It's about biking in the wind
03-21-23, 07:11 PM
#51
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 16,863
Bikes: 1980 Masi, 1984 Mondonico, 1984 Trek 610, 1980 Woodrup Giro, 2005 Mondonico Futura Leggera ELOS, 1967 PX10E, 1971 Peugeot UO-8
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1853 Post(s)
Liked 659 Times
in
502 Posts
Winds are like hills, except that they last longer. If you want relief, just turn. Ten mph is pretty minor. I don't like winds any more than anyone else. HOWEVER, a headwind has the effect of making me look like Superman(tm), especially if I'm on my lowracer. So I try not to complain. (The guys will ignore me anyway.)
03-21-23, 07:28 PM
#53
climber has-been
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Posts: 7,076
Bikes: Scott Addict R1, Felt Z1
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3402 Post(s)
Liked 3,531 Times
in
1,776 Posts
03-22-23, 02:36 PM
#54
Banned
Even a crosswind has two-thirds the vector force of a headwind so best to avoid windy areas by riding as early in the day as possible. Where my wife and I love to ride is along the coast and there is often a 15 mph wind to contend with and when we bought a couple of lightweight road e-bikes it made it a lot more bearable.
The air drag increases with the square of the rider/vehicle speed so pedaling at 15 mph and adding a 15 mph headwind quadruples the effort required. Hills are no problem, mentally, as I knew that my effort going up would be rewarded going down. But with wind that does not apply.
It can help with trip planning for a tour. I see people biking from the south to the north along the California coast where the prevailing winds are from the northwest direction. Going the opposite direction would result in less time fighting the wind.
The air drag increases with the square of the rider/vehicle speed so pedaling at 15 mph and adding a 15 mph headwind quadruples the effort required. Hills are no problem, mentally, as I knew that my effort going up would be rewarded going down. But with wind that does not apply.
It can help with trip planning for a tour. I see people biking from the south to the north along the California coast where the prevailing winds are from the northwest direction. Going the opposite direction would result in less time fighting the wind.
03-22-23, 03:05 PM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,931
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3936 Post(s)
Liked 7,257 Times
in
2,936 Posts
03-22-23, 03:42 PM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,881
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4783 Post(s)
Liked 3,902 Times
in
2,539 Posts
Went for a first day of spring ride yesterday. NE wind and strong. Rode west about 20 miles with another 7 both north and south. (Roads laid out around rectangular farms.) Going out was easy. Coming back on the fix gear - hard! Out of the saddle, in the drops and lots of arm bend on tiny rises. Horizontal back most of the ride home. Last three miles, trees and shelter. TG! Aspirin to have any chance of sleeping last night.
03-22-23, 03:47 PM
#57
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,881
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4783 Post(s)
Liked 3,902 Times
in
2,539 Posts
Do the geometry of the vectors - the wind and the bike. See the bigger vector wind velocity. Calculate the wind force (proportional to the velocity squared for that bigger velocity. Apply the in-your-face proportion of the force vector.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
03-22-23, 03:49 PM
#58
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,931
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3936 Post(s)
Liked 7,257 Times
in
2,936 Posts
Do the geometry of the vectors - the wind and the bike. See the bigger vector wind velocity. Calculate the wind force (proportional to the velocity squared for that bigger velocity. Apply the in-your-face proportion of the force vector.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
03-22-23, 03:52 PM
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,881
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4783 Post(s)
Liked 3,902 Times
in
2,539 Posts
03-22-23, 03:58 PM
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,931
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3936 Post(s)
Liked 7,257 Times
in
2,936 Posts
It's not even approximately 2/3 -- it varies a lot depending on ground velocity, wind velocity, and angle of the wind.
03-23-23, 05:39 PM
#61
Newbie
Most of the forecast we look at give 'wind 10-12 from the xyz...HOWEVER, check an aviation forecast, it will tell you that the 10-12 mph wind starting at , say 11:00 will have gust to xyz (sometimes 2-3 times the speed the regular forecast is calling for.
The wind gust can make a huge difference, but the gust will change, so looking at an aviation forecast will tell you that 'if I bike from 200-4:00 it should be miuch better, while the regular forecast calls for the same wind all day
The wind gust can make a huge difference, but the gust will change, so looking at an aviation forecast will tell you that 'if I bike from 200-4:00 it should be miuch better, while the regular forecast calls for the same wind all day
03-23-23, 08:29 PM
#62
Grupetto Bob
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,170
Bikes: Bikey McBike Face
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2557 Post(s)
Liked 5,581 Times
in
2,897 Posts
Do the geometry of the vectors - the wind and the bike. See the bigger vector wind velocity. Calculate the wind force (proportional to the velocity squared for that bigger velocity. Apply the in-your-face proportion of the force vector.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
Only way to avoid that phenomenon - stop! Eliminate your velocity vector. Cold hard reality. Yes, math and physics suck.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
03-24-23, 07:49 AM
#64
Cheerfully low end
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,971
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 644 Post(s)
Liked 1,044 Times
in
667 Posts
This graph from Jobst Brandt’s article may help folks get a sense of the power requirement for a wind equal to riding speed. I’m not really sure what someone would mean by “two-thirds”. I have a vague recollection of integrating this over the full circle and getting an average 15% increase in workload. I.e. wind is a 15% net burden to your normal speed. This weekend I’ll add it up again.
Otto
Otto
Likes For ofajen:
