Ok, this is not really C&V except that i dont have any new bikes to put it on, so it would end up being.

all the huge headwinds and rain - climate change anyone! is not only knocking over trees and destroying dams, but also making me think about a fairing. yes.. for my bicycle. as a former motorcycle rider, I had the usual love hate relationship with the fairing - the ones that worked were large multi-piece beasts, ugly, and a real pain to get off when needing to fix your bike... the small ones, that looked good, and stood clear... barely did enough to be worth the effort.

anyone have experience with a fairing?

I like the look of this one:



and this one.. very minimal.. maybe too minimal..

Love the idea but god they're ugly.

I have no experience with bicycle fairings but there were C&V models. The Zipper, Breeze Cheater and Mach 1 come to mind. They used to advertise regularly in the marketplace/classified sections in the back of the cycling magazines during the 1980s.

I don't have experience with them, but the inner conflict of my bike-nerd with my cheepo duality never allowed me to purchase one back in the day (the 1980's for me). Would have loved to ride a bike with a fairing mounted on it, just for the experience of what if felt like, but would'n't have wanted anyone to see me on it. The Bill Nye in me seems to think that any crosswinds may minimize the benefits, but I've never ran any calculations to prove or disprove it.

We need to revive the glasses thread.

What happens up front with fairings is just as important as what happens behind it.
If the fairing causes too much turbulnce, it will not work as well as it should, so you have to make sure that the shapes and contours at the back of the bike and your body does not cause t much laminar air flow separation = turbulence = drag.......
There's so much more to good bike aerodynamics than just installing clear plastic half bubbles on the front of one's bikes.....

Having primarily ridden sport bikes (motorcycles) and not cruisers, I never depending on the front fairing for normal riding. Screaming down the home straight on track, yes it made a difference, but not for regular street riding.

Personally, I wouldn't want anything more that could catch wind and make the ride less predictable.

But I see your need.

There's this:



Company info: Zzipper Main Page

The shop I worked for sold a number of the Zipper fairings in the 70's. Kind of heavy, decent place to store stuff behind, probably best for cold weather riding allowing one to keep the hands and arms a bit warmer.

Reducing aero drag? Doubtful

Would have been interesting to ride with one into a strong crosswind, the effect may not have been good.

Tail winds would be great!

The old Zzipper fairings work really well. I used them for years, especially in winter. In my Seattle days I had commutes up to 15 miles, riding south in the morning, frequently against Pacific storm winds. I still hae mine and when circumstances are right, I'll use it again.

Fairings will make you much warmer. For the Zzippers, I wear a full layer of clothing less. The older Zzippers took from me the hand position on top of the levers. To compensate, I used a longer stem set higher making the drops logical and comfortable. This also meant the fairing did a better fob of keeping my glasses dry.

Ben

Fixed it for you.

Ben

cool - it might be a fun thing to try.

as for the front fairing on a moto, I suspect you were using that front fairing more than you knew even in normal conditions. My fz600 (full fairing) was always needing carb tuning so I used to ride it in various states of full fairings, half, to just windscreen configurations. - as well as many other naked bikes, cruisers, and bikini fairing etc. one thing you immediately notice is how much dryer you stay! hah. but also your gas mileage goes up and you dont feel like you are gonna get slammed right off the bike when a gust hits. if nothing else it directs the air to your helmet and not your chest.

trying to ride a naked bike at 70+mph in the rain and wind is like... AHHHHHAHHAHHHH!!!!!. where on a full fairing bike its like... aaahhhhhhh..

this one is the one I want for a tail wind:

Looks like a sail.....

I wish I could bike anywhere in any direction in Seattle and not have a headwind. Being that I have been unable to be so fortunate it seems, this product would do me no good, sadly. My ideal scenario remains but a fantasy.

/Mild hyperbole, but still very true. How do these headwinds follow me around?!?

30=some years ago used a Zipper fairing on a tour on our tandem from the Grand Canyon to Mexico (5 days ride). Made no noticeable difference except at 20+ mph downhills when it seemed faster.
With a cross wind it became very hard to handle. Got rid of it.
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

No.

The Zzippers are surprisingly good in crosswinds and a strong cross-tailwind can be very fast! With the fairing acting like a sailboat spinnaker. Much faster than downwind.

repechage, so you are sticking with "Reducing aero drag? Doubtful"? What is your evidence or experience? I ask because my "correction" was based on thousands of miles riding fairings. I regularly gear my fix gears up a tooth when I put on a fairing. (I'd go more, but the fairing does not help when the gear is the hardest; going uphill.)

Ben

I have a Zzipper fairing that I bought in the 80's for use during cold Canadian winters. It worked tremendously well to protect your privates and hands during -30° weather. I would not go out in temps like that without a fairing. I also used it on a tandem and on descents it did indeed help. I had founded a tandem club and I rode with two main stokers and when coasting downhill with the Zzipper, we would regularly pass other tandems that would be just as fast as us on any other day without the fairing. The higher the speed the bigger the difference.

Not sure that I like the look on an upright bike. I have been wanting one for my recumbent tadpole trike though.

I vaguely remember fairings. Never rode with one but they always seemed to me like they simply wouldn't cover enough of the rider to be really effective. I also wonder about the turbulence out the back another poster mentioned. Sounds like some people saw success with them though. I can definitely see why people would want to use them, I ride through some brutal headwinds on every one of my rides. A strong enough one can really sap your enthusiasm.

No thanks, lol.

Editing a quote to totally change the meaning is bad form.
I stand by my statement that for cold weather protection they work, in a crosswind they are bad, it places a large volume ahead of the steering center, not good for control. As an aerodynamic drag reducer they will be quite variable. On a descent where speeds can predictably exceed 25 mph, probably, except that problematic center of volume ahead of the steering axis. A fairing does not reduce frontal area, best it can do is help direct airflow around a portion of the rider. On a recumbent where the fairing could fully extend to the frontal perimeter of the rider I can fully see that being of assistance, but the lateral surface area is still biased forward, if mounted to the frame and not the steering, that might help a bit.