Commuting - My 2013 Model Faired Bike, or maybe too much free time

My new faired commuter bike for winter riding, which I completed just today. I wanted to make this one a little smaller and lighter than my previous tries and I think I achieved that although there are a number of adjustments that need to be made.

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I had time for a test ride, unfortunately short because the Greenway is flooded in places and I don't want this in traffic until I sort out all the potential surprises. But on the short ride it worked like a charm!

Cool!
How's your peripheral/rear visibility?

Not a problem. It's hard to judge scale with everything obscured like that, but the top of the cover is only about eight inches above the seat in back and about thirteen or fourteen inches above the handlebars in front. So visibility is easy unless I'm down in a flat position.

I just wanted to post some better pics. Super ride today, comfortable at 38 degrees and of course it kept all the slop off of me. I do need to narrow the front and sides by about 1.5-2 inches each for aero purposes

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Aerodynamically, I haven't tested it methodically yet but I can tell it's not much better than last year's blue model, maybe 2-4 mph faster than a regular bike at the speeds I ride. That should improve some with adjustments.

The only thing that could be scarier than you approaching me in that is if you had a 50-cal (fake or otherwise) mounted on it. :lol:

Can you post a photo with you in it?

op. u need a recumbent

Via con dios if the get a strong cross-wind.:eek:

op. u need a recumbent

True a low profile recumbent would provide better aerodynamics but, you know, the traditional drawbacks of a recumbent ...


Via con dios if the get a strong cross-wind.:eek:

Everyone always says that :)

The only thing that could be scarier than you approaching me in that is if you had a 50-cal (fake or otherwise) mounted on it. :lol:

Can you post a photo with you in it?

I'll get the wife to take a pic, if I can get her out of the house tomorrow.

Maybe fake missiles would match the style better than a fake machine gun?

Cool!! So how do you ... errrrr ..... put it on? get on it?

The whole left left side remains connected at the front and downtube, and it opens at the back (kept closed with that crude tube rubber and velcro clasp at the tail). I pry it open and step over old man style, then fasten it back up.

True a low profile recumbent would provide better aerodynamics but, you know, the traditional drawbacks of a recumbent ...


Drawbacks of a recumbent?

My new faired commuter bike for winter riding, which I completed just today. I wanted to make this one a little smaller and lighter than my previous tries and I think I achieved that although there are a number of adjustments that need to be made.

290531290532


I had time for a test ride, unfortunately short because the Greenway is flooded in places and I don't want this in traffic until I sort out all the potential surprises. But on the short ride it worked like a charm!

Pics of your bike with you on it would be nice.

Drawbacks of a recumbent?

I was wondering about that myself. Some people are concerned that a recumbent will look strange;but, riding that thing... I don't see looking strange as being a big concern.

Looks good, I will be interestd in hearing about the long term report, and how it really reacts to wind and traffic buffeting.

I was wondering about that myself. Some people are concerned that a recumbent will look strange;but, riding that thing... I don't see looking strange as being a big concern.

Looks good, I will be interestd in hearing about the long term report, and how it really reacts to wind and traffic buffeting.

No offense intended to bent fans, just the standard complaints: in tight maneuvering, balance, large turning radius, visibility of the road, up-hills, harder starting, riding on rougher ground. And price is a factor. I want one, but for now I like to preserve the handling of a road bike.

I don't honestly know how this handles in serious wind, but it's 3rd or 4th iteration in spite of how it looks. I've not had an issue previously - but it may take some modifications on this one. I won't know until there's a stiff wind here.

Just noticed that you are in Jaw-juh. Seems like a lot of bother for such mild winters - I rode to work almost every day - unfaired - when I lived in Hot 'Lanta.

I bet you've seen the World's Fastest Indian, haven't you?

Just noticed that you are in Jaw-juh. Seems like a lot of bother for such mild winters - I rode to work almost every day - unfaired - when I lived in Hot 'Lanta.

That may be, but it's raining ice today!

op. u need a recumbent

Gotta love those educated, well-reasoned arguments in favor of the status quo...

That may be, but it's raining ice today!

Moved back to Indiana 25+ years ago and seem to have forgotten that it didn't snow much but there were ice events.

This is really neat. How do you find aerodynamics with this thing or is it purely for the elements? What materials did you use, if you don't mind sharing that info?

