Category: Aero Wheel Science
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Aero vs. Weight – Part 3
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. Without a doubt, our most popular blog article to date is our “The Great Debate – Aero vs. Weight” article which is Part 1 of this series. For that article, we sent our aero data to the mad…
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Does Bike Tire Pressure Change Aerodynamic Drag?
The first time I heard someone say tire pressure would change aerodynamics, I questioned if this would be true. The more I thought about it, the more I questioned how aerodynamics would be effected by tire pressure. When you change the air pressure in a tire, you change the shape of the tires contact…
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A2 Wind Tunnel Tire Study Part 2
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the aerodynamic drag created by different tires on a front FLO 60 Carbon Clincher wheel. As many of you know, when searching for the fastest tire, aerodynamic drag is only…
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Save 7 Minutes In Your Next Ironman By Changing Your Tires
Legacy Article: The data discussed in this article is taken from our previous generation of wheels. Your tires could be keeping you from qualifying for Kona or setting a new PR. Like everything else on the planet, tires are subject to the laws of physics, and it takes energy to move them forward. The wrong…
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How Slower Wheels Can Make You Faster
Yes, you read that correctly, and no, I’m not taking crazy pills. Slower wheels can make you faster. To make sure you choose the right wheels the next time you put on a race number, keep reading. Your Front Wheel Is The Culprit In this article, we will focus on your front wheel. Your front…
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How Does a Tire Support Its Load?
Last week I wrote a blog article that discussed why you reduce the air pressure in a tire when you widen the wheel or increase the tire size. While writing the article, I started thinking about how a tire supports its load. My first guess was the air pressure, but that’s incorrect. It plays a…
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What is a Net Drag Reduction Value
LEGACY POST: This is a legacy blog post. Net Drag Reduction Value has been replaced by Total Power. Total Power uses Net Drag Reduction Value. This post also discusses old generations of wheels. We’ve always believed in trying to be as realistic as possible when estimating time savings for a given wheel. To do this we…
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CFD and Wind Tunnels. Are they for Design or Marketing?
The goal of a wheel designer is to create the fastest wheel possible while also reducing drag as much as possible. When the design of the FLO 30 was underway, I was asked a really great question recently that I thought deserved some attention. Does CFD and time in the wind tunnel really help you…
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Bike Tire Pressure and Temperature
Have you ever wondered what happens to your tire pressure when you ride through different temperatures? How much does it change? Should you pump your tires up inside or outside? These are all things I recently started thinking about. There are a few rules of thumb but I wanted to know why. If you’ve had…
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Bike Tire Pressure and Elevation
I was recently at 11,000 ft elevation. While I was sucking wind running up a set of stairs, I started thinking about what happens to tire pressure when elevation increases or decreases. If you’ve read the title and these first few sentences, I bet you can guess what this article is about. …
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What I’ve Learned from My Time in a Wind Tunnel – Part 2
This article is a follow up to Part 1 What I’ve Learned from My Time in a Wind Tunnel – Part 1. I suggest reading the previous article before you read this one, especially if you want a bit of background on wind tunnels. Here we go with the rest of the lessons I’ve learned.…
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What I’ve Learned from My Time in a Wind Tunnel – Part 1
The first time we visited the A2 Wind Tunnel we were under the assumption that testing a wheel was a simple as placing it in the wind tunnel and reading the results. What we didn’t know was that there were a large number of things that can alter the results. We also didn’t really know…
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FLO 30, 60, 90, DISC Wind Tunnel Results
LEGACY BLOG POST: Please note this data is from our original generation of wheels. Many things have been changed and updated. We spent an awesome day testing at the A2 Wind Tunnel last week. We spent more time testing than ever before and we are excited to share the results with you. Here’s a breakdown…