bpcyclist

Another way I have heard aero people/researchers discuss this is that, the slower you go, the greater the gains aero improvement can actually make as a percentage of your overall speed over time. Faster folks have lower percentage gains due to aero wheels, say, than a slower rider will.

nomadmax 

Any clothing you can hear at speeds above 15mph isn't what you want.

Buy used as mentioned @ thrift stores and CL.

Leisesturm

I'm just hoping that the o.p. doesn't ride the Raleigh Redux with the saddle slammed like in the photo. I have found running clothes to be a bit cheaper than cycling clothes and just as aerodynamic. Pearl Izumi shorts with chamois and some kind of running tight over that is fine for Oregon winters. I don't think I would need more than that blue fleece in San Jose. But if I did it would be a Gore Path jacket with zip off sleeves.

sean.hwy

ha-ha. I let my 5 foot friend borrow it.

sean.hwy

For the same day/weather/etc hiking I can usually wear just shorts, almost never a jacket and a lot of times no shirt. Gets hot hiking up steep hills.
On a bike on the same day/weather/etc I get cold doing 20+. I guess I am wind chill wimp.

ChrisAlbertson

No. That can't work. Try putting working in some numbers and you will see. If I am riding at 8 MPH and I drop down so that my upper body is completely horizontal and I put on skin tight clothing i will NOT pick up even 1 MPH. At that low speed all the rage is just rolling resistance. But at 20+ it is easy to pick up 1 MPH with no effort. I can get this by looking on the bike computer.

Another example is easy to test. Try drafting another bike at 8 MPH. There is no noticeable effect but at 3X that speed it is like being sucked forward and the effect is obvious.

The air drag force is proportional to the cube of the speed. If the speed doubles the drag is 8X more.

Back on-topic. It never gets below low 50s here so I don't know much about riding is rralycold weather except to say dress in layers that can be removed and stored in the jersey's back pockets. Arm warmers are small and easy to store and so is a thin merino wool base layer under the jersey. If over heated, stop and swap. Use a jersey with solid from to break the wind, then on the uphill climbs unzip it. Dress so you can remove and unzip as you heat up.

Even name brands are cheap on eBay, lots of good like-new stuff for 25% or less of new price.

bpcyclist

It was a scientific article. I'll dig it up and post the link.

bpcyclist

The cycling aerodynamics paper I was referencing is like, 50 pages long. But here is a wheelmaker with a long history of working in aerodynamics running various F1 teams discussing the concept I brought up during a visit to the Airbus wind tunnel with a journalist. I'm sure I didn't probably phrase it just exactly perfectly, but the general idea about the benefits to slower riders is, I think, essentially what I was getting at: https://road.cc/content/feature/2138...ow-wind-tunnel.

woodcraft

Those spoke thingies are costing speed/effort...

sean.hwy

yeah thats true, That's my commuter bike I ride to and from work at night before this whole work from home thing. They are highly reflective for my rides home after work.


Maybe I should switch to reflective time on the rims instead? Or just reflective tape on the bike ? I have a front and rear light.

woodcraft

3 or 4 per wheel might give pretty much the same effect...

canklecat

Snug clothing isn't just faster on the bike. It also reduces buffeting from crosswinds. I finally switched to more aero jerseys and jacket for my road bike rides this winter and immediately noticed a difference. Yeah, I was a little faster when I put some effort into it. But the main difference was reduced buffeting from crosswinds. On days with 15-30 mph wind whipping around erratically, that lends a little more confidence, especially riding in traffic where I don't want to wobble unpredictably.

Iride01 

Actually I don't think about increased speed with cycling specific clothing. Other than just not having a shirt or jacket act like a parachute when opened. For me it's about having clothing that fits close enough to act as a outer skin. That way, if it's moving with you, then all the chaffing will be fabric on fabric, not fabric to skin. Also, the close fit maximizes getting sweat away from your body and to the outer part of the fabric were evaporative cooling from airflow can take place.

rydabent

Makes a difference what you ride. For the most part if you ride a recumbent or a trike, you dont need high priced clothes to protect you from your bike.

big john

The jerseys I linked are around $30. The point of a jersey is sweat management, along with aerodynamics, and the rear pockets provide storage. The cold weather gear works on any bike, obviously.
The shorts also provide moisture management and some decent ones can be had for $45 in the link.
The fast recumbent riders I know wear bike specific clothing for the same reasons the rest of us do except I have seen recumbent jerseys with pockets on the front. Don't know about the chamois they do or don't use.
I'm sure you can ride your 'bent in anything just as an upright rider can. It's more rider preference than bike type.
I know you couldn't resist getting a shot in against upright bikes. You've been slacking off lately.

Iride01 

Interesting that riding a recumbent doesn't require clothing that doesn't chafe or remove heat and sweat away from a persons body.

CAT7RDR

So how do we know you are a bent rider if you do not show a pic of your flag?

Carbonfiberboy 

It's actually not surprising. We're a 144 y.o. tandem team and my stoker has an FTP of 75w. We've zoomed by every recumbent we've seen on our side of the road. Not saying that there aren't fast recumbents, we've just never seen one. So for the most part he's right, no need for any of that.

big john

Like I said, more rider preference than bike type. There was a young guy who rode a titanium 'bent with our club a few years ago. He was a strong rider and would do climbing rides with us. He wore bike specific clothing.
Another friend rode a custom carbon fiber 'bent which he said was about 17 pounds. He went very fast on the flats and descents. He even raced the velodrome with it when they had a special event.
In 2008 John Schlitter became the first recumbent rider to finish Race Across America. He also wears bike clothes.

BlazingPedals

I don't claim to be in the same league as John Schlitter, but I've been known to pass a few bikes. For the most part I wear regular bike-specific stuff, including the padded shorts. I may not need the pad as a pad but it's still useful for chafe- and sweat-control.

big john

I forgot to mention to you that I saw the owner/builder of CarBent ( it was you I chatted with about him?) and he was riding an e-trike off road with another friend. I got a kick out of that.

Classtime 

This is old news but if your serious about going as fast as your new bike wants to go...
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/p...ng-buck-221256
I don't have a power meter so I know nothing about this stuff, but 46 watts saved for wearing a skin suit seems like a great deal of additonal speed for no additional effort. 18 watts for shoe covers?

ChrisAlbertson

They tested at 30 MPH. At 20 MPH the amount of saving is less by a factor of 3.3 That seem a lot but remeber that drag is the cube of the speed. A change that buys you a 1W saving at 20 MPH buys you an 3.3W saving at 30 MPH. The clothing helps very fast riders a lot more than it helps slower riders
So at our speed, 20 MPH, the clothing saves about 10 Watts. I think this perfectly answers the question about what to wear at 20+ MPH

10 Watts is a reasonable amount of energy. It is art twice as much as a iPhone charger can deliver and converted to food -- if you do a two hour ride 10W uses about 17 Kilocalories. So keep the baggy clothing and you can eat 1/2 teaspoon more sugar.

rydabent

As to cost, on my bents I wear rugby shorts I get from Sheels sports stores that I get for $15 on sale. I wear T-shirts that I mainly get from the bike club for free for riding or running sag stops. The main point here is the shorts DF riders need to protect them from their seat. With my "lawn chair" seat no such protection is needed.

rydabent

What chafing? On a bent there are no high pressure points to cause chafing, because we are sitting on top of a web seat. Sweating so what. Take a shower when you get home.