![]() ![]() As Paul explains, “at the time, bicycle airfoils (industry-wide) were being designed using an old system for defining airplane wing airfoils. Veteran engineer Doug Cusack teamed up with new addition Paul Harder to investigate platforms for a cycling-specific airfoil. Trek’s engineers set out to achieve the aero performance of a high aspect ratio within a compact, light profile that would be stiff, stable, and comply with UCI regulations. Professional cycling’s governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), places significant limits on how extreme this ratio can be, limiting the maximum to minimum transverse dimension ratio to no more than 3:1. Stability, weight, and stiffness suffer proportionally as the aspect ratio grows. Yet, as with all things in life, there is a tradeoff to high aspect ratios. As aspect ratio increases, drag decreases. Airfoils are defined in terms of aspect ratio, or the relative surface area between the total width and profile of a frame or component. ![]() While airfoils typically extend to a pointed end in a teardrop-type shape, Kammtail features a truncated, square end that increases stiffness and mimics the performance of a much longer, wing-like foil. Bicycle tube shapes inherently exhibit a great deal of curvature and combined flow interactions, further complicating the process of creating a truly aerodynamic design. The relatively low speed and forward thrust of bikes makes them far more vulnerable to environmental factors such as crosswinds, and requires technology that focuses on more than improving headwind aerodynamics. Designing airfoils for bicycles requires a great deal of creativity, as the traditional designs utilized by airplanes and automobiles do not consider the unique properties of cycling aerodynamics.
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