Wind Tunnel testing has been carried out since the Wright brothers and has been a valuable tool in advancing the field of transportation. Wind Tunnel testing is also one of the most mis-used and abused tools in the cycling industry. Tests are often run by unskilled manufacturers who do not have the knowledge to control in minute detail the consistency required to obtain accurate and meaningful results. The ‘results’ are often used for marketing purposes. Xlab products have been tested in the Wind Tunnel for over 15 years and Xlab’s founder and Chief Engineer has been involved with aerodynamic design and testing for over 40 years. Although Xlab products have been tunnel tested for over 15 years, 2008 is the first year we felt it necessary to discuss our testing. The reason for this is that others are making statements of time savings that our testing of their products and others, makes us feel their information is not accurate. In order to make testing even more precise than in the past, Xlab developed a revolutionary new positioning tool called the Xlab Slipstream Jersey.
The Slipstream Jersey is designed to optimize the aerodynamic position of the rider by adjusting the rider’s position until all the ‘tell tails’ are streaming straight back with the wind flow, and not fluttering with turbulent air. Only when a Slipstream Jersey is used can the rider be in the optimum aero position. It is critical for the rider to be set up correctly otherwise the airflow down the back and around the hips will be turbulent due to a too high position, or hips rocking.. Xlab’s testing of its latest Carbon Wing product in 2007 proved again to be the fastest of all our competitors we tested. You are probably familiar with ‘drafting’ behind another cyclist (illegal for Triathletes as you know). This is what we do with our carriers. Using Slipstream Tunnel Testing, we determine the turbulent area behind the cyclist in which to place our carriers in the drafting position.
We are not trying to prove we are the fastest; we wanted to know the reasons if we were not the fastest. Needless to say, our 15 years of Xlab testing, and having won more times in Kona than any other rear mounted bottle carrier, has taught us well on the ideal position for the rear carriers, in terms of height, sideways and closeness to the body. One thing we have found is that you do not want to put a bottle carrier low down behind an aero seatpost. The high pressure air that travels between your thighs and around the aero seatpost, just bangs straight up against the bottles and causes an increase in drag. This defeats the purpose of aero seatposts. Xlab Wind Tunnel testing has been an important tool in developing the world’s fastest rear bottle carriers which have been used by more Pros that all others combined. Craig V. Turner |
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