Something for Bicyclists!
 

...found this chart and thought it might be useful to our bicyclists!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_urSQl6wUA5...drag_chart.jpg

ol tele man.....
your on a tear today!!!!! :eek: :thumbup:

The partial fairing , riding crouched has ~ .70 cd
as compared to just riding crouched ~ .83 cd


I might make one of the little fairings for my Quintana roo Traiatholon bike I am slowly building.

Yes, this is from the now famous article in Scientific American Dec. 1983 on human powered vehicles. I have been designing fairings for upright bikes for a number of years with the goal of selling plans online. Search for images of 'upright bicycle fairings'. I posted a pic in the Alternative Transportation section some time ago. We share data with the motorcycle people since a mountain bike is about 7/8 the size of a motorcycle.

Unfaired lowracers (velocraft nocom, etc) are conspicuously absent...

I've started saving up for the moon bike. I hope it's a 100 speed gear set.

+1

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/f...psf947f8c8.jpg

>

200 mph on lunar surface
 

I think one of the AeroVironment guys said that a bike on the Moon would be good for 200 mph.

There's a reason why recumbents are illegal in the Tour de France.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...95955147_n.jpgbeen there done that

Sew-up tires. Wow. I think that was before they invented helmets too. I was a weight weeny meself so I would have not looked at any HPVs no matter how fast they are on flats.

I was a teenager when I was last using sew up tires on my racing bike, I am now using clinchers on my 20lbs mtb , that I ride on the road and some dirt trails with ( gently)
Still to this day the bicycle road racers use the sew up tires (tubular's) for their weight savings and low rr

I used to put slicks on my GT Aluminium hardtail to go around and join the local Critical Mass rides. Massive improvements over the knobbies.

I am not really sure about sewup in use nowadays. Part of the reason is about weight distribution on the 26in. The little weight of clinchers on the edge actually helps if you go long distance. You tend to coast easier as rotational moments are bigger and therefore dissipate less as you coast. Less effort to maintain a certain speed. But if you're doing Keirin/Time Attack you'd go simply for the lightest or with less thread count/ply.

You can see this effect on cars. Big cars that used to be on 13in rims now sport 18in. They help on the highways to maintain speed so you could just feather the throttle. But they suffer in stop-go traffic where smaller tyres fit the usage profile.

Clinchers are making there way onto the top racers bikes

New Specialized clincher TT tire at the Tour de France - BikeRadar

I am using Fat boy 26 x 1.25 slicks on my mtb , Perhaps not a true clincher but they do run at a 100 psi ..

Check out Stan's NoTubes conversion to tubeless tires first used in MTB and 700c touring tires. The rolling resistance is reported to be half that of a tube and tire combo.

So, are solid tires gonna make a comeback...especially for racing cyclists?

I have an idea for a solid racing tire , It should be made of carbon rubber compound full of empty space geodesic cavities that will provide spring and strength as well as lightness.

I am sure I'm not the first / only one to think up the design so its here for anyone to run with .. lol

Not sure about carbon tires, but ZIPP makes sinfully delicious Carbon Rims. Been lusting over them for ages. But you sort of think about price/performance over these things. When I started out, I was madly looking for everything carbon. As time passes by; you realize that they are purely just tools. Eventually it boils down to your own fitness level. When you are training for endurance you always reach out for the heavier set and you reserve the carbon for Race day.

Carbon Fiber is attractive , and absorbs vibration very well , Mt mtb handlebars and part of the front suspension forks are carbon fiber. My other bike gas rigid carbon fiber forks and handlebars ,its pretty and extra lite.