To the guys with CFD / Aero knowledge - how is it possible for a CamTail tube shape (like the Trek Speed Concept / Canyon to a lesser extent etc etc) to be more aerodynamic than a proper trailing edge that is pointed?
My guess is for two reasons:
To get around the UCI 3:1
Its difficult to manufacture a really fine trailing edge as the internal mold bladder and material cannot get into a really fine point without difficulty?
If you had a Trek Speed Concept and printed a trailing edge to glue onto the CamTail - would it prove to be faster by any meaningful amount?
To the guys with CFD / Aero knowledge - how is it possible for a CamTail tube shape (like the Trek Speed Concept / Canyon to a lesser extent etc etc) to be more aerodynamic than a proper trailing edge that is pointed?
My guess is for two reasons:
To get around the UCI 3:1
Its difficult to manufacture a really fine trailing edge as the internal mold bladder and material cannot get into a really fine point without difficulty?
If you had a Trek Speed Concept and printed a trailing edge to glue onto the CamTail - would it prove to be faster by any meaningful amount?
Surely its way less drag…
Thoughts?
It depends.
If you could control the incident airflow direction, I would expect a proper airfoil to be best every time. With highly turbulent conditions and highly variable incident airflow it may not be as straight forward.
My understanding is that truncated foils perform better than airfoils for wider range of yaw angles which is what you experience on a bike vs. an airplane that travels at 600mph. There’s also the advantage of increased stiffness and less weight.
To the guys with CFD / Aero knowledge - how is it possible for a CamTail tube shape (like the Trek Speed Concept / Canyon to a lesser extent etc etc) to be more aerodynamic than a proper trailing edge that is pointed?
My guess is for two reasons:
To get around the UCI 3:1
Its difficult to manufacture a really fine trailing edge as the internal mold bladder and material cannot get into a really fine point without difficulty?
If you had a Trek Speed Concept and printed a trailing edge to glue onto the CamTail - would it prove to be faster by any meaningful amount?
Some of those are road bikes designed around having bottle cages and bottles usually in place behind those truncated cam tail shapes. So, the bottle essentially partially becomes part of the profile.