This is really neat. How do you find aerodynamics with this thing or is it purely for the elements? What materials did you use, if you don't mind sharing that info?

Thank you. There's no secrecy about it; I use corrugated plastic sheets stitched together with plastic cable ties. The black front cone is fiberglass, my first experience with it which explains the rough look. I have one aluminum strip over the top tube and extending over the head tube for bracing up the front - other mounting points are simply tube rubber and velcro.

For the aerodynamics I coast down a hill un-powered, recording my speed along the way. Doing that both with and without the fairing I can get a comparison of the aerodynamic drag.

How much does that weigh?

How much does that weigh?
About 10 or 11 pounds.

So .... is it FUN go ride?

I had to add this, because it's a good laugh at myself and also kind of interesting. In another thread I was speculating about shaping light beams from flashlights, envisioning all sorts of complicated devices with double reflectors and tiny lenses. When I put this together, my light was aimed higher than horizontal, barely even illuminating the road! I couldn't aim the light down any more, it was just about a deal-breaker for commuting. Oops.

But the answer isn't anywhere as complicated as all that. I still had an old fresnel lens - page magnifier - that I'd used for photography. It's a plastic sheet with ridges that are like curved sections of a real lens, sliced out and laid flat on the sheet. It acts like an actual lens. Therefore, shining through the top section directs a light beam down! Or in this case down and slightly to the right.

This is a picture of the underside of the nose cone. The fuzzy rectangle is the plastic fresnel lens, size 8,5x11 crudely but securely wedged in front of the light. Works like a champ, even squishes out the illumination pattern a bit!


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So .... is it FUN go ride?

Sure that's the best part! Going faster than I have a right to is part of it, the relative comfort is another, it's just fun.

But I need to be serious about one thing here. I don't recommend for the random person to try this at home. It could be dangerous, perhaps extremely. I've done this for a few years, with cautious design steps and a lot of testing.

I put it on a diet, several inches narrower. Now it's less twitchy at higher speeds (meaning 25+ mph - I haven't trusted it to over 30 yet) and somewhat less drag than before. The "stabilizer" added on back helped with that also. Handling is improved, and less wind is swirling over the top and sides:
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But I'm less happy with it now because the shape of the front is wrong, the lower part particularly, which is causing unnecessary drag and complicates things near the drop bars. Also the sides being straight back like a cylinder which I thought might be an improvement, I think now is a bad idea. Normally you want a small continuous curvature inwards to prevent flow separation and reduce turbulence at the rear and missing that is likely less than optimal here. So I expect I'll be reworking it before too long but for now it's great for keeping the elements off with a minor reduction of drag.

WPH, that`s cool! Where I live we usually only have a few really cold days each winter (this year being a rather cold exception), though I`ve often dreamed of putting together a bike with large front fairing for those cold days. Won`t ever actually get around to doing it, but I dream of it :lol:

Like some others have mentioned, I wouldn`t mind seeing how it looks with the pilot aboard. I take it you normally ride in a tuck, looking over the front screen with your back forming a sort of canopy?

WPH, that`s cool! Where I live we usually only have a few really cold days each winter (this year being a rather cold exception), though I`ve often dreamed of putting together a bike with large front fairing for those cold days. Won`t ever actually get around to doing it, but I dream of it :lol:

Like some others have mentioned, I wouldn`t mind seeing how it looks with the pilot aboard. I take it you normally ride in a tuck, looking over the front screen with your back forming a sort of canopy?

Thanks. I felt the same way during my first two winters of cycling, particularly nasty ones or so it seemed at the time. You wouldn't believe the difference ... although not always being cold and wet is why getting the aerodynamics right is important to me. Which isn't quite right for this version yet, the 2011 model was faster.

I'd intended to get an action picture already but I'm usually riding alone and the weather's been too miserable to get anyone out just for a photo - so my apologies on that. I'll try to get one this week.

You're right, I position on the drops and I'm looking through the windshield now that I replaced it with a slightly taller one. I can feel the top edge of the sides against the points of my shoulders and sides of my rib cage so yes sort of a canopy. I optionally stretch some spandex fabric over the top with velcro fastenings. My mental blueprints included adding a curved hard-top (from shoulders back) to complete the cover, split down the middle to expand and give me room to sit up, but I think I'm going a different way with it now.

seems similar to the ZZ Thriller

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can the OP compare/contrast the differences between his/hers and the commercial model?

seems similar to the ZZ Thriller

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can the OP compare/contrast the differences between his/hers and the commercial model?

Handle-bar mount, much larger frontal surface area, not full enclosure.

The drawback of handle-bar/fork mounted windscreens is that even the slight motions disrupt the air flow and negates any aerodynamic gains you might otherwise expect. Since there is no enclosure - and you can't have one since it moves around - the windscreen has to be large like that to get any shielding, and even so the wind will swirl around the edges so it's relatively less effective. Without any side enclosure the airflow is disrupted again along the length of the bike, so you'll generally find that the windscreen acts to increase drag rather than reduce it. Secondly handling is adversely affected by forces acting on the steering and added weight on the handle bars, and in general by extending the lateral center of pressure forward (more surface area forward of the lateral pivot point of the bicycle).

On the other hand, if you try to mount that same wind screen on the frame rather than pivoting with the handlebars, you'll have to make it even larger for the sweep of the handlebars or else mount it even further forward, either case with the respective consequences.

It does block wind from the front, but that's about the extent of the similarities.

On a low-profile recumbent those factors are mitigated since the rider profile is much lower, it doesn't have to accommodate the swing of the handlebars which are further back, and they're generally frame-mounted if I'm not mistaken. Which is why you'll see them on recumbents but not often on upright bikes; much more effective.

With an enclosure the frontal surface area is likely two square feet less than the windscreen, possibly more than two feet in this example, and the shaping of the wind stream by the sides provides near 100% shielding. The steering is unimpeded because nothing is mounted to the handlebars or forks. The airfoil shape places the center of pressure behind the balance point which provides aerodynamic stability, and finally drag is reduced rather than increased.

edit: plus I have an actual dashboard and a tailbox to carry stuff :D

True a low profile recumbent would provide better aerodynamics but, you know, the traditional drawbacks of a recumbent ...
Which would be? I don't find any real drawbacks to riding my recumbent, other than just adjusting to it, compared to the DF bike. It's not that much heavier than any other commuter, by the time I've got the rack, lights, lock, water bottles, etc..... and she's so much more comfortable that it's totally worth it. I haven't even got the fairing or tail bag (aerotrunk) for it yet, but those are coming soon. :)

What is the upper material? I assume it's some kind of lycra type fabric to keep it light?

Which would be? I don't find any real drawbacks to riding my recumbent, other than just adjusting to it, compared to the DF bike.

About 17 posts back. More on the order of preference than drawbacks.



It's not that much heavier than any other commuter, by the time I've got the rack, lights, lock, water bottles, etc..... and she's so much more comfortable that it's totally worth it. I haven't even got the fairing or tail bag (aerotrunk) for it yet, but those are coming soon. :)

What is the upper material? I assume it's some kind of lycra type fabric to keep it light?

The material across the top, and also the lower forward panels you can see beside the handlebars, is some kind of stretchy spandex my wife got at a craft store.

I can see how frame mounting would create a lot less crosswind (wind in general, really) issues compared to bars/forks. I bet that takes a lot more imagination to work out, though. It looks like no foot protection? I guess yours is about as much coverage as possible withoug getting seriously impractical. Do you use very narrow bars for your fairing projects, or just whatever width you normally ride?


Which isn't quite right for this version yet, the 2011 model was faster.Really? Does the new model give any new advantages over your 2011, or just ideas that didn`t work out and need to go back?



On a low-profile recumbent those factors are mitigated since the rider profile is much lower, it doesn't have to accommodate the swing of the handlebars which are further back, and they're generally frame-mounted if I'm not mistaken. The little foot fairings for short wheelbase `bents are frame mounted for sure. Some (all?) of the bigger fairings for long wheelbase models mount to the parts that rotate together (forks, riser, bars). Haven`t looked cloesly enough to say about how big fairings mount to SWBs.

For what its worth, I often ride a SWB recumbent in the summer, don`t trust myself on it when there`s any chance of ice, and doubt I`d be able to push it through more than a couple inches of medium-weight snow. I know I couldn`t manage frozen car snot with it. My local riding buddy just switches from SWB to LWB in the winter and wouldn`t ever consider going to an upright. We`re both happy. I wish I knew why that `bent/upright thing gets so toutchy for so many people, but it remains a mystery to me.

