How Can the Sub9 Produce Negative Drag?
 

In other words, if you threw the wheel through a gravityless chamber, even if the chamber had air, the Sub9 would suposedly accelerate endlessly. I by no means am a physics genius, but isn't (EDIT- I'm questioning this, as in IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.)


A) Perpetual motion impossible
and
B) It impossible for an object with surface area to have zero (or less than) drag?

A new source of renewable energy? Just build a giant Sub9 and hook a generator to it.

The earth is flat, sailboats cannot make headway against the wind, and the Dallas Cowboys are America's team.

It can't.

uhm - what's a sub9?

So why is Zipp saying it can?

Disc wheel.

use search

You sell more.

There is _no_ way that a wheel makes true thrust. I've done a fair bit of aerodynamic testing (tunnels and real world). It ain't F'n happenin'.

What sucks is that all they have to say is 'It's really, really good', which is true. But, no, that's not good enough. They have to say that it violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Sorry folks, you don't get _anything_ for free.

And your engineering degree is from where?

for $4k a set, they should provide sexual favors along with the negative drag.

The earth is flat - That's not what the last hill I had to go up said.
sailboats cannot make headway against the wind - Modern designs zig zag into the wind.
the Dallas Cowboys are America's team - Who?

As for the "negative drag" I think the marketing department couldn't understand what the engineers were saying.

If you buy one Fabian Cancellara rides beside you and gives you a push.

Which one?

Sorry, but no.

Two out of three ain't bad.

I like it when people use big words they don't understand, like the marketing department for sub9s and thermodynamics. :D

Zipp's side of it is that at a given angle of attack from the wind, the wheel gains some lift, in a sense similar to a Frisbee or a sailboat's sail.

Possible? Sure, probably. Worth my money? HA. My inherent drag will negate any possible benefit. ;)

^^^ We should all carry sails with us then!!!!!! :)

At the right speed and wind angle its as if it wasn't there.

You need a fin, not just the sail actually :D

essentially you have one wing sticking in the wind and the other wing in the water which makes a sail boat that generates lift and propels it upward, but the angle the ship tilts at makes it go forward.

This may help- http://nyvelocity.com/article.aspx?ID=2125&CID=54

If that is the case pretty soon we will start seeing rear spoilers on bikes.

Neat. Also his prior article:
http://www.velocitynation.com/articl...ID=1755&CID=54

Interesting how Zipp arrived at that shape by building the bulge to reinforce their disc wheel for a clincher rim.

And in his closing in the first article, "So in the end we're talking about an $1875 wheel with undeniable geek appeal that saves you 24 seconds over 40k." Somebody will find value there, just not me.

I have seen modified kites used for propulsion on bikes. Kind of like windsurfing or kite boarding, only drier. ;)