Tom Steels and Bert Roesems (Davitamon Lotto team) did a duo wind tunnel test which showed that the rider in front has an advantage (supposedly 4%) if someone is in his wheel. The reason would be that the second rider would cancel out the negative force of the vacuum created behind the first rider. According to the Belgian newspapers this was the first duo wind tunnel test on this topic although I’ve heard about the theory before (a.o. on this board).
Do you have a link?
I think that the rider infront would gain x% compared to riding solo but the rider behind still gets the easier ride.
Sure, the rider behind still gets the easier ride, which is in fact supported by the same theory. The rider in front creates a sort of vacuum behind him which attracts the rider behind (apart from just blocking the wind). Because the rider behind fills in the vacuum there is a sort of return to the rider in front because he isn’t any longer pulled backwards.
Anyhow, next time someone drafts you, just think that this makes you faster (or less fatigued at the same speed).
The link I have is in Dutch (http://www.sportwereld.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleID=GR8G8A7I) but I guess that it will appear today or tomorrow on www.cyclingnews.com as well because they follow Belgian cycling press pretty closely.
I usually pull most people and I remember once intstance where a guy was 6" off of my wheel at 35mph and he said that it felt like he was getting sucked along behind me. I couldn’t feel anything different though.
You are not going to be able to feel 4%…
You are not going to be able to feel 4%…
Why not? if you’re pulling at 25mph, that .04 will theoretically give you 1mph. That’s noticeable. I’m not sure I believe it, but if it’s true, I think you could feel a 1mph difference at that speed.
oh, yes i will
.
You are not going to be able to feel 4%…
Why not? if you’re pulling at 25mph, that .04 will theoretically give you 1mph. That’s noticeable. I’m not sure I believe it, but if it’s true, I think you could feel a 1mph difference at that speed.
It was 4% less watts, so that won’t give you 1 mph extra at 25 mph - more like 0.3 mph extra (taking the simple but useful assumption that power is proportional to velocity cubed)
I’m confused.
“in front has an advantage”
Advantage over the 2nd rider or advantage over riding solo?
If Solo, I’ll buy it.
If over the 2nd rider…that doesn’t pass the real-world test…
I think he meant advantage over a rider riding solo at the same speed versus riding in front with one person behind that lead person.
The Belgian paper might want to do a little more fact checking before they publish. It may be true that this is the first test of 2 riders, but Broker et al. did a study of 4 riders and found no measurable decrease in drag for the lead rider. That paper available here, http://www.midweekclub.com/articles/broker98.pdf, has been in the literature for six years without contradiction. I wouldn’t be too quick to jump on a two paragraph story with no supporting data as proof that Broker is wrong.