOD) (12/07/83)
I've had a Zzipper fairing for about two years now and am satisfied with it. Basically it works as advertized: In a headwind or at relatively high speeds, you'll be able to ride about one gear higher, and faster. It also helps to keep warm in cold or wet weather. You may find the handling is different in cross winds, but that hasn't been a problem for me. Mostly I use the fairing on the tandem my wife and I ride, rather than my single bike. It makes a bigger difference there because of the higher speeds. The most memorable ride we've had with the fairing was coming down the northern side of Smuggler's Notch in Vermont. We passed one car before the road straightened out, and we reached top speed. At that point the terminal velocity was so high we couldn't keep up with the pedals in a 116" gear. George