Just thought some people on here might be interested in this news. The MIT Grad, Mark Cote, that has posted replies to threads on slowtwitch has been hired to run the wind tunnel. Not sure if the grand opening was a success or not, though…
LINK:
http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/2007/08/new-wind-tunnel-to-open-in-fort-collins-co.html
I’m out there at least once and sometime more frequently each year. Might make an appointment. Thanks for sharing this.
I made it to the grand opening and it is one freakin’ awesome wind tunnel. It was originally designed for testing buildings to ensure exhaust systems for laboratory fume hoods worked well. I had a tour, got a bit windblown, and had a great conversation with Mark about details on getting tested. A test will run you a little over $1000, but I’m already saving my pennies : ). Actually, I’m really hoping to win the raffle ; ). It seemed like there was a decent turnout, but I think it was mostly people from around the Ft. Collins area.
What does the grand get you?
And doesn’t that guy not believe in the superiority of the disc wheel?
You would have to ask Mark that question directly about the wheel.
The session is pretty much custom to what you want to do. You spend a bit of time beforehand getting questioned, measurements are taken, and they put an adjustable stem on for quick adjustments in the tunnel. You get an hour in the tunnel to optimize your position. You can play with different helmets and a variety of positions, as the equipment is optimized enough to get good readings within 10-30 seconds per position. So you have the potential to try out maybe 25 different positions/parts, etc. Mark will direct you through some positional changes and his goal is to get you out of there with the most optimal position that will give you your highest potential for speed (i.e. considering power output and aerodynamics). He does some of the testing at near threshold to hopefully mimic how you would be positioned while racing. It seems like he can accomplish a lot in that hour in the tunnel. Considering what we spend on our tri toys, $1K is not much for the gains you’ll see in your race times with the info. One cool thing is the whole computer display is projected on the floor in front of you so you can see the immediate effect of say, lifting your thumb up for a second. You also get a DVD with a complete output record of the whole experience including all of the computer screen data and an excel file with specific data points and a video of you viewed from the side for the entire test period. When I first heard it would by $1K for the testing, I thought, “no way in hell.” But now that I’ve been there and seen what’s really involved, I’m saving my pennies (as mentioned in the last post). Now don’t ask me any more questions because I need to go study and stop wasting my time on SlowTwitch ; ).