jgedwa

+1000

That is crazy cool.

Jim

wphamilton

I didn't have too much trouble in 25 mph wind and 35 gusts, on an upright with a hard fairing. It wasn't literally "rigid" however in that the mounting had flex which I think gave me more time to react. But you're absolutely right of course.

John Hood

I really think the UCI has been a curse to bicycle development. It set recumbents back 50 years or more by effectively making them a novelty until recent times, but at this point it's biggest impact is on upright road bikes. Just look at the rapid development in mountain bikes in recent years. Imagine what could have been done with upright road bikes if technology could have been allowed to advance unimpeded. Beam bikes, fairings, disc brakes, back rests, wheel covers and many other things that have shown real promise have all been nixed by the UCI, and mostly for arbitrary reasons that had little to do with practical concerns like safety.

IthaDan 

Y U POST LIKE IDIOT CHILD?

Take the asinine memes back to ******.

Bikedued

Sounds like a job for Bar Mitts?,,,,BD

Bar Mitts | Road Bike Rider

holden west

Yeah, it looks like the mitts are a better solution than a fairing for extreme cold riding. Still, Zzipper might find a market for a sleeker, more discreet fairing for speed demons. The crosswind problem is still a bit scary. There have been a couple of times I was almost toppled by sudden wind gusts on a bare bike.

OK; how about a Cannonball Run-style road race, everything allowed: fairings, sub-14 pound bikes, fabric wheel covers, face-forward recumbents, hell, even tandems and triples. Call it the Dog's Breakfast 500 or something.

Le Moderateur: If you wish, kindly retitle thread "Zzipper Fairings, Why Are They Met With Such Disfavour".

RoadTire 

Thank you for that. I often wonder what people are thinking when they throw even lousy English out the door just to be cute.

Still, good thread.

noglider 

It was expressed perfectly within its genre and was, as a consequence, 100% clear. Others here try to use only standard English and fail, leaving them without pretension but much less clear. I'd prefer clear and pretentious over straightforward but incomprehensible. There is a limit to the effort I think I should make to understand people.

timtak

Wphamilton, I have seen pictures of your fairings and I am very impressed. Did you get your sleeker version built? I would love to see photos.

I was just researching winter wear, then bar mitts (poagies, moose mitts) and then was recommended fairings, and then realised that they are actually faster as well as being warmer and are only not with us due to the UCI rules, about which I do not give a flying! Amazing! It is like "The Matrix"!

zonatandem

Used a Zipper fairing on our tandem in the early 1980s on the 500+ mile Grand Canyon to Mexico Tour in Arizona.
No noticeable aero advantage effect unless doing over 20 mph.
However ended up on a fast downhill with terrific crosswinds and my stoker/wife complained about a tail-wagging/sway effect for her. Made a bit harder to handle/steer. Got rid of it .
Also tried the Vetta one on a loaned Santana tandem. Quite heavy and did make steering very sluggish. Remember the glove-box like storage. Fortunately only used that for a few hundred miles.

timtak

I try to cruise at about 20mph, so perhaps that would be easier using a Zzipper fairing. I would not want to be blow sideways into cars though. And I would need to mount my lights on my forks for riding at night (said some kind cyclist on this or another Zzipper fairing thread).

Having a fairing that mounts on the head tube would reduce the negative effect of crosswinds so that at least it would not effect steering directly. In these days of carbon fibre (I have a kit, could get some tubing) a light headpost mounted fairing does not seem to be all that difficult to rig up. It is a great shame that such products are not more readily available.

I doubt I will find time but at least for winter a Zzipper sounds a better than, or a supplement to the ski goggles, face mask, multiple fleece neck warmers.