Break the 60KM/HR record

A

Alain

Member
Benchmark for unfaired recumbents was held by Aurélien Bonneteau. Current world record holder is the German Matthias König. He rode 57,6 km in one hour in 2016 in Frankfurt/Oder.
 
DavidCH

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
If you want to go faster put some fairings over the feet and pedals to slice through the air... there must be so much turbulence with a recumbent when pedalling that I am surprised no one has done it
 
Mathew Fy

Mathew Fy

GRU
DavidCH said:
If you want to go faster put some fairings over the feet and pedals to slice through the air... there must be so much turbulence with a recumbent when pedalling that I am surprised no one has done it
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I wonder how many watts can be shaved off by using such shoes. I noticed from ed72's link that the rider's wearing what looks to be a sock over his shoes with Speedplay Zeros mounted way back. This brings to mind this modification mentioned in the forum elsewhere:
https://www.shop.view-speed.com/View-Speed-Aero-Shoe-Modification-610098715986.htm
Of course the Speedplay Zero Aero combined with some shoe cover could be just as good as any shoe modification. I'd love to see the comparisons.
 
A

Alain

Member
I shaped a foam core and wrapped it with the shoes with plastic film. Then I wrapped it with glass fibre soaked with epoxy resin. The whole was covered again with plastic wrap. The covers were very fragile and just taped to the shoes.
 
G

GetBent

Well-Known Member
For you folks with power meters, I would be interested in how much power it takes to ride a given speed. My computer calculated that at an average speed 19.9 mph on a 6 mile flat loop on a no wind day, my average power was 122 watts. I ride a V20 with 700x28 Specialized tires, two water bottles, bar end mirror, a Moose bag stuffed with tools, and a bag slung under the frame large enough to hold a complete set of Gore-Tex. Basically a stock V20 with no aerodynamic tweaks, just some extra weight and drag. No, I do not wax the chain, yet.
 
E

ed72

Zen MBB Master
ccf said:
Did he simply pull socks over his shoes?

If yes, is that really more aero?
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Is it?

I don't know. Was a bit tongue in cheeky comment from me. I suspect they tested.....

They covered the pedal and if more aerodynamic, this is probably the reason. Shoe covers are often slower on an upright.
 
Osiris

Osiris

Zen MBB Master
GetBent said:
For you folks with power meters, I would be interested in how much power it takes to ride a given speed. My computer calculated that at an average speed 19.9 mph on a 6 mile flat loop on a no wind day, my average power was 122 watts. I ride a V20 with 700x28 Specialized tires, two water bottles, bar end mirror, a Moose bag stuffed with tools, and a bag slung under the frame large enough to hold a complete set of Gore-Tex. Basically a stock V20 with no aerodynamic tweaks, just some extra weight and drag. No, I do not wax the chain, yet.
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Rolling speeds for the group I ride with are generally 21-22 mph, and the last time I rode with them I remember seeing something like 100 watts at 21 mph. This was on a perfectly flat road on a windless day, and I was far enough from the pack not to be in anyone's draft. Personally, I haven't seen much benefit in comparing my numbers to those obtained by other riders, though. For example, Larry Oslund and I both ride a V20 and use the same pedal mounted Garmin Vector power meter, yet his power numbers don't match mine at all at any given speed.
 
E

ed72

Zen MBB Master
GetBent said:
average speed 19.9 mph on a 6 mile flat loop on a no wind day, my average power was 122 watts. I ride a V20 with 700x28 Specialized tires,
Click to expand...

Which model of tire? Tires can add or subtract 5-10 watts.

With all the "stuff".......sounds reasonable unless you are quite small.
 
G

GetBent

Well-Known Member
Thanks!

Just curious how the calculated values compare with measured values. I realize that there are many variables. I have three data points from a 6 mile flat loop, on no/light wind days. 21 w/10 mph, 57 w/15 mph, 122 w/19.9. Using quadratic regression, 220 w would get me 25 mph, slower than the previous poster for about the same power output. That actually makes some sense, as I have my "foul weather bag" hanging under the frame, and I am running 28mm tires. The math also indicates that I "only" need to up my average power output by about 20 w to average 21 mph over the 6 mile course. That seems like an achievable goal tonight, but sure did not when I missed my 20 mph goal by 0.1 mph. Maybe I will need to fudge a little, and put the 23 mm tires back on, and ditch the extra gear. My peak power output is calculated to be 280 w while in an all out sprint up a 9% hill. That is up from 195 w on the same hill at the beginning of the summer. So some progress has been made.
 
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E

ed72

Zen MBB Master
GetBent said:
Just curious how the calculated values compare with measured values.
Click to expand...

Not well in practice over a certain speed.

Crr varies with temperature and speed in practice although assumed to be a constant in models that calculate for us. It works well in the 15-25 mph range.
 
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