Are light bikes more susceptible to strong winds?
Anonymous
Posts: 79,667
My wife seems to think she gets blown around more on her very light bike than her not as light (but not heavy) one.
The heavier one has deeper section wheels too (Racing Quattro's).
They are both racey geometry so her position should be similar.
The heavier one has deeper section wheels too (Racing Quattro's).
They are both racey geometry so her position should be similar.
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Subtle changes in the steering geometry could make a difference.0
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I regularly ride a route over the Stiperstones and Long Mynd in Shropshire which is prone to strongly gusting sudden side winds. My 7kg road bike gets blown about more than my 13kg tourer. Neither has deep section wheels.0
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In theory less weight will be more susceptible. In practice 2kg saved on the bike isn't a big % when you add a riders weight. Probably more to do with different shapes, etc.0
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my 7kg road bike gets blown around a lot more than my 12kg hybrid
I don't believe its anything to do with the weight though, the road bike is a LOT more nimble, any slight movement ont he bars and the bike tips in to a turn ..... thinner tires, more aggressive geometry, I am sure if I strapped 5kg of weight to it it would still get blown about more.0 -
Stueys wrote:In theory less weight will be more susceptible. In practice 2kg saved on the bike isn't a big % when you add a riders weight. Probably more to do with different shapes, etc.
Yes, but a lightweight bike handles better when you even shave 0.5kg off it so you'd expect a lighter bike to react differently to the wind as well. It will be the same as the discussions you get about whether luggage is better carried on the person than the bike - ie luggage on the rider is harder work but doesn't affect the bike handling but luggage on the bike really does.Faster than a tent.......0 -
It's surface area that's the main consideration rather than weight. Add your body shape and the bike is a small component when you have side winds
The majority of times it's down to riders input, they're tense with rigid arms which when the body is hit means the bars move. The trick is to relax your arms which will dampen any adverse inputs but this technique won't help if you have 60mm rims
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
Desmond Tutu0 -
I reckon that all other things being equal, a lighter bike will be deflected more by wind than a heavier one. I can easily topple a plastic drink bottle by blowing at it, but I can't move an identical glass one.
However, deep section wheels, slab-sided aero frames, mudguards, geometry and panniers also play their part. Although my naked tourer is less deflected by wind than my lightweight carbon road bike, it can be a handful when I fit panniers. I've been blown halfway across the road on several occasions when touring in southern France and encountering the mistral and tramontane winds.0 -
I tend to feel my winter bike (3 or 4kg heavier than my summer one) is more susceptible to cross winds. Always assumed it was due to bigger tyres, slightly deeper rims and mudguards presenting a bigger surface for the wind to catch.
Then again, I probably ride it in windier conditions so maybe it's just my imagination!0 -
Mercia Man wrote:I can easily topple a plastic drink bottle by blowing at it, but I can't move an identical glass one.
Not if it had weight on top of it you wouldn't.0 -
Carbonator wrote:My wife seems to think she gets blown around more on her very light bike than her not as light (but not heavy) one.
The heavier one has deeper section wheels too (Racing Quattro's).
They are both racey geometry so her position should be similar.
You haven't given us the weight of the bikes or rider, so at a guess:
65kg rider + heavy (eg 9kg) bike = 74kg
65kg rider + light (eg 7kg) bike = 72kg
Total difference = 2kg, or a 'massive' 2.6% difference in total weight.0 -
56KG rider. Bikes are a bit lighter too, but yes, roughly 2kg difference.
I don't think the weight of bikes is a factor regards wind personally.
More top heavy I suppose though.0 -
If your wife gains 50kg then winds will be less of a problem.0
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If this was the case, on the exact same bike your wife would be able to start a ride with two full bottles, and by the end of the ride when the drinks have gone, she'd complain about being blown about.
Fact is, it's probably nothing more than geometry, some bikes with sharper handling do get blown about more. Your wife probably isn't ever pushing the handling of either bike so it's only when it's windy she's noticing this effect on the sharper handing bike.0 -
I'm not sure about bicycles. However with motorcycles a 125cc bike will get blown around far more than say a 600.
I would suspect with bicycles rim depth and tube shape would have more effect. CF bikes have oval frame tubes, whereas steel and Ti frame tend to have round tubes. Surely the lesser/greater surface area would play more role than weight for bicycles.0 -
A light bike will get blown around a little more, but a light rider even more so. The difference in bike weight is minimal compared to the total weight of bike plus rider.
Side surface area also comes into play. My big tall 650 gets blown around like crazy in a crosswind!ZMC888 wrote:I'm not sure about bicycles. However with motorcycles a 125cc bike will get blown around far more than say a 600.0 -
mfin wrote:If this was the case, on the exact same bike your wife would be able to start a ride with two full bottles, and by the end of the ride when the drinks have gone, she'd complain about being blown about.
Fact is, it's probably nothing more than geometry, some bikes with sharper handling do get blown about more. Your wife probably isn't ever pushing the handling of either bike so it's only when it's windy she's noticing this effect on the sharper handing bike.
Yeah, good point. That kind of proves weight is nothing to do with it for me.
She probably does not take two bottles on a ride thats going to be windy, but the points still valid I think.
I do believe that bike weight is separate to rider/bike plus rider weight in terms of performance, but cannot see a bike being lighter affecting wind stability.
They are small unisex frames too. I think I read that compromises geometry a bit.
And yes, she needs to man up a bit with the lighter one and appreciate its qualities more.0 -
I'm no scientist but I do remember some basic physics, the laws of mass and inertia. Take two outwardly identical bricks, one regular and the other made of polystyrene. Give each brick an identical push. The heavier regular brick has the most mass and most inertia. It will not move as far as the polystyrene brick for the same force.
This is why a light carbon road bike accelerates better than a heavy steel tourer. And why a lighter bike will deflect more than a heavier bike when each is subjected to a 30 mph side wind gust.
Obviously, things like deep section wheels or the weight of the rider will make also affect deflection caused by wind.0 -
Mercia Man wrote:I'm no scientist but I do remember some basic physics, the laws of mass and inertia. Take two outwardly identical bricks, one regular and the other made of polystyrene. Give each brick an identical push. The heavier regular brick has the most mass and most inertia. It will not move as far as the polystyrene brick for the same force.
This is why a light carbon road bike accelerates better than a heavy steel tourer. And why a lighter bike will deflect more than a heavier bike when each is subjected to a 30 mph side wind gust.
Obviously, things like deep section wheels or the weight of the rider will make also affect deflection caused by wind.
In truth though, all that's happening is to do with the guy's wife getting blown about more on the lighter bike when it's actually its handling that's sharper. This is what I'd bet. I'd also bet if this bike was a touch heavier than the other one she'd still be saying this one is getting blown about more.
The thing is, a lot of people can't cope with side winds, they tense up as they immediately become twitchy themselves and they don't like the feeling of what then happens to the bike. Another person of same weight and size could easily ride without being bothered by the same wind.
It's more about the rider than physics of mass and inertia I expect. If not like my example, we'd find ourselves riding in windy conditions with empty bottles and think "I wish my bottles were full then I wouldn't be blown about so much" and I've never heard anyone say that or say they've ever thought it.0 -
Modern carbon bikes have more surface area exposed to side winds, like big tubes.... that is probably the reason they get blown over more than old heavy steel bikes with tinier and rounder tubesleft the forum March 20230
