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To complement Neil Fein's answer, the rider's position is almost entirely controlled (given a particular rider) by the geometry of the bike. Compare the following bikes. In the first image of a hybrid bike, the saddle is slightly below the handlebars. In the second image depicting a road racing bike, the saddle is well above it, forcing the rider to lean ...

No, on the contrary the lead rider also gets a boost. The reason to be unhappy about someone drafting you is that they're too close to be able to react if there's a problem - if you go down they will run over you. The way I understand the boost is that a solo rider is effectively dragging around a volume of low pressure air - you push the air out of the ...

The answer is ... it depends. Normally, by reducing/filling the vacuum that exists behind the lead rider, the drafter would be expected to give the leader a slight boost (though nowhere near the boost the drafter gets). But fluid dynamics is a tricky thing, and there are probably configurations (based on a few millimeters movement one way or the other) ...

The following forces are acting on your bike as you roll downhill (in more or less decreasing order): Gravity The force of gravity is proportional to mass. If two riders have the same aerodynamic profile, the heavier rider will descend with a higher maximum speed. This is easily seen in the formula for terminal velocity. The intuitive explanation is that ...

TLDR; assuming my calculations below are correct, there's roughly a 10% increase in air resistance between hot, humid days, and warm, dry days. Add in a slight but imperceptible tailwind or headwind, and it's conceivable that you could experience a 4–5mph difference in cruising speed between two days. Air resistance is the primary force a cyclist must ...

What you're referring to is tucking, an act that's most easily done with drop bars - the curved handlebars with multiple hand positions you see on road bikes. The holy grail for some hardcore roadies (road cyclists) is the flat back, where the rider is tucked all the way forward, their hands on the lower part of the drop bars - the "drops". This is done so ...

If you are close enough to get into their Slipstream, you can essentially kill their drag. This might feel like a boost because the wind that was previously pulling them back is now transferred to YOUR rear and not sucking on them anymore. Here is a photo of a bullet's slipstream (wake), where you can see the air sucking the bullet backwards. There is no ...

If there is an aerodynamic difference, it is so small it is utterly unnoticeable in practice. In a paceline, the resistance experienced by the front rider is overwhelmingly dominated by slicing through the air in front of him. Perhaps you're thinking of a velodrome race? What often happens is that the second rider will pass around the outside by quickly ...

Obviously the prices seem to support the idea that aerodynamics matter more than a few hundred grams of weight, but at what point does the added weight offset the gain? An exact calculation will depend on the total mass of you and your bike, your speed, the wind, its angle, whether you're climbing, on the flat, or descending, and the speed you're ...

Aero frames are generally slightly heavier than the standard frame you'd compare it to, though the difference might not even be enough for the average person to notice. Someone who regularly competes in time trials might want the increased speed on relatively flat ground, competitors will certainly notice the difference. If you're not competing in time ...

On high humidity days, the air has less mass due to the more H2O, which is lighter than typical O2, CO2 and N2 weights. On high pressure days there is more mass for you to push aside. Air temperature also plays a part - hot air is less dense than cold air. Therefore a hot, low pressure, high humidity day requires less mass to be pushed aside. These make a ...

I think it depends on the course you're riding. Professionals will have multiple wheelsets and use different wheels depending on the course they are riding for the day. Weight really only makes a big difference if you are climbing or accelerating. So for a course with a lot of climibing, where aerodynamic drag is at a minimum anyway, they will often ...

They're heavier, hotter (vents would do the opposite of what you're trying to do with an aero helmet, which is to route air up and over the helmet), and it's more difficult to turn your head (it doesn't completely prohibit turning your head but you lose the benefit of the shape as you turn it off-axis) so you have to depend on peripheral vision more. Plus, ...

Except for the steepest of hill climbs, aero wheels will almost always improve speed; however, the choice among race wheels will depend on the types of races you do, your strengths as a racer, how important small improvements in aerodynamic drag are to your goals, and the size of your bank account. For short individual time trials, .0025 m^2 savings in CdA ...

The short answer is that a deep front rim will almost always affect handling more than a deep rear rim. The exact answer depends, as you surmised, on windspeed and yaw angle; however, it also depends on the design and geometry of the bike and the rims in question. For Tri or TT bikes where the rider is positioned maximally forward (or, under UCI regulations, ...

Note that the savings in power is still relatively modest. When racing, even small benefits can accrue to determine victory or loss, but for normal recreational riding you may want to keep the magnitude of lighter wheels vs more aero wheels in mind, especially if your budget is limited. Only you can decide whether the relative benefit is cost effective.

I think you could take this technique pretty far, but probably not all the way (at least usefully). I see a lot of use for the first part of your plan: taking multiple pictures and reconstructing a 3D model. If you try this for multiple postures I think it should be possible to determine an optimal position for you on your bike based on just looking at the ...

It will probably depend on terrain, speed, and other aerodynamic (or lack thereof) factors whether one would even notice a difference between an "aero" frame or a "normal" frame. If you're climbing lots of hills, riding in traffic, or otherwise not in a position where wind resistance is your chief enemy, I doubt you'd see a benefit from going aero. If you ...