Streamliner bicycles: a deep dive in the field of

atlas_shrugged wrote: Enrico  This is a great study. I hope this can be submitted for publishing in our Laidback Cyclist magazine if you would like. So the real enemy is rolling resistance - especially on our UK roads!

I wanted to share this paper to show how many tools are available these days to help you design a better bike, if you're interested. But first, it's worth trying to get a better handle on the science behind what affects how well a bike performs.

I'm perfectly happy for this to be published, and I appreciate you considering my study. Just a reminder that I'm not a total expert on all this!

Generally speaking, aerodynamics become more important the faster you're trying to go, especially for bikes without fairings – they can act like a bit of a parachute. Though, recumbent bikes usually beat any traditional bike in that regard.

Rolling resistance is often underestimated, but it's something you can improve with the right tyre choices. The quality of the roads (which aren't always great for cycling in Italy!) is another factor, although one we can't really change, but still need to think about.

Ultimately, though, gradient (hills!) is the real performance killer.

So, these three main forces – aero drag, rolling resistance, and gradient – can be more or less important depending on the type of cycling you're doing (racing or just for fun), the bike and the route (gradient, road surface, and so on).

Naturally, in racing, certain choices matter much more than they would in other cycling scenarios. Plus, we have to remember that streamliners are top-of-the-line racing machines, and they have some very specific features.

The main point of my study is to highlight that, given certain conditions, and understanding how these factors affect our cycling performance, there are choices we can make to improve how we ride or reduce the effort involved.

... but always remember that having fun is what really matters!