Author: Jon Thornham
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FLO Cycling – Union University Aero Wheel Study
Last year I spoke with Professor Georg Pingen from Union University in Tennessee. He mentioned that he had a class of students that wanted to study aero wheels on the road. I loved the idea and we sent a set of wheels to the university for testing. The results just came in and I…
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Studying Bike Tires Part 6 – The Maiden Voyage
Over the last few days, I’ve been able to get out on the road to test the sensors and my carpentry skills. Everything has been going really well. Here is a quick update on what we’ve been doing. The Voyage The first ride was at a slow-paced eight mile trip. I…
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Studying Bike Tires Part 7 – Solving for CdA
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about our tire study. Things have been busy here at FLO. Our last post discussed our maiden voyage. Since that time we’ve spent a lot of time riding the sensor around and have started to analyze the results. While we are not 100% of the way…
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Studying Bike Tires Part 8 – A Lot of Talking
If you read Part 7 last week, you will remember that at the end of the post, I said we were headed back to the drawing board. Our CdA numbers were not what we expected and I was a bit frustrated. However, I received an email from one of our past customers, who is…
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Wheel Design Series Step 5 – Wind Tunnel Results
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. In 2014, we sat down to redesign our FLO Cycling wheel line. This five-step design process took 15 months to complete and this blog series covers the design process in detail. This is Step 5 of our five-step…
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Wheel Design Series Step 1 – Data Collection
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. In 2014 we sat down to redesign our FLO Cycling wheel line. This five-step design process took 15 months to complete and this blog series covers the design process in detail. This is Step 1 of our 5…
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Wheel Design Series Step 2 – Data Analysis
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. In 2014 we sat down to redesign our FLO Cycling wheel line. This five-step design process took 15 months to complete and this blog series covers the design process in detail. This is Step 2 of our five-step…
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Wheel Design Series Step 3 – 3D Modeling
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. In 2014 we sat down to redesign our FLO Cycling wheel line. This five-step design process took 15 months to complete and blog series covers the design process in detail. This is Step 3 of our five-step design…
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Wheel Design Series Step 4 – Optimization Algorithm
In 2014 we sat down to redesign our FLO Cycling wheel line. This five-step design process took 15 months to complete and this blog series covers the design process in detail. This is Step 4 of our five-step design process. To learn more about Steps 1, 2, 3, and 5, please check out the…
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How Much Drag Does a Clydesdale Build Add to Cycling Wheel?
Back in November 2018, when Chris and I went to the A2 Wind Tunnel to test the new FLO 45, 60, 90, and DISC, we decided to study a few things we’ve thought about over the years. Today’s article looks at the difference in aerodynamic drag between a standard build and a clydesdale build…
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Does Covering the Valve Cutout on a DISC Wheel Matter?
If you’ve ever owned a disc wheel, you will know that the only part of the wheel that is not covered, is the valve cutout. We are often asked if covering this valve cutout will improve aerodynamics. To be honest, we didn’t know the answer, so we studied it. If you are interested in our…
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A2 Wind Tunnel Tire Study Part 1
In Part 1 of this series, we are going to look at the effect tires have on aerodynamic drag. The first time we visited the A2 Wind Tunnel back in April of 2011, we were shocked by how much of a difference tires could make. We always wondered how much better our results could have…
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Aerodynamic Difference between Sapim CX-Ray and Round Spokes
Years ago when, Chris and I were starting FLO, we made the decision to use Sapim CX-Ray spokes. We’d heard that they were faster than round spokes or bladed spokes. The CX-Ray’s have a unique aero shape, which likely explains part of the reason the spokes are used on so many aerodynamic cycling wheels.…