Tail wind

[Martinsnos]

If I’m cycling at 15mph and I have a 10mph tail wind, am I being pushed along?

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Yes

 

[Punkawallah]

Well, that was quick :-)

 

[Martinsnos]

Yes

Thanks. What is the science of that please because I can’t get my head around it…aren’t I outrunning the wind?

 

[newfhouse]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCsgoLc_fzI

 

[Martinsnos]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCsgoLc_fzI

Thanks very much. Honestly, I stuck with it for about 8 minutes and then gave up!

 

[roubaixtuesday]

This tailwind of which you speak?

What necromancy is this?

 

[Archie_tect]

Think of it as reducing the resistance of the air you are displacing.

 

[Martinsnos]

Think of it as reducing the resistance of the air you are displacing.

Ah…I like that. It is pushing the air resistance away from me.
Thank you very much.

 

[Martinsnos]

This tailwind of which you speak?

What necromancy is this?

It’s called - look at the weather app and go against the wind on the way out!!!

 

[Archie_tect]

It’s called - look at the weather app and go against the wind on the way out!!!

Always!

 

[Supersuperleeds]

It’s called - look at the weather app and go against the wind on the way out!!!

The bloody thing changes direction by the time you turn to head for home though.

 

[ColinJ]

Think of it as reducing the resistance of the air you are displacing.

I once spent a week of my holiday battling headwinds every day on the Costa Blanca, then finally a miracle happened - my group got a massive tailwind down the Jalon valley. We were doing about 50 km/hr in what was to us still air. At that speed we were effectively just overcoming rolling resistance and friction in our drivetrains. It felt almost effortless!

Then we gave way to temptation and went faster... Very quickly we started to feel the air resistance of normal riding again. Mind you, we were still spinning out in our highest gears, which felt pretty amazing on level ground!

 

[Punkawallah]

Ah, yes, but what about the effect of the tail wind on drafting?

 

[Tail End Charlie]

No such thing as a tail wind.
It's either a head wind, or you're riding well.