I'm sure this topic doesn't really fit here, but I'm sure it doesn't fit anywhere else, really, and you guys have put up with some silly questions from me, so . . .

A while ago, I saw a guy on a long ride with a fairing on his conventional (not recumbent) bike. Kind of like this:



This image also popped up, and got me all hot and bothered with images of old-time motorcycle racing. Admittedly this lower fairing would have to be cut back to allow sprinting and hard climbing, but the idea is all Akira and Rollerball-cool, isn't it?



Have you ever ridden an upright bike with a fairing? What was it like? Was there a significant aero gain, a big sidewind detriment, etc?

I'm not sure that the C&V guys care about fairings, but I do. Every major unlimited class bike record involves fairings or fully enclosed cockpits. Wind resistance is the enemy of all conventional cycling efforts and fairings have a major impact.

theres no way in heck that is aero. way too much surface area.

I have a Zipper fairing that I have owned for over 30 years. I have used it on a trike for winter riding (it gives very good wind protection to your hands and nether areas when the temperatures drop well below freezing. I have also used it on my tandem and triplets and it does make a difference, especially in downhill runs. At lower speeds, I doubt that it makes any noticeable aerodynamic difference.

I like the entire urban transport theme going on. Evindenced from the snow on the ground, I'd image it makes a huge difference in sub-freezing weather at any speed!

On your upright bikes, at what speed does the Zipper fairing start making a noticeable difference? Are cross-winds a problem? Is your fairing mounted to the bars or to the frame?

Also, my guess/speculation is that the fairing shown in my first picture is mounted too high, since a tucking rider will actually be below the fairing's upper edge. Based on your experience, where would you mount the fairing?

Oh, by upright you mean diamond frame. For some reason I was picturing putting a fairing on something with northroad bars or similar above seat level where you sit up with your back straight. Was very confused why you'd be concerned about being aero while sitting upright.

That too would be a great aid, particularly in a head wind or for Dallas breaking 40mph while descending some PA mountian road.

At the shop I worked for we sold a few of the early zipper fairings, as I recall they were black with a separate windscreen. Could be a hassle to mount, provided as mentioned good cold protection, noisey over bumps. The early ones also had a net so the fairing could be used as storage.

A 747 has huge frontal area, yet it has a better coefficient of drag than a motorcycle. The fairing in the OP doesn't look to have much more frontal area than the bike with rider.

The theory behind vehicular aerodynamics is to split the wind, let it flow smoothly over the surface, and put it neatly back together behind you. When the operator is outside the vehicle (bicycle or motorcycle) it's a real challenge.

Be an interesting project to design a fairing for a traditional diamond frame bike that would allow faster speeds without excess weight or overheating the poor rider. We need our cooling air.

Oooh, fairings!

I have a Zipper in the garage somewhere, pretty neat piece of kit. I never rode fast enough to find much aero advantage, wound up using it mostly to keep the cold away on winter commutes. It does squirm about and make noise over bumps. I never had a problem in crosswinds, but didn't tend to ride through storms. I think it attempts to smooth the airflow around the rider, so the height is right. I wouldn't have to tuck very far down to hear the wind noise drop. Is this still in production, maybe primarily for recombents?

The brake lever mounts make the lever bodies wider, fer sure, and on rough roads the mounts could creep forward/upward, wanting to self-eject. You can bend the mounts fore/aft slightly to adjust fairing profile/tilt. The mounts attach to the fairing with plastic pop-rivet thingies, not too hard to remove. I don't remember if there was a third set of holes allowing height positioning options, or if that was something I considered adding myself. I'd get small stress fracture cracks radiating outward from the mounting holes, but this never seemed to cause any problems. The black rubber edge trim was a friction fit, and over time it would stretch/loosen and not hold the edge well. I'd see this in small sections, the whole thing didn't leave, just 2-3" sections at random spots would loosen and lift a bit.

The black fairing with separate screen that repechage mentioned wasn't a Zipper, IIRC, it was called The Edge. Different product, different mfr. It was molded like a "real" fairing from opaque black plastic, and mounted with internal struts that would somehow attach to the brake lever body. It was much heavier than the Zipper and looked like something out of Batman. I had to have one since it was so over-the-top and kinda goofy. During my brazing period I modified a Bertin frame/fork (bought from the Fraysee's Park Cylde) with a bunch of surface-brazed bottle bosses to use for Edge fairing mounts. I had the gel cell for my Ed Kearney light stored inside the Edge, and I wired switches into 35mm film canisters (one of three approved uses for film canisters, the main one being storing film and the third I won't mention...) and mounted those in the Edge wheel well. Definitely helped keep me warmer during winter commutes, and nobody knew what to make of it.

