The wind tunnel closest to me is the U of W tunnel. Is that tunnel well suited for testing bikes? It would be the most affordable option for me as I don’t need to fly anywhere. I know they test bikes there once or twice per year. How does it compare to a tunnel like A2?
The wind tunnel closest to me is the U of W tunnel. Is that tunnel well suited for testing bikes? It would be the most affordable option for me as I don’t need to fly anywhere. I know they test bikes there once or twice per year. How does it compare to a tunnel like A2?
The UW wind tunnel is a very good facility with one big downside for bike testing, their current fixtures only test zero yaw (direct headwind) conditions. Still it’s a very well built and well maintained low speed wind tunnel so if what you need to learn can be learned at zero yaw (for instance big positioning and bar height issues) then it’s a good tunnel. If you want to compare position and equipment across a range of yaw angles then you’ll want another tunnel unless they find a way to bring a turntable and more advanced bike fixture into the UW tunnel.
I tested there last year and it was a very educational experience. Definitely worth the time and reasonable cost. Drop me a PM if you want more info on how the session ran and what to expect.
-Dave
Good luck in your testing. Another option for those considering aerodynamic optimization is the FASTER cycling performance center in Scottsdale, AZ with the world’s first commercial grade, readily-available-to-the-public low speed wind tunnel built specifically for cyclists, triathletes, and cycling manufacturers. www.ride-faster.com
Dave,
I was doing an internet search for something unrelated when I happened to see your post from many months ago, so I know this is out of the blue…
For future reference, at UW the Kirsten Wind Tunnel’s External Balance can set various yaw angles, ranging from 45 degrees left to 140 degrees right.
In certain cases, the wiring that a particular customer might have run up to what ever they are testing may need re-routing if they want a wide yaw range, but otherwise we can set yaw angles resolved to 0.05 degree.
I’m not sure which bike test you participated in, but the choice of angle(s), wind speed, wheel speed, dwell time, data reduction settings, output format, and other matters of protocol are defined by whoever is paying for the wind tunnel time (or that person’s coach). That said, I speculate that most riders test at 0.00 deg yaw for reasons having to do with time, repeatability, or data overload.
I am pleased to hear that you found your wind tunnel test at UWAL to be worth the time and money.
-Jack, UWAL Mgr/Engr
Hi FrostyJ,
Jack is right. The U of Washington tunnel is one of the good ones. Cervelo tested there for the S5 launch. Here’s a link to a video we shot part of there with some footage of that test session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeP4DgEcCZk
Yes, the bike platform yaws.
Cheers,
Tested there about a month ago. Had a great time and learned a lot. Everyone was very helpful. Here is my final and fastest run.
Congrats!
Wow, I didn’t even notice the age of your original post. 