Wind effect

larkim

No, not a Brussel Sprout related question...

Riding into the wind seems to have a disproportionate effect on the amount of effort I feel I have to put (or alternatively to the speed that I am riding at). I'm still very much a beginner at this, and ride solo not in groups.

What should my expectation be of riding into the wind (e.g. "how much" harder?), and what can I do to minimise the impact?

Matt

t4tomo

Hard to quantify as depends on how strong wind is, how fat / sail like you are etc.

I did an out and back on sunday whislt my kid was at his hockey training, headed pretty much due North and felt like a god, was only when i was heading back that i realised I'd been wind assisted on the way out as it was harder going coming back.

Still a beautiful day for it. Nice to be in shorts and SS top rather than winter tights and 4 layers

cougie

Minimise your frontal area. Get as narrow and low as you can without impeding your power output.

Wear tight fitting kit - nothing loose or flappy.

That said - suck it up = there will always be wind and there will be that magical one day where you get a strong tailwind out of nowhere. These happen about once every 20 years or so, but well worth waiting for.

slowbike

Most of the effort you're putting in is going to pushing that air out of the way - the faster you go the more air you're having to displace - so when that wind starts coming at you it is naturally harder.

I think the worst I've had is a F8 headwind on a fast section that I normally ride at between 20 and 25mph - with that headwind I was struggling to hit 13mph!

Ways to minimise impact are to get yourself low, don't wear flappy clothing and find someone to ride behind!

kajjal

All you can do is wear tighter clothing and ride in a lower position. My normal rides mean I go over a hill into a valley and out the other side of the valley. At the top the wind can be very gusty and not from a constant direction which in strong winds means gripping the bars hard and it is tough going. At one point I was free wheeling down a hill at only 10mph due to the wind, normally it would be 20mph+. In the valley the wind is more consistent and easier to pedal into.

larkim

Cheers - much as I suspected!

I suppose the bit which feels "wrong" to me is that if I'm putting in hard effort going uphill I'd normally be either hands on the tops, sitting up a little more, or on the hoods standing up on the pedals - neither of which technique helps to reduce frontal area when riding into a strong wind (which effectively feels like riding uphill!)

I'm finding it hard to let go of wearing nice loose, flappy clothing though - no love for lycra just yet. Would it make *that* much difference for someone who's idea of a high average speed (on a calm day) is 17.5mph over an hour's undulating ride (working on the basis that aero effects have a higher payback at higher speeds)?

Matt

slowbike

larkim wrote:

I'm finding it hard to let go of wearing nice loose, flappy clothing though - no love for lycra just yet. Would it make *that* much difference for someone who's idea of a high average speed (on a calm day) is 17.5mph over an hour's undulating ride (working on the basis that aero effects have a higher payback at higher speeds)?

Matt

Yes ... it would ...

ai_1

larkim wrote:

No, not a Brussel Sprout related question...

Riding into the wind seems to have a disproportionate effect on the amount of effort I feel I have to put (or alternatively to the speed that I am riding at). I'm still very much a beginner at this, and ride solo not in groups.

What should my expectation be of riding into the wind (e.g. "how much" harder?), and what can I do to minimise the impact?

Matt

What do you mean by disproportionate?
Air resistance is where you expend most of your energy except on slow climbs. You should expect wind to have a very significant impact on your speed.

17.5mph is a respectable average and fast enough that clothing will make a difference even in calm weather. However remember that ground speed is not what determines aerodynamic drag. Airspeed does. In a strong headwind it's likely a larger proportion of your airspeed is due to wind than your groundspeed.

larkim

Slowbike wrote:

larkim wrote:

I'm finding it hard to let go of wearing nice loose, flappy clothing though - no love for lycra just yet. Would it make *that* much difference for someone who's idea of a high average speed (on a calm day) is 17.5mph over an hour's undulating ride (working on the basis that aero effects have a higher payback at higher speeds)?

Matt

Yes ... it would ...

OK. Perhaps I have to hang up my preconceptions about lycra.

(There's another thread to be discussed - who is self conscious about their paunch vs their lycra... :oops: )

Matt

ai_1

larkim wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

larkim wrote:

I'm finding it hard to let go of wearing nice loose, flappy clothing though - no love for lycra just yet. Would it make *that* much difference for someone who's idea of a high average speed (on a calm day) is 17.5mph over an hour's undulating ride (working on the basis that aero effects have a higher payback at higher speeds)?

Matt

Yes ... it would ...

OK. Perhaps I have to hang up my preconceptions about lycra.

(There's another thread to be discussed - who is self conscious about their paunch vs their lycra... :oops: )

Matt

Most of us don't look amazing in lycra (although some think they do!) but it's definitely the most comfortable way to dress and will help your speed too. Most people won't recognise you out on the bike anyway so forget how you look. Just suck it in on your way out the door and as you arrive back home!

t4tomo

larkim wrote:

I suppose the bit which feels "wrong" to me is that if I'm putting in hard effort going uphill I'd normally be either hands on the tops, sitting up a little more, or on the hoods standing up on the pedals - neither of which technique helps to reduce frontal area when riding into a strong wind (which effectively feels like riding uphill!)

