Yep, I prefer tight fitting clothing while road cycling. At least at speed--on my 3 speed I'll ride in whatever I've got, although a decent pair of shorts can be nice (no seams, jeans I don't like biking in). I "feel" slow when I wear a windbreaker in cooler weather.

But the real killer, peddling up hill, with a head wind. That's when it's time to head home. KB

Except when the ride to go home is uphill with head wind, it's your last leg of the ride and you're already exhausted... Welcome to my commute.

this!!

A day without wind will feel like headwind when on a bike if you go fast enough

If I had to rely on no wind in order to go for a ride, I would have to sell my bikes.

I had a steady 10mph north wind this morning so I decided to do an experiment: One way into the wind and then turn around with the wind and compare the power data. For both ways I kept it in the same gear (53x18 I believe), attempted to pedal 20mph and 80rpm, hands in the same spot on the hoods.

Headwind:



Tailwind:



As you can see, it's pretty significant, nearly double the power is required to go the same speed into the wind.

I don't quite know how fast the wind was gusting this day, but I rode one of my classic bikes out a few weeks ago. The headwind was awful. I'm relatively small so I hid in the drops, got as low as I possibly could, and just pedaled. Got into a rhythm and just went. Then I turned right and had a cross wind. Even on my vintage steel bike with tiny tubes and box section rims, I was almost blown off my bike a few times by gusts, and considering that section is also a bit downhill, I was cruising at ~25-30 MPH. The wind literally blew me from the middle of the lane to the edge of the road and I had to lean into it. Afterwards I told my friend "I shouldn't have ridden today, it was dangerous."


Then I turned right again and was absolutely FLYING with a tailwind. Tailwind + a bit downhill = sustained 28-35 MPH riding.

Most of my riding is commuting between home and work. I don't have much choice in time or direction or route. In the mornings, I usually have a stiff headwind. At midday, the winds often turn around, so I end up with a mild headwind in the evening. Sometimes it is annoying. I prefer climbing hills to riding into the wind. NYC is a windy city, and my route along the Hudson River is particularly windy. The river is over a mile wide.

I get similar result from that web site:

Bicycle Gear Calculator - derailleur gears

But according to them, you were in 53-18 and not 53-16.

Probably right. I edited the post to reflect that.

Been a few times where I'll be moving at a good clip, and suddenly it feels like a headwind out of nowhere. Takes me a moment to realize that it was the tailwind I had dying down... It's really great when the tailwind is around the speed I'm going, it gets quiet(er) without the wind over my ears (and I usually wear a headband for that reason).

Sometimes I think about adding a windspeed indicator to my bike.

If it's ridiculous, I won't go out, but breezy day won't keep me in. Today was the windiest I've ridden with my deep section wheels (88mm deep) and I was getting blown around a bit, but it wasn't crazy. #clydeperks