I can see how frame mounting would create a lot less crosswind (wind in general, really) issues compared to bars/forks. I bet that takes a lot more imagination to work out, though. It looks like no foot protection? I guess yours is about as much coverage as possible withoug getting seriously impractical. Do you use very narrow bars for your fairing projects, or just whatever width you normally ride?

There is some foot protection where it's faired on the down-tube behind the wheels. Your foot actually passes under it at the front of the stroke, and I could engineer an inch or two lower but no more than that without interfering with the wheel. I've tried, even arbitrarily limiting how much I can turn the wheel but no matter what lengths I go to my feet get drenched during a hard rain so I've given up on that. On the up-side, the exposed part of the pedal stroke is moving backwards so it's less critical than the upper part.

My theme is to be able to take it all off and have the bike exactly as I started with, so the handlebars are standard drop bars. These are 42cm I think and I had 44cm on my other bike. I don't even bolt anything on, just rubber ties and velcro, and a couple of plastic cable ties.


Really? Does the new model give any new advantages over your 2011, or just ideas that didn`t work out and need to go back?

A bit of both. It's smaller and lighter, my mounting is a bit better and it feels more natural but there are some ideas on this that won't work. Just by feel, the straight barrel sides are a bad idea at least the way this is configured. I need to test and get away from "feel" but I've got too many sharp angles on it, at the front and again where it angles to the rear.


The little foot fairings for short wheelbase `bents are frame mounted for sure. Some (all?) of the bigger fairings for long wheelbase models mount to the parts that rotate together (forks, riser, bars). Haven`t looked cloesly enough to say about how big fairings mount to SWBs.

For what its worth, I often ride a SWB recumbent in the summer, don`t trust myself on it when there`s any chance of ice, and doubt I`d be able to push it through more than a couple inches of medium-weight snow. I know I couldn`t manage frozen car snot with it. My local riding buddy just switches from SWB to LWB in the winter and wouldn`t ever consider going to an upright. We`re both happy. I wish I knew why that `bent/upright thing gets so toutchy for so many people, but it remains a mystery to me.

Bravo, wphamilton! That's a great job.

I've often pondered something like that for rough weather protection. But, like one of the earlier posters, I'm not likely to give it much of a try.

I've assumed that the 'cumbersome-ness' of a real weather canopy would outweigh any advantages. But you've got something there that looks like it gets close to overcoming that.

I can't quite understand why the recumbent fans feel the need to talk you out of your preferrence. But never mind...

Bravo, wphamilton! That's a great job.

I've often pondered something like that for rough weather protection. But, like one of the earlier posters, I'm not likely to give it much of a try.

I've assumed that the 'cumbersome-ness' of a real weather canopy would outweigh any advantages. But you've got something there that looks like it gets close to overcoming that.

I can't quite understand why the recumbent fans feel the need to talk you out of your preferrence. But never mind...

Thanks bluegoatwoods. You're right it's a challenge that these schemes restrict the turning radius of the wheel sometimes to just a few degrees, block movement of the handlebars and are otherwise cumbersome. Even now a full top canopy would be cumbersome, at least when I've tinkered with it. I couldn't move around or poke my head up, and it got sweltering hot. It also just feels dangerous for some reason. Once, I did attach some vinyl "scales" to the spandex I stretched across the top, overlapping so that it could stretch, and that worked pretty well for weather protection. I'll probably do that or something temporary tonight as we're expecting possible thunderstorms tomorrow.

If you put my construction on a LWB recumbent I think you'd get more speed gain and probably look a lot sleeker. It wouldn't be all that unusual. But convention has it that on a diamond frame it is too susceptible to wind gusts, handling is inhibited and you won't get enough aero improvement.

Can we please get a picture of you in it?

No! Now I want a picture with ME in it!

I bet you've seen the World's Fastest Indian, haven't you?

Great movie!

Drawbacks of a recumbent?Yeah, they cause beards and aerobellies. ;)

Drawbacks of a recumbent?Too many hot chicks asking for your phone number makes you late for work.

I finally got a pic with a rider - I asked someone at Home Depot to snap this after he took his own pictures.

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