How This One Innovation Changed The World Of Aerodynamics

Wind tunnel testing in cycling is a crucial element to all bike manufacturers!
But it is more than just a big fan blowing wind to a stationary cycle!

Alex gives a full breakdown on what goes into operating a wind tunnel to achieve the best results!

00:00 Why are wind tunnels expensive to run?
00:22 The history of wind tunnels
03:04 Limitations of wind tunnels
03:46 Wind tunnel designs
04:30 Operating a wind tunnel
05:44 Wind tunnels in cycling
06:42 Wind tunnels in F1
07:12 Why are wind tunnels important?
07:26 How does a wind tunnel work?
08:32 Translating into the real- world
09:39 The influence of the UCI

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Do you think the UCI should have jurisdiction over wind tunnel testing? 💨🚴👀

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[gcntech]

Do you think the UCI should have jurisdiction over wind tunnel testing? 💨🚴👀

[joemartnz]

Very informative Alexx ... did Ollie dare you to say "Love you, bye"?😂

[mommamooney]

I enjoy these how things work videos, thanks Alex!

[Whitehawkvisionfilms]

PLEASE, could all the presenters keep their personal stats on the website under their profiles, i.e. height, inseam, shoe size, bike sizes, saddle heights, bar widths, cockpit measurements (reach, bars, etc.) This would be a great resource and when y'all talk in a video about your latest test bike and how you have it setup you could mention your physical stats on your website which will send people their (helps y'all) and we can see what size person is on the size and setup of the bike you are talking about. Alex and Oli's Canyon bikes are sz L but their seat heights are over 6 cm different. Being able to see ALL of y'all's physical stats and your other bike setups can be very helpful to us trying to understand bike fitting. Thanks! Love y'all! (and Lance A-hole is really a Coloradan and not a Texan!)

[elmakcnc]

Can you test in wind tunel old clasic road bike vs brand new pinarello to check which is more aerodynamic.Regards

[ballardedwards]

Not too long ago you talked about a company that makes integrated handlebars with internal cable routing for Enve bikes. Which one was that? Thanks ahead of time.

[clarklowe]

Some wind tunnels can be made with a fan array (multiple fans) This can help reduce the cost of construction considerably. Example is th Specialized Win Tunnel. It uses 6 fans to produce the airflow and was less expensive to build.

[kevinbarkema]

So is drag measured by ultra sensitive scales in the floor and the more weight the scales measure the less aero the item being tested is?

[matthewbaynham]

GCN definitely needs to get themselves a windtunnel, I'm sure there's a way to get it a bit cheaper than 20 million.

[savagepro]

GCN Tech: "Everything You Need to Know About Wind Tunnels"
We know already . . . just a lot of air!

[xgexzjm]

Please Alex and Ollie start using CdA with it´s unit which ist m^2. Only Cd is non-dimensional. If you multiply it with A, it becomes an area. Your physics teacher would be proud :D

[gavinsmith]

Testing a bike without a rider isn’t ideal as the rider affects the airflow significantly

[ballardedwards]

Hey whodaguy…which color jersey is the fastest? Do you use front or rear brakes on fast descents?

[zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat]

If the UCI wasn't run by bilious old Italian men with IBS, everyone would be riding fully-faired bicycle recumbents, with CdA of .18 or less.

[neilwortley]

#askgcntech is there a point at which low gears are no longer a gain? I recently put a front chain set on my gravel bike (40/24) to go with my 11-40 cassette… while going up a 25% gravel hill at 3mph I had a lot of time to wonder whether the cumulative effort spent (kj) outweighed the immediate effort saved (w).
My takeaway was that the 24t front ring didn’t save overall effort over my usual 31t over the course of the 102 mile 14k’ course

[paperxray]

Cool content! PS Alex - ignore the troll. You are great.

[RSGSulldorfAltona-West]

Ask #GCNTech:
Hi GCN-TechTeam, im lookin' for a new SRAM Red 1x12 Setup.
Which 60t Chainring fits to SRAM DM Cranks, Spiders and the Powermeter?

Drag2Zero, Wattshop, AeroCoach, Digirit, Rotor....?

Thx for your advice. 👌

[massimoazimonti]

I'm watching the Olympics track races...do you agree that is time to use a mono bike types for racing in the same condition allowing only to change gears and saddles? I think that all this development in design and tech can influence the athlete performance too much, changing the real final results...

[alistaircassidy]

The word is 'undoubtedly', not 'undoubtably'. I don't know why but you all say it wrong so often. Is it a regional thing for the South West?

[savagepro]

As Hambini would say, the wind tunnel does NOT emulate the real world situation. So many things affect aerodynamics: road furniture, trees along the route, passing vehicles, stationary vehicles, the size of the actual rider, if he's in a group or not, . . .