Matt

You need to learn to climb Pantani style


Actually being aero makes less difference uphill as the speeds are lower. Aero drag increases with speed.

fishyweb

>>Aero drag increases with speed

In fact, I believe it increases exponentially! :-(

larkim

Ai_1 wrote:

Most of us don't look amazing in lycra (although some think they do!) but it's definitely the most comfortable way to dress and will help your speed too. Most people won't recognise you out on the bike anyway so forget how you look. Just suck it in on your way out the door and as you arrive back home!

It's the snide remarks from SWMBO and my kids which are more of a concern, so it would be case of sucking in from the bedroom door, through the house, out to the garage and then....relax...

Perhaps its just me that drives past lycra clad individuals with guts no larger than mine (5ft8, 77kg) and mentally sneers; hence why I think everyone else does!!

ai_1

larkim wrote:

Ai_1 wrote:

Most of us don't look amazing in lycra (although some think they do!) but it's definitely the most comfortable way to dress and will help your speed too. Most people won't recognise you out on the bike anyway so forget how you look. Just suck it in on your way out the door and as you arrive back home!

It's the snide remarks from SWMBO and my kids which are more of a concern, so it would be case of sucking in from the bedroom door, through the house, out to the garage and then....relax...

Perhaps its just me that drives past lycra clad individuals with guts no larger than mine (5ft8, 77kg) and mentally sneers; hence why I think everyone else does!!

Pretend you think they're just jealous and they might give up commenting!
Alternatively if that's all that's stopping you, throw on a tracksuit bottoms on until you get to your bike!

larkim

So to conclude - riding into the wind is unpleasant.

Only solutions are:-
-MTFU
-Better position
-Lycra (and shaved legs if desperate)

Fair enough!

markhewitt1978

Wind is awful. Hard work riding into it. Hard work when it's sideways keeping control. The only time it's good is when it's blowing directly behind you and not gusting!

Daz555

larkim wrote:

So to conclude - riding into the wind is unpleasant.

Only solutions are:-
-MTFU
-Better position
-Lycra (and shaved legs if desperate)

Fair enough!

You can ignore the hairy legs.

Bozman

Somebody on here compared a headwind to a hill and I'd say that's how I look at it now, plus if you ride solo look at the wind direction and choose your route on that basis.
I rode in to one hell of a headwind the other week, it was draining me dry for about 15 miles... until I realised that my rear brake was dragging too, I must have caught the caliper when I cleaned the bike and the wheel would even spin freely. School boy error.

markhewitt1978

All our club runs are always planned such that they ride out into the wind, no matter how slight the wind may seem at first. As if you have a choice as to which way to go, might as well have the wind helping you home.

markhewitt1978

Bozman wrote:

Somebody on here compared a headwind to a hill and I'd say that's how I look at it now,.

What often happens around here is that the wind blows down the hill, which turns an already steep hill into a wall.

Pross

Wind is good, it means you have to work hard no matter what or you simply don't get anywhere.

I'll keep telling myself that as the wind is blowing the 'wrong' way and I have a rare headwind for virtually all of my 19 mile commute home tonight!

Mikey23

Why is that the benefit of riding with a tailwind never quite compensates for the riding into the wind bit? (Doesn't require an answer)

Pross

I've changed my mind. I hate the wind and never want to ride my bike again!

oblongomaculatus

cougie wrote:

there will always be wind and there will be that magical one day where you get a strong tailwind out of nowhere.

Out of nowhere? How does that happen? Windspeed and direction are predictable, aren't they? By checking the forecast, you can sometimes arrange to ride into a relatively light headwind on the way out, then a stronger tailwind going back, if the wind is forecast to increase during the day. Or the other way round. I do sometimes seem to have picked up an unexpected tailwind, but when I check my route and the forecast windspeed and direction later, I always find the stretch of road I was on was predicted to have the wind behind after all; I was just getting confused by the twists and turns of the road!

slowbike

Pross wrote:

I've changed my mind. I hate the wind and never want to ride my bike again!

What you need are some cars doing close passes tooting their horns ....


Had a head wind in to work today - but I was testing aero bars and aero helmet so it was a little easier .. not much though!

markhewitt1978

Consistent wind - as long as it's not too strong (<20mph) you can deal with it by adjusting your direction etc. It's when it's blustery and gusting strong that's the issue, blowing you clear across the road sometimes!

rpherts

Try riding in the Fens (or any large flat, open area with no cover), you get full value for the wind there. A 15mph headwind can feel like a mini-hurricane.

markhewitt1978

After nice calm weather all week we're going to be back to 20mph winds for the weekend

larkim

Don't remind me - after a lovely few days in which the only duathlon I ever take part in would have had perfect weather, I have to contend with 5 laps around Oulton Park in winds gusting up to 30mph!!

cougie

I was there for the Half Marathon a few weeks back - we were blown around just running.

I'm hoping it won't be anywhere near that gusty for Sunday ! Have a good race.

rpherts

Wind I can put up with (and grumble about), at least the forecast is dry and mild.