Aero Windscreen becoming accepted?

etard

etard

100 kW
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
1,936
Location
Redlands, CA
I find most aerodynamic windscreens to be a good way to really ugly up your bike, but the usefulness and practicality cannot be doubted.

Why didn't anybody on this forum think of this? Do you think it will actually catch on? It doesn't look half bad IMHO.

http://www.gizmag.com/aerodynamic-speed-up-handlebar-bag/30716/pictures#1



speedupbag.jpg





I am sure the purists will call it a cheat, but it would be very practical for long rides.


:|
 
Oh, it's a glove box. Be alright with 5Ah in it.

If this was a little bigger to offer a little hand protection I might use something similar in the extreme cold. In summer though, I want that draft around my bits. Cutting it off might even slow me down.
 
That nose cone wouldn't cover my headlight and horn, much less my front basket. I'd be better off hanging a couple of actual genuine speed bags from the back of my rear rack. Not aero, but might get some respect and a laugh from the cagers. :twisted:
 
Yes its more aero than a block shaped. Handlebar bag, but how is it compared to no bag? I think it needs to be a bit bigger. I like the idea though. I enjoy my full front fairing in the cold and the lower power consumption. Think of a cafe racer fairing.
 
They claim better than no bag at all.

I don't think it is ev gear. The temptation to huddle up behind it will be strong. Such tucking is respectable for sports cyclists, but when you see Learners on 50cc motorbikes doing it the impression given off is somewhat different.

I have never stripped a motorcycle. I see they are not that different though, as the handlebars and forks interchange without much work. I'm thinking there must be other aero solutions, such as getting a nose cone from a wrecked motorbike. I have seen an ebike here somewhere with front fairing that includes lighting, but I have no idea if a lot of these just clip to the handlebars making them easily accessible to us. Maybe someone here builds dirt bikes and can enlighten me with catalogues


edit: It is always the top of my legs that freeze. I have a hat and gloves, with a good coat and 80's leg warmers that I shouldn't be admitting too. Keeping my thighs warm is an issue this could really help with though. Not that it is the idea of the product at all
 
I'm always on the lookout for some suitable discarded warehouse shipping protective type clear plastic material, like a large version of that infernal toy packaging which is nearly impossible to open on Christmas morning. :x
Then again, mine is a junk bike conversion which I got for free when I helped a friend move. :lol:
 
Claimed aero advantage is similar to a tri-bar, which seems about the most you could expect. Upside is that you don't need to get into full time trial mode, but I think you would still need an extreme tuck for maximum effect. Downside is you now can't easily rest on your forearms. Front fairings are always a compromise between wind and weather protection on the one hand and weight, noise and vulnerability to crosswinds on the other. This is an interesting variant. It doesn't make a great barbag so I wouldn't pay that much for it, but I might try experimenting with something similar. :?
 
I've had my eye out for something to work as a nice cheap front fairing. The easiest thing would a be large plastic chip/snack/party bowl (which is essentially a dome). At sub-sonic speeds, the front only needs to be rounded, not pointy for an aero advantage. I am going to do something like this for my road pedal bike. I don't race anymore and so no reason to not use illegal equipment for a speed advantage.
 
hmmm... This renews some ideas for my setup. I already have a Pelican box on the front of my bike. Maybe an aero cone will help
 
Integrated light and fairing looks kind cool :

$(KGrHqF,!nUFIjRYl4!cBSN37ltcDw~~60_3.JPG


http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-LED-Head-Light-Turn-Signal-Motorcycle-Street-Fighter-Dual-Sport-W-Switch-/400620142736?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d46d24090&vxp=mtr



WHITE ONE is 49.95 and the BLACK ONE is 949.95 :shock: :shock:
 
After seeing the difference in downhill speeds between riders with triathlon aero bikes in a tight tuck vs guys like myself on a tall conventional roadbike, I'm absolutely sold on doing whatever is possible to reduce my wind losses.

Bikes like these absolutely rip with a rider in proper aero gear in a tight tuck. Perhaps >10mph advantage in downhills than I could achieve on my own setup.

ceepo_viper.jpg


cervelo-p5-fastest-triathlon-bike-537x368.jpg


Here are some easy areas to improve aero without substantial bike changes.
http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/technique-aerodynamics-on-a-budget-29471/


However, since we're commuting not racing, we don't need to be restricted to no fairing rules and restrictive aero rules etc. We can choose to run whatever aero aids we like, and I think many of us would have the potential for very large range increases and speed increases with the additional of well designed body work.

