The wind effect

[Doctorbass]

While i was driving at 35kph, I observed that if i try to optimize my body from the wind friction, the power goes from 300 to 210W...

That's around 30% less power needed and maybe 40-50% more range if taking account od the peukert effect with lower current battery performance gain.


I wonder if i install a pocket bike front windshield and light body part kit would sinificaly help for aerodynamism..and power consumption..

I guess it could..

Doc

 

[knightmb]

While i was driving at 35kph, I observed that if i try to optimize my body from the wind friction, the power goes from 300 to 210W...

That's around 30% less power needed and maybe 40-50% more range if taking account od the peukert effect with lower current battery performance gain.


I wonder if i install a pocket bike front windshield and light body part kit would sinificaly help for aerodynamism..and power consumption..

I guess it could..

Doc

Some members have, it does make a big difference. Of course it makes your bicycle look like a motorcycle, but it depends on how friendly your local law enforcement is.

 

[fechter]

There's always the lid from a Rubbermaid Roughneck trash bin :lol:
Not stylish, but it will not look like a motorcycle.

It just goes to show how handy it is to be able to measure the actual power consumption. You can measure the difference that any change makes.

Here's a bunch of fairing ideas:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=788&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

[xyster]

There's always the lid from a Rubbermaid Roughneck trash bin :lol:

What a great idea! Thanks Fech. A convex clear trash bin lid would nicely complement my x5's postmodern style.

 

[Beagle123]

No fetcher! Don't say stuff like that. xter will actually do it.

I realized just how powerful the wind is with my bike. I just got the gears working, and when I rode it in the faster gears the wind hit me like a wall.

In the low gears, the motor has a bit more leverage, and wind is much less. So in 5th gear, my bike accelerates nicely. But when you shift to 6th gear, the motor loses a bit of leverage, and the wind resistance goes up exponentially with speed, so its like hitting a wall. If I have a bit of wind at your back, I can accelerate, but otherwise, no way.

Even going downhill its hard to accelerate into the wind. The wind is a bigger factor than the slope at higher speeds (for me 30mph).

I have an upright bike, so I catch a lot of wind.

I"ve come to the conclusion that the tradeoff for higher speeds isn't worth having to add a bunch of power to the bike. I think if I doubled my power, I'd only go about 5mph faster. I'll be content to get a bike that happily powers throgh the wind at 30mph.

Right now 22mph = happily cruising; 28 mph = straining into wind.

 

[maxwell]

I went for a recumbent for the very reason of wind resistance.

 

[sean]

No fetcher! Don't say stuff like that. xter will actually do it.

I realized just how powerful the wind is with my bike. I just got the gears working, and when I rode it in the faster gears the wind hit me like a wall.

In the low gears, the motor has a bit more leverage, and wind is much less. So in 5th gear, my bike accelerates nicely. But when you shift to 6th gear, the motor loses a bit of leverage, and the wind resistance goes up exponentially with speed, so its like hitting a wall. If I have a bit of wind at your back, I can accelerate, but otherwise, no way.

Even going downhill its hard to accelerate into the wind. The wind is a bigger factor than the slope at higher speeds (for me 30mph).

I have an upright bike, so I catch a lot of wind.

I"ve come to the conclusion that the tradeoff for higher speeds isn't worth having to add a bunch of power to the bike. I think if I doubled my power, I'd only go about 5mph faster. I'll be content to get a bike that happily powers throgh the wind at 30mph.

Right now 22mph = happily cruising; 28 mph = straining into wind.

Beagle what type of setup do you have?? are there pictures or a thread somewhere with details??
It is driven through the gears?? is that a BB drive or??

 

[Lowell]

I went for a recumbent for the very reason of wind resistance.

Do you have any watts vs speed data from your trike?

 

[maxwell]

Not reliable ones yet, they will come.

 

[Beagle123]

Beagle what type of setup do you have?? are there pictures or a thread somewhere with details??
It is driven through the gears?? is that a BB drive or??

Hi Sean:
I'm assembling a complete report on my bike now. Check the "Scooters/Motorcycle Pics and Video" section in a couple of days.

Lots of pics and a video are coming.