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Are there any scientific and independent evaluations of different bicycles from an aerodynamics perspective?

Eyad
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1 Answers1

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Aerodynamic testing is expensive, difficult and controversial. It's controversial because there are no real agreed on standardized methods for testing and what test setups replicate real world riding conditions.

Any research lab that does such tests are likely to sell the valuable data to manufacturers, rather than publishing it to the world for free.

Hambini (YouTuber, blogger and real-life aerodynamics engineer) did a comprehensive test of wheels and published the results on his blog, but I think he took them down. (Warning, if you watch his videos: he swears a lot and is very forthright in his very negative opinions of certain people and companies.)

Argenti Apparatus
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    Aero testing needn't be expensive, but it's still difficult and controversial. A couple of years ago a gofundme project took six TT and triathlon bikes to the A2 wind tunnel to test bikes and some equipment. You can see some of the difficulty and controversy here: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=6277095#p6277095

    In the meantime, it's possible to do aero (and rolling resistance) testing yourself but, as mentioned, it's hard and controversial.

     – R. Chung Oct 19 '19 at 16:04
  • I think he took them down Still available (elsewhere on the web) I think he wants readers to get to that via his (blog) posts. That way you get to read how Flo (rhymes with SLO...) tried to force him to take them down, including apparently hiring lawyers and attempting to pressure his employer to fire him, IIRC. – Andrew Henle Oct 20 '19 at 13:12
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    The first half of a recent Cyclingtips.com podcast discusses (among other things) wind tunnel test protocols and why it's hard to do direct comparisons. The second half of that podcast discusses how one might go about doing your own aerodynamic testing. https://cyclingtips.com/2019/07/nerd-alert-podcast-ep-1-go-faster-with-aerodynamics-made-simple/

    This SE.bikes question and answer may also be useful: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/9938/how-can-one-estimate-drag-for-a-bicycle

     – R. Chung Oct 20 '19 at 15:22
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    @AndrewHenle The thing is that on Slowtwitch, Flo disputed that they sued him. I don't believe Hambini ever managed to produce a letter that was clearly identifiable as someone representing Flo (as opposed to being redacted). Also, this Reddit post gives me some reason to question Hambini's credibility. https://www.reddit.com/r/Velo/comments/cs1qlf/hambini_aerodynamic_masterclass_bike_wheels/f044ihz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x – Weiwen Ng Oct 22 '19 at 17:43
  • Adding to the above comment, if readers dig through this article by Zero Friction Cycling, the author also raised some questions over Hambini's credibility regarding his purported tests of hybrid ceramic vs steel bearing lifespan and drag. https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Hybrid-Ceramic-Vs-Steel-Bearings-Article-2.pdf – Weiwen Ng Apr 21 '20 at 15:41