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Road bicycle fairing

Add aerodynamic fairing to a regular bicycle
  (+2, -5)
(+2, -5)
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against]

Similar to what they are doing with recumbent racers. Maybe aluminum wireform, with sailcloth stetched over it. You could put a heater in there for the winter. Make one of these with an electric hubmotor. Chip
chipperbuilt, Dec 19 2007

TERMINATOR (third one down) http://www.lmb.org/...a/olditems/members/
was the fastest upright bicycle at the 1989 International Human Powered Speed Championships [baconbrain, Dec 19 2007]

(?) The Stormy Weather Velomobile http://www.lightfoo...m/stormyweather.htm
Stormys have been specifically designed for practical street use. [baconbrain, Dec 19 2007]

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       It's been done. But it isn't easy to make or use.
baconbrain, Dec 19 2007
  

       totally baked
Murdoch, Dec 19 2007
  

       I remember seeing races with such equipped bikes when I was a child. And I'm almost a geezer today.   

       Of course, I haven't really seen them since, perhaps for the very reason [nitritenoggin] suggests, so if [chipper] bears a rear ear moistness level greater than I and has Googlephobia, I can understand.
globaltourniquet, Dec 19 2007
  

       Cross winds?
Texticle, Dec 19 2007
  

       Crosswinds, indeed.   

       Faired bikes are very baked. There were some remarkable upright streamliners back in the 1930s before the cycling governing bodies banned them from their competitions. Now they occupy an unattractive niche between race-legal unfaired uprights and inevitably faster faired recumbents.
david_scothern, Dec 19 2007
  

       Sidewinds are a pain, indeed. I had a Zzipper handlebar fairing for a while, and found that to be a handful in gusty winds, or whenever a car passed. I'd hate to be out on a public road in an upright fairing.   

       Convert to recumbency, as I have, then think about fairings. See link to a recumbent three-wheeler, the Velomobile.
baconbrain, Dec 19 2007
  

       [bacon], you're a recumbent rider? Me too!
david_scothern, Dec 21 2007
  

       Cool! Yes. I regard it as some sort of logical progression--from drop-handlebar ten-speeds to mountain bikes to recumbents. I have a Lightfoot fat-tire recumbent, which is why I know their site.   

       I've tried fairings at various times on various bikes. I even experienced a three-wheeler built out of a BD-5 airplane fuselage.   

       By and large, permanent fairings aren't worth messing with, nor are full enclosures worth carrying. Other than flatland racing in cool weather, I'd leave 'em alone. A front fairing in winter, maybe.   

       Streamlining and fairings work best on low trikes, not as well on two-wheel recumbents, and would be sudden death on a two-wheel upright bike.
baconbrain, Dec 21 2007
  

       I have an ex-Russian trike; it's not as fast as a two-wheeler but wouldn't be so susceptible to crosswinds. However, where I live is a continuous series of hills and junctions, so I'm not running a fairing because of the weight.
david_scothern, Dec 22 2007
  

       Common use? If there's more than one fairing per ten thousand upright bikes on the road, I'd be amazed.
david_scothern, Dec 24 2007
  

       It's a common idea, but it's not in common use because it's a bad idea.   

       Most of those links show fairings for recumbents. This idea is for a full fairing for uprights, which is much less workable.
baconbrain, Dec 24 2007
  

       True, and fair point.
baconbrain, Dec 24 2007
  

       Sorry, [UB], if you think I like this. I'm on cold medicine right now, and not being clear.   

       As an idea, it lacks originality. It's baked, alright. But it isn't widely known, because it's so bad that nobody ever does it. I'm referring to a full fairing on an upright bicycle.   

       I searched the internet, and found only one picture of a faired upright bike. Fairings on recumbents are widely known. That's what [Chip] wants to copy for his upright bike. But, as I said in my first anno, "It's been done. But it isn't easy to . . . use."   

       But it hasn't been done often--full fairings on upright bikes, I mean--because it's a bad idea. [Chip] as a non-cyclist wouldn't have known that.   

       Nobody is liking this idea. We are only (for some reason) saying that full fairings for upright bikes aren't in common use. Partial fairings (Zzipper) for uprights are not nearly as common as they were before recumbents became popular, and they were rare then. Full fairings for uprights are nowhere to be seen, and rightly so.   

       Recumbent fairings are common, yes. That's the inspiration for this post. Which doesn't qualify as an Halfbakery idea in any way--"put a bike thing on a different bike" is what it is.   

       Full fairings for uprights are a bad idea. So are roller skates on moose. But neither are common.   

       Sorry, I should have let this go. But I don't want you thinking I'm disagreeing with you. Especially not on Christmas Day.
baconbrain, Dec 25 2007
  

       What [bacon] said. The poster's specifically talking about upright bikes (regular bicycles) as distinct from recumbents.   

       I'd disagree that it's a bad idea - if you're riding in still air, or a velodrome, where they were very successful. What I would say instead is that it's a departure from the conventional, and thus barred from competition. If you're willing to leave the conventional behind and use a fairing, you're probably willing to take a recumbent too.   

       "Most, but not all" of your linked designs are for recumbents. Most, but not all bikes are unfaired, and of those that are, the great majority are recumbents. I've never seen a faired bike of any description on the road; when I do, I'll probably be the rider - and it'll be my recumbent.   

       May I remind you that "baked" is not a valid [m-f-d]. What you need is "widely known to exist" - and this one isn't widely known by any means. I agree that it's not novel, but then I've spent a disproportionate amount of time wandering the 'net in search of faired recumbents. As for the "redundant" - I'd suggest that the "inflatable fairing" idea was aimed primarily at comfort, whereas this one is mainly for aerodynamics.   

       This leaves me with a conundrum. I'm aware of this technology, but in my opinion the man in the street isn't. I suggest this idea should remain for the edification of the knowlessmen.
david_scothern, Dec 25 2007
  

       You get baked and marked for expiry?
david_scothern, Dec 25 2007
  

       I'd like to see a faired penny-farthing. That would be fun to ride. Or rather, to watch other people ride.
egbert, Dec 26 2007
  

       Or rather, to watch other people try to ride.   

       Especially when they have to run with it to get it going, then try to unzip the fairing to get on, then zip it up again without losing momentum ....
8th of 7, Dec 27 2007
  

       Building one out of an Atreides-style force field would help with that.
egbert, Dec 27 2007
  

       Yes, but penny-farthings don't do well on sand dunes ...
8th of 7, Dec 27 2007
  

       It would spice things up a bit.
egbert, Dec 27 2007
  

       You always have to Voice an opinion, don't you ? Still, if it suits you ..
8th of 7, Dec 27 2007
  

       Hawat's up with you? We're all fremen here.
egbert, Dec 27 2007
  

       There is only one non-baked bicycle fairing...a semi-truck at 55 mph.   

       ;)
crankshaw, Dec 22 2008
  


 

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