As posted on Triathletemag.com, very brief article, but the conclusions when testing the effects of drafting off another cyclist:
“After evaluating the data, the team determined that under perfect testing conditions, the drafting benefit decreases rapidly as the drafting distance approaches 5.8 meters (two bike lengths). At drafting distances greater than 5.8 meters, the drafting benefit continues to drop, but at a greatly reduced rate. Although the engineers were not able to test for distances greater than 7.7 meters, the data suggests that a rider trailing at six bike lengths would enjoy a draft effect similar to that of a rider at three bike lengths. What does that mean? Ironman’s three bike-length rule remains intact.”
What I am really interested in is who has a bike that is 2.9 meters long? That is like 9.5 feet, or is two bike lengths (5.8meters) not the measurement of two bikes end to end?
Or it the 5.8 meters actually mean 3 bike lengths and there was a typo, someone had to proof the results before releasing them right?
But then again as already posted, this research was money well spent right?
What would’ve been helpful and more relevant is for Ford to put a car in there and tested the various methods of carrying a bike and its effects on gas mileage. Top vs. rear etc…With gas prices continuing to rise it would’ve been more valuable…heck…evaluate the different carrier manufacturers for that matter.
I believe the rule is 3 bike lengths from the leading edge of the front wheel of the fist bike, so you need 2 bike lengths between bikes, that is from the back wheel of the lead bike to the front wheel of the following bike.
Otherwise there’s no logic - the drafting benefit drops off at 5.8m (which is closer to 3 bike lengths, no?), therefore the draft zone remains as 3 bike lengths.
What would’ve been helpful and more relevant is for Ford to put a car in there and tested the various methods of carrying a bike and its effects on gas mileage. Top vs. rear etc…With gas prices continuing to rise it would’ve been more valuable…heck…evaluate the different carrier manufacturers for that matter.
I’ve found carrying my bike on the roof has negligable impact on gas mileage. Just think about it, bike’s are designed to be aero. The amount of power necessary to speed it up is probably less than the amount of power a high end stereo takes. Ok, maybe not but close.
On the back, maybe more of an effect depending on how tall the car is.
I saw footage of Burt Rutan aka God using the top of his station wagon to help design the Long EZ. Is there a buisness on puttin a rig in the front of a truck that measures the drag of the rider and bike while the truck is in motion? Think about it. You can go to bike shops works with the cops to workout some way to use a back road so traffic won’t be an issue.
Says who? Victor Conte was the bassist for Tower of Power. Then he saw an add in the back of popular science for one of those mineral testing machines. Put in blood, out comes the results. No brainer. He saw a lot of NFL players were short on Zinc and Magnesium. He created, ZMa, which is, Zinc & Magnesium. That’s it. It became (and still is) one of the most popular supplements of all time. ZMa made him rich. After that, he hired smart people to create the drugs at BALCO. But he was just a shrewd guy who saw an opportunity for a simple business and took it.
Way smarter people then me would have to do it. I just think it would be cool.
The list of people to choose from is huge, it pretty much includes anyone not in an institution.
Good point. How is this? I save up some cash talk to the smart guys and see what is possible. Everyone here will then worship me as god!!!
Actually you are dyslexic, everyone will think you are a dog…
Don’t be afraid of your ideas. I had an idea a couple on months ago that it would be cool to have two sets of brake levers on aerobars – one in the normal place and one on the extensions. That way, you could shed a little bit of speed without leaving the aero tuck if you needed to corner. There was nothing patentable about this idea, and I personally lack the production facilities to make the lowest cost version of such a product, so I merely left it as an idea in my notebook. If you watched the TTT in this year’s TdF, several of the teams were doing exactly that – using two pairs of brake levers for exactly the reason I thought (although in the TTT, which I’d not thought of, it makes even more sense because you can make minor checks to your speed within the pack).
You don’t need to save up some cash, either. There is always money for good ideas available. Through contests, VC, etc. Put together a little write-up of your idea. See if you can get some friends to test it out with you using a scale with a remote read-out, and then shop it around to the bike shops in your area.
Might someone steal your idea and do it better? It’s possible. Then again, someone might like it and tell you to make it happen.
Believe in your ideas. Think about all the simple, great ideas out there. Someone had to try…
