Last Saturday, Jim Manton ( ERO Sports ), Jennifer Tetrick (Alphamantis Technologies), and Tom Fowler (Recon Instruments) ran a series of tests on 3 riders to look at the impact of leg shaving on rider aerodynamics. The article is up on the main page. We jokingly called the study, Hairocamp, as a tribute to Heath Dotson and Brian Stover’s December Aerocamp.
The results were surprisingly positive, as this would be a very inexpensive way to get free speed. http://imgur.com/L2ZuCIy
Why have you refused to deny that the results could be entirely explained by a volley ball game inside the velodrome?
I admit that there was a volleyball tournament going on at the time. Here are the air densities we recorded throughout the day:
10:40am - 1.185 (Full crowd)
12:33pm - 1.188 (Med Crowd)
2:05pm - 1.1887 (Small Crowd)
3:05pm - 1.1887 (empty w/a few riders on the track)
3:39pm - 1.1868 (same as above)
Did you test the potential difference between shaving with a razor, electric razor and waxing? I think it is critical to determine the best shaving option…
Did you test the potential difference between shaving with a razor, electric razor and waxing? I think it is critical to determine the best shaving option…
One of our riders absolutely wouldn’t try waxing, so we used the a razor on all of them. We wanted to homogenize the “defoliation” protocol.
Awesome stuff, I’m now currently stocking up on razors as part of my tri equipment stockpile. Some suggested future areas of inquiry:
Facial hair patterns and modifications
Modified pony tail fairings (the reverse Laurent Fignon effect)
Effect of body piercings on aero drag
Improved aerodynamics through cosmetic surgery
Well, as you all probably have figured out by now, it was indeed an April Fools’ joke. Thanks so much to Herbert and Slowman for being such good sports about this. More reasons for us to love this site so much!
Funny thing is that the more we learn about fabric textures and their effect on reducing drag, the more I really think we should test this once and for all. The shin stripe definitely should be tried, and when we get around to testing it, I promise to keep Slowtwitch in the loop.
I knew it was 01APR…I was on the lookout for gags…but because one or both of youse guys had, some time ago, mentioned wanting to look into this (here’s one example) I was 100% HAD until I got to the first picture. Well played.
I knew it was 01APR…I was on the lookout for gags…but because one or both of youse guys had, some time ago, mentioned wanting to look into this (here’s one example) I was 100% HAD until I got to the first picture. Well played.
Crap, you mean we had a chance to fool a darned good industry engineer, and missed. We’ll try and take better photos next time.
