Wheel Covers used in Time Trials

(Brian) wrote in
m:

Has anyone had experience with wheel covers (lens shaped plastic
covers for the rear wheel)for use in time trials? Are they effective?
Who sells them? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Brian

I have used the UNI wheel covers on both the front and rear of my old Shogun
Kaze (was state of the art back when "funny bikes" were cool).
Noticed a considerable drop in times. Had little problem with crosswinds
unless the front cover was installed by itself. Must admit that it DID get to
be rather "touchy" above about 90kph, though still not unrideable.

On my funny bike, wheel covers were very beneficial and not as dangerous as I
was told they'd be in a crosswind. Would certainly use one on the rear but
would not use one on the front on race day unless the wind was calm or head-
on. Also, I'd suggest not using a front wheel cover for the FIRST time on
race day. Maybe not at all on a 700C front wheel (remember, I'm only dealing
with a 24-inch front wheel so any crosswind won't affect me as much).

While it's true that the wheel covers will follow the dish of the spokes on
each side and thus present an assymetrical profile to the air, the smooth,
continuous surface provided by them will certainly produce substantially less
drag than all those spokes whipping up the air. There has even been some wind
tunnel data to suggest that disc wheels and wheel covers may even provide
some small amount of propulsion in certain crosswind situations....something
that cannot be said for non-disc rims under any conditions.

That's MY 10-cents' worth anyway.

~~Shock~~