Wow! Here is my Vision for the perfect E-Bike fairing!

[John in CR]

Here's how we should be building fairings, http://gaboats.com/

Kevlar roving over a lightweight wooden frame. Then stretch Dacron over it and shrink it tight and smooth with a heat gun. If you can make something safe for the water like this at 8 pounds
View attachment 1

or this at 10 pounds,


imagine how light our fairings can be. Forget that fugly colorplast stuff. 8)

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

LI-ghtcycle;

If you want to work with coroplast fairings, here is link to my friend Ed Gin's coroplast seminar. The seminar is geared toward recumbents, you can applied it to upright e-bikes too.

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/gin/fairingseminar.htm

Thanks! Here is another site that I have recently found, great ideas on both of these sights. I heading out to the garage to finally build the tail box& cargo pod system I have always wanted to have on my bike!

http://www.triketrek11.com/the-machines.html

However, with the HUGE and I do mean HUGE aero advantages of a recumbent, even before using a fairing, I am reluctant to do much for an up-right, the rewards just aren't half of what they are with a recumbent, and that includes a lack of back, shoulder, arm and other body pain (butt pain? :lol: ) that is common with up-rights or wedgie bikes as many 'bent riders refer to them. :wink:

Once you're 'bent, you don't go back! 8)

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Here's how we should be building fairings, http://gaboats.com/

Kevlar roving over a lightweight wooden frame. Then stretch Dacron over it and shrink it tight and smooth with a heat gun. If you can make something safe for the water like this at 8 pounds
View attachment 1

or this at 10 pounds,


imagine how light our fairings can be. Forget that fugly colorplast stuff. 8)

Love the dacron & kevlar, however, it will never be as cheap and accessible (free recycled coroplast signs too!) as a $5 - $7 4 x 8ft sheet of coroplast.

I get electrical conduit PVC for $0.20 a foot in 10 foot lengths, and a few zip ties, and I am into something for less than $30 that will build enough for most projects.

Also, wood frames aren't as forgiving nor maintenance free as plastic.

I do love the idea of a structural shrink-wrap however!

I'm about to combine my "pickle barrel" plastic, coroplast and PVC & metal construction to make a very stout tailbox and hard side panniers together today.

I'll start a new post soon. 8)

 

[Warren]

LI-ghtcycle,

I have a Zzipper front fairing kit, that I plan to mount soon. However, I am probably not going to go further than that on a light, two wheeler. Here is why.

http://mrbill.homeip.net/bikeAlbums.php#abortedSF.2012.01.07

Bill has most likely more miles on a fully faired bike than anybody on this forum. He has done descents at 60 mph, and averaged 27 mph for over 100 mountainous miles at a time. Sooner or later, you get caught.

Warren

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

LI-ghtcycle,

I have a Zzipper front fairing kit, that I plan to mount soon. However, I am probably not going to go further than that on a light, two wheeler. Here is why.

http://mrbill.homeip.net/bikeAlbums.php#abortedSF.2012.01.07

Bill has most likely more miles on a fully faired bike than anybody on this forum. He has done descents at 60 mph, and averaged 27 mph for over 100 mountainous miles at a time. Sooner or later, you get caught.

Warren

Sorry, I haven't had time to read that article yet, but the tailbox I am building is more about storage than anything else.

I too hope to buy another Zzipper fairing for this bike, I really like how much more aero they make any bike.

 

[MadRhino]

Once you're 'bent, you don't go back! 8)

Of course, that would be gay.

 

[chisixer6]

LI-ghtcyle;

"that is common with up-rights or wedgie bikes as many 'bent riders refer to them".


some of us bent riders here in the midwest call them up-wrong... just joking

in refer to bending coloplast, I believe if you want smooth gentle bend, bend it 90 degrees to the coroplast rib, sharp bends, bend parallel to the ribs.