faired uni



Now what's needed here is a clear section to be incorporated in the
front of the fairing and for the helmet pictured to be designed so that
it sits neatly in the "cockpit" opening so when the rider lowers his/her
head it creates a seal, thereby increasing the efficiency of the air
resistance ;)


--
s7ev0 - level 1 and proud of it

The hot bath of achievement may have long disappeared down the plughole
of life, but the scum line of smugness will last until it's scoured off
by the Brillo of ridicule.
"How to be smug" - Guy Browning
------------------------------------------------------------------------
s7ev0's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7310
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
Klaas Bil wrote:
> *Unicyclists hardly go fast enough to have substantial benefit of a
> fairing. A unicycle rides like ~~~~ so you would be slinging your
> banana through the air which might actually -increase- air resistance.
> *



I sometimes ride fast enough to get a benefit from a fairing. Or at
least I did today. Straight into a 22mph wind that was gusting up to
38mph. I was having to power hard to ride downhills.

Joe


--
joemarshall - dumb blonde
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
joemarshall wrote:
> *I sometimes ride fast enough to get a benefit from a fairing. Or at
> least I did today. Straight into a 22mph wind that was gusting up to
> 38mph. I was having to power hard to ride downhills.
>
> Joe *



Yeah, but could you imagine riding a faired uni in a 22mph cross wind?
I would be like riding with someone next to you constantly trying to
push you over.


--
daino149 - On Vacation - till i find a job

Check out my 'pics ' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/daino)
'My X-a-n-g-a' (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=fingerpies)
I need to find a job
------------------------------------------------------------------------
daino149's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/933
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
daino149 wrote:
> *Yeah, but could you imagine riding a faired uni in a 22mph cross
> wind? I would be like riding with someone next to you constantly
> trying to push you over. *



Good point. On the coker it was like that already at times.

Joe


--
joemarshall - dumb blonde
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
I haven't ridden with a fairing, but I have ridden a 29er with a
(decorative) disk wheel (in the Arcata-Ferndale Kinetic Sculpture Race)
in significantly windy conditions. It's manageable. The funny thing is
that it usually wasn't perceptible as a side force; when it was a
quartering rear wind, like on the beach, it felt like I was totally
being pushed along; I got some serious speed down the bach. In direct
side winds or quartering headwinds, I just felt a little out of sync,
like I had to keep slowing down to get the unicycle back under me.

I don't see a fairing being particularly useful, but it would definitely
be rideable.


--
tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tholub's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/804
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
Klaas Bil wrote:
> *Ha, I wanted to post the picture I once saw (and thought I had
> saved
> but I can't find it) of a blimp with an undercarriage consisting of
> a
> single wheel and ask "Is this what you mean?"*

Blimps look like cool giant unicycles, but unfortunately most of the
ones I've looked clostly at also have tiny little wheels on the tail
fin. Boo.


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
johnfoss wrote:
> *81 mph sounds like the record for *non-paced* cycling. I think speeds
> up to 150+ have been managed with motorpacing. Mile-a-minute Murphy
> did a one-minute mile about 100 years ago (paced). Surely bikes have
> gone a lot faster since then?
>
> Why use a fairing? I can think of three major reasons:
> 1. Improved speed
> 2. To look cool
> 3. Possibly to keep the rain off
>
> 1. Improving speed only works if you're going pretty fast in the first
> place. Before messing around with fairings, a geared recumbent
> unicycle design should be worked out. Got to get the frontal area down
> first, before a fairing is going to help at all.
>
> 2. Yup, there's always looking cool. Only if you're fully enclosed,
> you'd better have a lot of help starting and stopping! Not to mention
> riding with any kind of wind. More about this below.
>
> 3. The purpose of a fairing, per-se, is not to protect you from the
> weather. A weather-proof unicycle sounds pretty ridiculous. You can
> use an umbrella to keep the rain off, but you still need something
> major to keep the backs of your legs from getting soaked and dirty
> because of all the water you're picking up and "wobbling" all over
> yourself. So I'd recommend a rain suit and goggles.
>
> Fairings make bike handling unwieldly. That's on a bike. Take away one
> of the wheels, and a little bit of wind will keep you from being able
> to ride in the direction of your choosing. Even a large wheel unicycle
> is susceptable to wind. I remember once riding across a giant parking
> lot at Jones Beach, Long Island, with Ken Fuchs. We were on 40" and
> 45" wheels, trying to cross this parking lot with a very strong
> headwind, hitting us at kind of a 45 degree angle. We literally had to
> tack, like sailboats, to avoid flailing our arms all over the place! *



What's this non-paced and paced cycling deal?


--
Bob22b - MCL Tearer :d
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob22b's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8153
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390
 
Bob22b wrote:
> *What's this non-paced and paced cycling deal? *

Basically, paced means that something is blocking the virtual wind that
you have when you move. Think of a car that has your fairing attached
to it instead of you - you don't have to deal with wind resistance.
It's drafting on steroids. If you're going 150 MPH then you would still
have 0 headwind.

Unpaced is DIY, if you're going 20 MPH then You'll have a 20 MPH
headwind - assumeing there's no wind when you're not moving.


--
brian.slater - Nellfurtiti, the Wonder Cat

Brian C. Slater
AKA: Snoopy

Ok, I am now officially in my normal state of -advanced- confusion.
Don't try to confuse me, it won't make any difference.

"To not decide is to decide" - undecided
------------------------------------------------------------------------
brian.slater's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3902
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/37390