Local Raleigh,NC/RTP Project: True 3D Spatial Scan + OpenFOAM CFD Aero Mapping (Beta Testers)

Triathlon Forum
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Hey everyone,

I’m adapting an industrial airflow optimization workflow into cycling, and I’m looking for honest, analytical feedback from local road, TT, tri riders, fitters, and coaches.

The concept is straightforward: we bring the scanning rig to your garage or trainer setup. We capture a true 3D spatial scan of the actual rider on their actual bike in their real racing position. From there, we process that exact, unique geometry through a local OpenFOAM CFD pipeline to generate a practical, visual surface-pressure and airflow report.

To be clear right upfront: we are NOT taking 2D smartphone photos, moving digital sliders, or mapping you to a generic pre-built avatar. The pipeline runs fluid dynamics on the actual, high-resolution mesh of your body topology and physical bicycle components together.

My background is in motorsports airflow dynamics (specifically high-performance drag bike aerodynamics), and I’ve spent the last few months tailoring our local server processing loops, boundary layer constraints, and mesh resolutions specifically to the Reynolds numbers of a 25–30 mph cycling ecosystem.

The Aero-Tunes reporting covers:

- Actual surface pressure loading and localized drag tendency (Air P)

- Wake detachment boundaries and streamline velocity behavior (Air U)

- Left/right asymmetric pressure imbalances

- Lift, downforce, and high-speed stability indications

- Actionable, plain-English aerodynamic notes a rider or fitter can actually execute

Positions we are looking to validate and compare:

- Hoods vs. Drops (Road)

- Base bar vs. Aero extensions (TT/Tri)

- Micro adjustments: elbow width, shoulder turtle, helmet-to-back transitions

We are getting ready to roll this workflow out regionally, but first, I need to run a controlled smoke test on our automated pipeline processing times. I am looking for 3 to 5 beta testers located right here in the Raleigh/Research Triangle area (Wake/Durham/Orange counties) who care about the data and are willing to give brutal, honest feedback on our reporting layout.

In exchange for your time and feedback, the full 3D scan and custom CFD airflow report is completely complimentary.

I’m not here to make wild, unbacked wattage claims. I just want to put real physical geometry through the machine and see how riders interact with the report data.

If you are local to the Triangle and want to grab a beta slot, let me know:

1. What specific position or gear change would you most want to validate in a virtual tunnel?

2. What specific data layout would make a report like this fully credible and actionable for your training?

Drop a comment below or shoot me a DM if you’re in the area and want to get scanned!

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I’m down. 3x regional USACycling time trial gold.

Was a Notio aerometer and Golden Cheetah bum for years around 2021 to 2024.

Was in the aerometers for dummies topic here on ST for years.

I am in North Hills area of Raleigh and work in RTP. I have a smart trainer Zwift projector setup.

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That’s exactly the kind of rider I’m looking for.

A time trial rider with Notio / Golden Cheetah experience would be perfect for helping pressure-test the workflow and the report layout.

I’m in the Raleigh/RTP area too, so that makes it easy. I’ll shoot you a DM and we can set up a first scan/demo.

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If you want a beginner with a shit position then my brother is in Clayton and is an engineer, meaning he could give you useful feedback that two engineers can understand, haha. He has a road bike on a trainer in his house.

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That could actually be very useful.

A beginner road-bike position would be a good baseline case because the report needs to be understandable to both experienced aero people and newer riders. If he’s an engineer too, that feedback would help a lot.

Clayton is close enough for me. If he’s open to it, I’d be glad to coordinate a simple first scan/demo.

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Quick Raleigh / Triangle Cycling Air Dyno update:

Thank you to the riders who have already reached out about the early Aero-Tunes Cycling Air Dyno demo.

We are starting to process the first rider/bike scan visuals, and this is an early preview of what we are building.

The goal is aero-position visibility — helping riders see how air is interacting with the helmet, shoulders, arms, torso, back, and bike setup.

This is not a replacement for a bike fit. It is another tool to help riders, coaches, and shops understand what the air is doing around a real riding position.

More previews and demo updates co

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ming soon.

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I have no idea what the Y axis is or or what the measurement values are, but does blue mean that area is catching a lot of wind and red areas are not?

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Great question.

There are two different color scales shown in that preview.

The top scale is U Magnitude, which is airflow speed. In the simulation, U means velocity. Higher values mean faster-moving air, lower values mean slower-moving air.

The lower scale is pressure. Red areas are higher pressure/load areas. Blue areas are lower pressure areas.

So blue does not automatically mean “catching more wind.” It depends on which scale you are looking at.

In simple terms:

Red pressure areas = places where air is loading/pushing harder on the rider or bike.

Blue pressure areas = lower-pressure regions, often around separated flow or wake behavior.

The streamlines show the path the air is taking around the rider.

This is still an early demo visualization, but the goal is to turn these into easier rider-facing reports showing pressure zones, airflow speed, wake behavior, and eventually estimated aero watts/CdA.

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