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The shape was good, but it was too big. Air drag is cd * A (drag coefficient * area). They greatly improved cd, but added a lot of unnecessary A. A tall and skinny fairing would have produced even better results.
Good on them for testing all the exhaust gases, too. Though the bikes were more fuel efficient (and the aero bike was best of all), the other emissions (hydrocarbon, CO, NOx) were much higher - 5+ times worse.
The test looked reasonably scientific. They used an in-motion exhaust gas analyzer. They used the most popular car and bike model from the 80's, 90's and 00's (6 vehicles total). The drove the cars and bikes together on the route three separate times to eliminate variables.
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11-mile commute: 100 mpg - - - Tank: 90.2 mpg / 1191 miles
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