Is "Front" more work than "Solo"?



BianchiJock

New Member
Oct 4, 2003
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We all know that a drafting/slipstreaming rider does up to 35% less work than the rider on the front. But is that front rider actually working harder than if he were riding solo?

A solo rider has to break a hole in the air ahead of him, but then it seems to me that the air closing in behind him would give him a fraction of that force back. With someone drafting him, the air stream would not close behind him but behind the drafter, so it looks to me as if the drafter gets the benefit of the broken airflow, while the rider on the front loses the (much smaller) benefit of the closing airflow.

That would mean that a "wheel sucker" is actually taking something from the rider he latches onto.

Is that crazy? :confused:
 
I think www.cyclingnews.com had an article on this sometime in the past. If I remember correctly, it was something like 0.5% more effort to ride at the front than to ride solo, but I may be mistaken. Search their archives to see if you can find the article.
 
Hmm... I always thought that a solo rider would have to work even harder than a rider at the front of a field. I believe your theory of the air flow closing behind and giving back a fraction of force is flawed. If that was case then riders would not use tear-dropped shaped TT helmets, speed skiiers would not use fairings behind their calves, etc.
 
Yes it is flawed. In theory, the rider in front receives as much benefit from the drafting rider as the drafting rider receives from him. The resistance created by the wind can be considered to be a result of the turbulence behind the rider. When a drafting rider "fills in" this space, he removes the turbulence. This would only work well if the riders were flat surfaced blocks - not usually the case. All riders in a stream receive some benefit over riding solo.
 
Originally posted by chimo
... the rider in front receives as much benefit from the drafting rider as the drafting rider receives from him...

Thanks, Chimo, this is great! I'm much happier with this explanation, because it's the way things OUGHT to work. The alalogies to other areas of life are endless. :cool:

Do you really think the benefit to the front rider is "as much"? Does anyone know of experimental data or technical articles on the subject?
 
On NASCAR's super speedways;Talladega and Daytona, where carburetor restrictor plates are used to keep the cars under 200 MPH, drafting is essential. If a driver pulls out of the pack to pass and no one goes with him he will go to the end of the line.....
 
Actually, the airflow closing behind the solo rider holds them back. It is slightly lower pressure, and thus 'sucks' on the rider.

This is the reason that two NASCAR racers together are faster than a single racer - the one in front breaks the wind, while the one in back eliminates the low pressure air behind the lead car.

Granted, that's at 200 mph with a LOT of frontal area, so on the cycle the effect will be somewhat diminished. But then again, the engines on a bicycle are somewhat diminished as well...
 
The advantage for someone in front of a pack is minimal compared to those drafting him but it is measurable.

As has been stated a lot of drag is what is called profile drag which is due to an area of low pressure sucking the rider backwards. a second rider in a breakaway or teardrop shaped helmet etc helps to fill this in and eliminates the low pressure area

the other type of drag is skin friction drag which is very complex on riders and i don't think anyone has it quite figured out yet
 

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