Originally Posted by
sced
It is ironic that there is so much talk about buying expensive, high tech equipment to go faster that never considers the enormous speed gains to be had with an inexpensive fairing. This topic showed up in a thread about 2 mos ago and it was shocking to me to learn what the gains actually are.
Trade-offs that we probably don't hear much about. A 'bent with a fairing will suffer from the maneuverability standpoint, weight, and is awkward to store and park. The speed record types are not appropriate for traffic or utility, even if you could get in and out, started and stopped, without two or three assistants. A low recumbent or trike makes the most sense to me, but can you jump a curb, or wind through a sidewalk to wheel it into your front door, or store it in the hallway? Handle on rough gravel or dirt? Flexibility is another trade-off.
My home-made is probably the lightest that could be had for an upright, but it's still heavy. I'm not inclined to translate it into carbon fiber which would improve aerodynamics because of yet another compromise. Large body movements are restricted - there's no way around that with a rigid fairing narrow enough to be worthwhile. No one but me has ever ridden mine, and I'm not going to take the chance that someone else could without endangering himself - it's not the same as riding a road bike.
So while you can get faster speeds with a full fairing, and protection from the elements is stellar, the compromises are severe enough that it's very much a specialized niche.