These have some pics of things to get your aero juices flowing. :)

CervelowRAAMfairing2.jpg


http://www.recumbents.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3029
 
Yup, those guys on the full TT rigs with skinsuits and aero helmets, shoe covers - they are requiring only about 450watts to go 30mph. That would look like about 560watts on our power meters (accounting for system efficiency of 80%).

Here's a simple graphic for frontal area. I got it from one of the recumbent sites. Most ebikers would look even 'larger' than the left most position. You guys with the bars and saddles really high up - you are parachutes! :lol:
 
I did my 64mile pedal-only race on my roadbike with an un-powered hubmotor for weight, in a headwind, from the mostly sitting up position due to back pain from a previous injury. I've got to come up with a better riding position than this, and I don't care how goofy it looks if I have a few plastic shells hanging off here and there if it buys me real performance.

Ive got access to large-ish scale quality 3D printing for the cost of materials. We can create models in CAD, we've got many CAD superhero nerds on ES. We can even print in internal support webbing and direct clamp-on brackets to make trying new versions extremely easy. During development and testing (rolling down a known hill and comparing speed profiles from the Strava Logs).
I've got access to good large scale CNC equipment, surfboard foam, and vacuum forming press and materials.

Give me your dream fairing concept veloman (or any others who make a better design? ) and I will have a batch made and give the best guys design have one for free. I think for us ebikers it should have provisions for an aero dynamic battery enclosure as well.

I don't know how tough foam molds are. If we had enough interested people we could do a nice plywood tool and make hundreds. I would want to give the business side of it to some ES member who is more responsible who would likely enjoy it and could use extra income. :)
 
We could have 3d printer nerds on ES make various interior mounting options, custom printed for what you wanted. Perhaps with integrated CA holders or controller fan holders and headlight mounts and perhaps DC-DC converter mount with a smart phone dash holding bracket and charger. I think a switched true contactor power disconnect holder mount, and auto-precharge circuit should also be inside the vacuum formed aero nose shell, so it's dry and not hanging off somewhere causing drag. We have the nerd power here to have it a full blown open-source smart-phone interface dashboard if we wanted. :)

We have an amazing talent pool in our community. Let's make something that gives DIY ebikers a serious edge in speed/range/convenience/weatherproofing. :)

DIY'ers will always lead industry to innovation.
 
Can anyone think of a product that is essentially what we need to be a front fairing? I've been looking at large plastic fruit bowls, dome suppliers, even some dome trash can lids. The bowl I got today at the grocery store was $1 but it needs tweaking. I will update when I figure out the best, cheapest way to make it road worthy.

I did just buy a cafe fairing on eBay for my motorcycle, nicely discounted. But most of those aren't cheap or ideally shaped or very lightweight

I will post a pic later of this airtech fairing that was used on a bike, that was linked to a site from Craig Vetter's site.
 
Just draw what you imagine the best shape looks like for reducing drag of the human/rider package. Don't worry about manufacturing, focus on design and I can have test models printed the same day the CAD model is finished.
 
As humans we allways look in mother nature to get best designs. *(exept hemp fibre) :evil:

How about a shape with the smile like a Dolphin ?
bottle-nose-dolphin.jpg.jpg
:mrgreen:
 
Find a model of a jet fighter or aeroplane.
Cut the nose off and Scale it up.

Seems like the easiest way to do it. Maybe you have to adjust the wideness for bike duty, but yeah.

I think that a pre-made object would be preferential though, 4sure.

I have the same problem as you, Luke. My wrists will never be the same after a rail line caught my front wheel and sent me flying at 20mph onto pavement. Any upright aero aids would be awesome.

I can tell you what DOESN'T work though. Those moped windscreens.
http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Pro...ice={device}&gclid=CKeE8vKExrwCFcVFMgodojQA6g
Didn't drop a single watt of power use at 40mph, despite trying my best to duck behind it. What a shame.
 
I always thought some sort of exo-skeleton like sidepanels that could move and be flexible would be the only way I would trust myself inside one of those fairing capsules. I don't know how it could be done, but I keep seeing a tent/hanglider apparatus in my mind. I like the clear front bubble, it would be great to design a system around that. Another great feature would be a capsule with two positions, one for ultimate aero, and then a second one for sitting up straight. The whole mechanism could be attached to the rider somehow and just move with you effortlessly.
 
For aerodynamic optimization you just have to look at the top end Velomobiles.
And i think we have atleast two mebers on the forum with velomobils, Kai and wojtek.


Milans smaller model is claimed (from the manufacturer) to achive 60km/h at 185W.
the 24hour record for human powered vehicle is set in one of thise at 50.8 kph average ( a total of 1219 km)
http://www.whpva.org/land.html#380
 
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