mstateglfr 

A triple? A triple?!? What is this, a touring bike or a performance machine?
University of Toronto should feel embarrassed!***

squirtdad

hotbike As always, your well thought out and advanced designs are not appreciated as they should be.

hotbike

Fairings cover the upper part of the wheel. The upper part of the wheel is moving twice the velocity of the bike, so it is twice as important. (You realize, no matter how fast you are moving, the contact-patch of your tire, in contact with the ground, at any given moment, is Not moving?).

Happy Feet

This wouldn't even be that hard to make. Apparently the nullwinds link posted earlier has the front wheel fairing, an integrated teardrop shaped seat bag would not be that hard to make/source and that just leaves the front handlebar fairing, of which I know I've seen several plexiglass models.Add tri spoke and disc wheels and there you go.

I also think bike choice would help. Perhaps a soft ride design would eliminate turbulence from the seat post/stays and make a rear wheel fairing similar to the nullwind possible.

hotbike

Focusing on the THEORETICAL LIMITS in the lower left of the chart. It really drives home the concept that aerodynamic drag is the only reason bicyclists don’t get speeding tickets...


I’m starting with a new upright design, I realize the corners need to be rounded, but that has to wait for a molded version, and the molded version has to wait for a mass produced frame, or else the fairing won’t fit the frame. Experiments with flat, angled plates show the front fairing needs to be angled no more than 54° to the horizontal, and the rear Tailbox should have an 11° taper.

The chart the IHPVA published in 1983 © Douglas Malewicki

The BUY-CYCLE . Part of the economy.

hotbike

My own experiments, (23rd prototype at this point in time) all point to the conclusion that effective aerodynamic Fairings could be constructed within the envelope and parameters of typical bicycle baskets and/or fairings. Two ways of doing it would be either a touring bike, as we’ve been discussing in this thread, or as a cargo bike, which would open up more possibilities.
The touring bike would need a large 3rd chainring, but I believe such a touring bike could out-sprint a time-trial bike. It would limit the available pannier space, but I believe it could be done.
The main hinderance to production of a fairing/pannier System setup would be incompatibility issues with different frames, and sizes of frames. Would make a custom bike cost an astronomical fee (but isn’t that the point of a custom bike?)
I see similarities between fairings and the cargo carriers on bike share systems, and it also points to the conclusion that injection molded plastic fairings would be economical if all the bikes were identical.

hotbike

Newest directional signals test

RChung

Have you measured the aerodynamic drag of any of your designs? How much do they help?

hotbike

The Type 4, which had only a front fairing mounted, but no tail fairing, was timed rolling downhill, compared to an unfaired bike , and by _extrapolation_ the drag coefficient was determined to be .38 .
I don’t have a wind tunnel.
Im much older now, I’ve had a couple of injuries and a couple of medical conditions.
I can say that the fairings help with headwinds, definitely. But I haven’t been able to obtain an 84t chainring, which would allow the aerodynamic advantage to be demonstrated on flat ground.

hotbike

This bike, which was the seventeenth prototype, but is now reworked into the twenty-fourth prototype, is very bulky, to maximize the carrying capacity, and the weather protection for the rider.
I enjoy riding my creations, I have more creature-comforts than most bikers. I see a big difference with the number of lights leading more drivers to pass with more distance.
I could make a faster bicycle, but it would be near fully enclosed, requiring a pit crew to seal the hatch, and it would be only useful for 200 meter sprints.
I rushed this bike out the door as soon as the last signal light was soldered in, and there was a concert in progress when I got to Glen Cove.

Milton Keynes

I don't want to dissuade anyone from experimenting, but I'm guessing that the OP's design will probably cause more drag than riding without it. And frankly, I want the wind while riding on hot days as it keeps me cooled off. If there's no wind on me evaporating my sweat then I'm going to overheat really quickly.

hotbike

Maybe, depending on whether the fairing and panniers are optimized for cargo capacity, or for speed... a low profile would help you go faster, but you can’t carry any significant amount of cargo, maybe a loaf of bread (the word “pannier” is derived from a French word meaning bread-carrier) .
But you will learn to appreciate the fairing on cold days, I recommend studded tires account of black ice.
These latest designs btw, are based on my touring bike design of 1987. My daughter designed the ladies version/cargo bike in 1991, but it requires an expensive monocoque to be built. It’s going to be expensive to do it over again. I want to have a cheaper alternative available for people who can’t afford the cargo bike, hence the touring bike.
Keep in mind, I’m using Coroplast ©, and it’s going to yield a boxier result than fiberglass or carbon. I can’t settle on a final design account of the variations in bike designs available on the market, this is no one-size-fits-all device.
I may have to have the frames welded in China or Viet Nam. I see a similarity in the design of the CitiBike, which has something on the handlebars, a protective shield and cargo carrier, very similar to a fairing (and the aerodynamics are not of prime importance considering the speed limit in New York is 25MPH).
It is important to have the frame and fairing matching at the design stage, and the templates must fit exactly to ensure successful manufacture.
I want to provide a resource guide and database to other experimenters.

shelbyfv

These are cool looking and someone has already done the heavy thinking.

hotbike

Everyone who’s tried those says they’re great, but I’m hoping we can have something Bicycle-specific manufactured.
Not sure how you might make a fairing or front basket with those buckets.
I’d like to compare dimensions.



My panniers are one piece, left and right together, and the sides are higher than the rack. The rear pannier/tailbox is easier to mount on the bike account of the rear rack, which is pretty much standard, while the fairing for the handlebars requires custom made hardware...

Mounting hardware for handlebars

Milton Keynes

I do admit to being amused at how these homemade bike attachments have model numbers.

shelbyfv

I can see that it might be hard to tell one white plastic box from another. I expect the model numbers will be needed when they go into production.

pgjackson

And barefoot.

hotbike

I need to know which one the (potential) customer is referring to. The one with the biggest cargo space holds about six times more volume than the most aerodynamic model.
I’m trying to lay the groundwork for a possible business, and I don’t want a monopoly. I expect and encourage others to make their own version. I do in fact have a competitor- CitiBike.
CitiBike has most of the features, the plastic shield on the handlebars perhaps the most noticeable...

Germany_chris

320 puts all the weight too far up IMHO, the idea is the get the weight as close to the axle's as possible

hotbike

M320 Pannier/Tailbox

The M320 is 21” deep overall, 14” above the rack shelf, 7” below. Heavy items should be placed in the pannier wells.
If the panniers are any deeper, there then needs to be a cutout to prevent heel-strike.

The M320 is tapered, narrower at the rear, and is overall more aerodynamic because it’s in the riders wake.

Germany_chris

Which brings us bag around to bags

hotbike

Chart shows “Touring-arms straight” , but doesn’t show bags. Bags I’m sure would add resistance aerodynamic. Tapered Tailbox has been shown to reduce wind resistance.

hotbike

You could write a letter to CitiBike, tell them the carrier on the handlebars should be a bag...

Germany_chris

So we're going to ignore weight distribution of a rider on a bike, even more so on and upright bike?

I have no real problem with what you're doing but please make honest arguments.

hotbike

Deeper Panniers require a cut-out to prevent heel-strike