Fairings for Upright Bikes!
Has anyone done much with faired upright bikes lately?
Any elegant, effective solutions come up? I’m talking fast,
light, not too clumsy, etc.
I’m not talking about those old photos from the early days,
or even about those Zzipper handlebar shields. I mean something
more dialed in for contemporary equipment and materials.
Specifically, I would think that aerobars would make a fine
mount for a nicely compact and aero windshield and lower
nosecone/bubble which could then extend down to the fork ends
to fair the legs.
Here’s a link to a report with a nifty sketch and an experiment I did with this concept awhile ago: outyourbackdoor.com/OYB8/bikes/bikeaerobag.html
Fairing the rear doesn’t seem too hard—just make a clamshell
fairing that shrouds most/all of the rear wheel down to the
rider’s heel, or covering the rear derailleur and which extends
up to above the seat level to fair the back/butt/pelvis.
One could even arrange for flex-doors possibly from front>back.
Heck, why not also had a butt push plate, like the euro-racers
tried to use awhile back and which was banned. If you’re not in
a race, why not just enjoy the extra speed. Or for that matter,
why not try that Italian clip harness thing. Banned for them,
might be nice for us. Good for changing muscle groups, etc.
Upright fairings, if done in a bright color, would possibly: be much
more visible and thus safer, improve speed/range, make riding cooler
in
summer, warmer in winter, keep bike and you cleaner, drier, provide some
crash pro (coroplast doors are amazingly rugged & abrasion resistant),
be a great way to shape panniers and other cargo space
for faster hauling/touring, result in less stressful riding due to
less noise, buffeting, turbulence (same diff b/w riding motorcycle with
or without fairings…one is fresher afterward with). All for a penalty
of maybe 5 pounds.
I know they wouldn’t be legal except in events with faired classes,
but how much of our riding is done in events anyway? In how much
of our riding would we appreciate a few of the gains as above?
I recall seeing a carbon under aero-bar ‘Bullet’ fairing for sale for
awhile,
then it seemed to disappear. Didn’t work? It may be have designed as
a fairing/water-tank/pannier combo unit which would seem to have
been handy. How did they work?
How many other aero/speed/power gains are readily available out
there which are banned to racers but which might readily/cheaply come
in handy
for civilians? (Non-drug, of course.) Why shouldn’t we give them a whirl?