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Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

renehersecycles.com

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Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#71

Post by wink »

qwertox wrote: post #58

I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…

I'm not here to advocate for expensive equipment but my cross country hardtail MTB (even with the wide tires on the roads, non-carbon) feels like half the effort to pedal than my old crummy commuter trekking bike with narrower tires, so I guess your 600€ bike might already have one of the biggest optimizations packed in ;)

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#72

Post by [deleted] »

qwertox wrote: post #58

I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…

[deleted]

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#73

Post by jackmott42 »

prmoustache wrote: post #67
bbarn wrote: post #50

I am an out of shape former racer who has ridden his bike 10 times in the last two years. I have a dad belly and rarely work out at all. I recently did The Rift this summer - a 200km gravel race here in Iceland that people come from all over the world to race. I did it on a carbon cyclocross bike from my racing days with file treads. I felt like the light weight of my bike outweighed just about every gravel fad that'…

There is actually very little difference between a cyclocross bike and a lightweight gravel bike. Slightly lower BB, slightly longer wheelbase, sometimes slightly different headtube angle, flared handlebars. Actually the first gravel bikes were rebadged cx bikes. You can race cx with a gravel bike and race gravel with a cx bike. The rider makes most of the difference.

And you can do fine in a road race with a gravel or cyclocross bike! Just gotta put appropriate tires on.

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#74

Post by ehnto »

matsemann wrote: post #53
ehnto wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, except on the electric part. Where I live e-bikes don't assist over 25/kmph, and I'm always above that... until, my ride home. Which is steep hill, and I'm tired, and I just want to go home. As an all-rounder it's been the best bike I've had yet, I can do just about anything with it. Very utilitarian. I ride a heap, I ride MTB, commute and also a gravel bike for fun, so I feel no shame getting that e-assist…

Sounds like you also live in Oslo? At least the nice thing is that I don't get that sweaty on the way to work.. Not sure if you misunderstood my comment? I'm all for electric bikes (my GF is getting one today actually) and how they enable many more people to bike. I love seeing parents bike their kids to school on this big ebikes, zooming past hundred cars in a gridlock. But _if_ you're not going electric, a gravel i…

Oh I didn't think you were detracting from e-bikes, I just think that an electric gravel bike is worthwhile as it's still a fantastic formfactor for commuting, especially if you still want to use it non-electrically and out on rougher terrain (where rougher can be little bits of dirt or rough road on your commute).

I am actually in Australia, which has some surprisingly hilly places!

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#75

Post by 8ytecoder »

lm28469 wrote: post #68
qwertox wrote: post #58

I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…

Reminds me of this bicycle subreddit where they spend thousands on bikes and cosplay attires to get smoked by 60+ years old dudes on 40 years old bikes As a casual rider you'll be the bottleneck for years before your gear matters even the slightest

There’s also a saying in bike communities, along the lines of, it doesn’t get easier you’ll only ride faster. Riding a heavy bike with no aerodynamics will lead to building strength faster. While it can be a bit frustrating if you’re new and riding in a group, joining more beginner friendly groups and upgrading the bike later is much better overall.

It is however really important to get the posture and pedaling technique right. Way too many people in expensive gear do push-only instead of a push-pull. That’s like biking 101. It’s much better to get that smooth pedaling and core support. It’ll prevent injuries and fatigue.

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#76

Post by simonebrunozzi »

> The biggest part of a bike’s wind resistance is caused by the rider. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do with respect to the airflow around bike and rider.

I have an idea about that, and I would like to explore it. Not having a mechanical engineering background, what do you think would be the best way to build a prototype, patent it, etc? Is there any engineering firm that would provide such service, let's say in Europe?

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#77

Post by ehnto »

glenngillen wrote: post #46
ehnto wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, except on the electric part. Where I live e-bikes don't assist over 25/kmph, and I'm always above that... until, my ride home. Which is steep hill, and I'm tired, and I just want to go home. As an all-rounder it's been the best bike I've had yet, I can do just about anything with it. Very utilitarian. I ride a heap, I ride MTB, commute and also a gravel bike for fun, so I feel no shame getting that e-assist…

Depending on the bike/motor you've got, something like this can be very inconspicuously added to your bike to get past the 25/kmph limit: https://planet3.bike I've one on a Specialized Levo and it works great.

That's a great solution, I knew about the method for circumvention being the magnet pickup but I've never seen a specific defeat device like this. That's really clever.

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#78

Post by gergely »

jackmott42 wrote: post #73
prmoustache wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is actually very little difference between a cyclocross bike and a lightweight gravel bike. Slightly lower BB, slightly longer wheelbase, sometimes slightly different headtube angle, flared handlebars. Actually the first gravel bikes were rebadged cx bikes. You can race cx with a gravel bike and race gravel with a cx bike. The rider makes most of the difference.

And you can do fine in a road race with a gravel or cyclocross bike! Just gotta put appropriate tires on.

You have just proved you haven't rode a cyclocross bike. Since those bikes' center of mass is higher than the road bikes it is really "nervous" on high speeds for example long descents.

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#79

Post by qwertox »

chitowneats wrote: post #66
qwertox wrote: post #58

I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…

I appreciate your approach but the reason people like optimizations is for speed. The thrill of riding fast is what keeps a lot of us coming back.

Don't get me wrong, I also love to go down a forest path at 45 kph to the point where I get scared, but I know that I also have to go up again. But going as fast as possible on a horizontal path is not attractive to me at all. If I want to expend energy, I prefer to ride up a hill where I then can have the fun of riding down, even if I have to pedal 20 minutes up to then go down within a minute or two.

But I also recognize that there are those who are already super efficient and want to get the absolutely most out of their gear, even improving it as much as possible, which is really ok by me. I wish I were at that point, but I think I'd first have to go to the gym for that.

Re: Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes

#80

Post by elliottkember »

lm28469 wrote: post #68
qwertox wrote: post #58

I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…

Reminds me of this bicycle subreddit where they spend thousands on bikes and cosplay attires to get smoked by 60+ years old dudes on 40 years old bikes As a casual rider you'll be the bottleneck for years before your gear matters even the slightest

I've been circling the fountain pen reddit for a little while now and it's a similar thing. They spend thousands on pens, import ink from Italy, buy fancy paper, but their handwriting looks like a doctor's scrawl.
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