The Edge mounted much lower, you'd have to tuck pretty significantly to get fairly full body coverage.

Both of these product cropped up '80-'82, then kinda vanished. I don't know if either had any wind-tunnel testing, don't recall any numbers/stats being mentioned in ad literature or spec sheets.

I have a photo somewhere of my Edge-equipped commuter, not likely to surface without a significant search. I'll post it if it pops up, though.

You are correct, it was The Edge. Thanks. That was a long time ago, but it was before 1979 though, I left my low paying bike shop job to finally make a real income in 1979. So it had to be before then, possibly as early Fall 1977.

I found more pictures. I will confess I am thinking about the coming winter commute . . . the Zzipper road bike fairings and the smallest Windwrap cost about $100-120 . . . wonder if I can rationalize that somehow.

Mine did all of that. This one is retired now though, since I'm working on a sleeker model.

There use to be a fairing for diamond frame bikes called Breeze Cheater.
Dose anyone know about it?
It looked like a Vetta motorcycle fairing for bicycles.

I forgot all about the Zzipper. We sold one, and only one. After installing it and fielding complaints about the noisy ride, it was decided that it wasn't worth our time or sanity to ever do another one. I'm sure they work at high speed to reduce drag, however at commuter speed it should be good for getting out of the cold.

I rode a Zzipper for years. On a fix gear, the Zzipper is a tooth faster. A huge plus if you have to commute south into Seattle in the winter (against the Pacific storms). Also a full layer of clothes warmer, a plus in plaxceslike Ann Arbor and Boston. They keep you much drier between your shoulders and about mid-thigh. Hand grips on the hoods get messed up. Noises happen. I took mine off when the weather got better but in the heart of winter, it was great!


Edit: another Zzipper plus - at the top of really fast hills, you can dry your glasses, get up to speed, see over the fairing and still be under the bubble of air flow. I used to go down Juaquim Miller road into Oakland in the winter doing that. It was a blast! (Having the fairing far forward is a big plus, here and for warmth and dry. It was part of the reason I started going to longer, higher stems.)

Ben

Hhmmm.....

Special 'brackets' on a frame/fork for attachment.
Must be quiet at speed and well designed.
Needs to look nice.

there's an @gugie to handle part of it.
is there an existing lightweight fairing to adapt?

i'm thinking only a partial fairing,
covering head/face
and probably hands.
Covering the lower body seems heavy and a mounting nightmare, even tho' that might be most aero.

Why???
Quieter - reduced wind noise?
Head wind assist? Tail wind spinnaker?, ok minimal assist?
Warmer on cold/cool days.
Assist in the rain?
Bug beater!

Vetter, not Vetta. Different company entirely. Vetta made various products for bicycles while designer Craig Vetter made fairings and luggage for motorcycles.

Maybe something like this.....
This is close, but maybe not quite right.
You have to scroll down to see the below pic

VINTAGE QUARTER FAIRINGS, CAFE, MANX, TRITON, DRESDA, TRIUMPH, NORTON, BSA, BMW, MOTO GUZZI, DUCATI, HONDA, SUZUKI, KAWASAKI, YAMAHA, BIKINI, VIPER

Coefficient of drag is not the same as drag. A 1 cm sphere and a 1 meter sphere have the same drag coefficient, but the 1 meter sphere has 10,000 times as much drag. This is because drag is cD*A. A 747 has much more drag than any motorcycle.

That fairing in the photo reduces drag by a large amount at speeds over around 20 mph.

Zzipper is still in business. Google it. Still making fairings for uprights though the (probabaly vast) majority of the sales are for recumbents.

For speed advantage, the Zzipper is roughly like drafting someone. The advantage depends heavily on speed. (One exception. With the right wind from the behind side, riding with the fairing can be much faster than any other form of cycling. It can act like a sailboat spinnaker. I did some rides in flat, open Michigan that were like sitting in a professional race peloton for miles! Leaning the bike into that crosswind and my body away increased this effect.)

Ben

Bah! The curse of the redundent post.

Zzipper Thriller was what I used in combination with a high and close fitting of a Profile Aero bar/ cow horn set, a single bent tube..


made a long commute fairly comfortable , and I could hear the 'books on tape' readings well..

Probably something worse than an open quarter sphere or cylindrical section, Cd maybe .6-.8, and wider than the rider body. So perhaps "a large amount" is overstated. However, fairing over even a portion of the handlebar and above and below has a surprising improvement so it wouldn't surprise me if it reduces drag at least some.