GCN's DIY Aero Road Bike - It's Free, But Is It Faster?

Can you make your bike even faster? That's what we wanted to find out in the wind tunnel - with the help of cardboard, tape and scissors...
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Can you get aero without an aero bike? The obvious answer is yes - just tuck your elbows in. But, we're not looking for the obvious answer, we wanted to find out if you could make your bike more aero that it already is without spending any money. All you need, in theory, is the cardboard bike box that your pride and joy may have been delivered in. Plus scissors and tape, of course. We tested the idea in the wind tunnel so that you don't have to.
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Leave us a comment below!

[@nickd6056]

Cardboard strip into the spokes on the rear wheel to get motorbike noise would have made it sound faster.

[@Interdiction]

Coke can where the rear brake goes ,,Awesome sound

[@ianl.7545]

It looks like they didn't even try to replicate what a super aerodynamic bike looks like :(

[@evangelistbricescott7182]

Or a can on the spoke😂😂😂😂

[@FrekeOne]

massive drag from not having the cardboard ending in a thin "fishtail"

[@kignacio]

Was about to type this word for word. Imagine flying across the continent, using a multi million dollar facility and not buying a third piece of $2 cardboard to finish the rear end in a fish tail!

[@nicolagiampellegrini3411]

With my velomobile i can go 60kmh with only 200w on flat road. The riders alone generate the 80% of the force of the drag. The main problem is not the bike. You can save very little from the bike

[@DANEX7799]

Is the 200w feels the same on velomobile as on the road bike? I mean position is very different

[@nicolagiampellegrini3411]

No they are not the same. There are many factors that influence the wattage. The position and the temperature are the two most important. The human body works perfectly at 20 Celsius. If it is hotter you loose some watts. In a velo can be very hot. If you can average 250w on a road bike you could easily hit 220 or 230 watt average on a velo

[@rochester212]

Riderless e-bikes? But then again, what would be the point of that? Might as well put on a Pikachu costume and go riding against the wind without worrying about drag.

[@nicolagiampellegrini3411]

A velomobile is a trycicle with fairing for protection and aerodynamic advantage, is not a riderless bike lol

[@someguy9520]

Holy moly. 200w at 60km/h. Which one you got? Any modifications. I thought that you had to maintain 250w for roughly 50km/h even with the more racy velos

[@WillEyedOney]

Back in the early 80s a mate had a lovely 531 frame which he decided he'd make faster by moulding teardrop sections around the upright tubes with body filler. Needless to say he wasn't any faster and he ended up destroying the frame by riding head down into a parked car during the 'testing' phase.

[@imalloch1973]

Bodge 😂

[@gcn]

Possibly! 😂

[@fwmtb]

Haaacks and bodges

[@hizokuto]

I thought the shot was overexposed until I realized Emma is tanned and Si is waiting for winter to just end already.

[@theweddingsinger1970]

The clocks go forward next weekend and there is a foot of snow on my drive

[@mofomartianp]

Global warming in full effect.

[@obriaind]

"I think cardboard is not a good material to make an aero bike." That's the kind of deep insight well worth the price of multiple hours of wind tunnel testing.

[@isaackangas6921]

But did it make for an entertaining video?

[@KnowArt]

Rear area is just as important. you guys made a huge open triangle at the back. Of course it's not helping!

[@Ed.R]

I would argue the rear is the most important. It's about how the air recombines after it has been separated by an obstacle that really matters. If its not smooth the drag will be significant. Such a common mistake people make is worrying only about making the front pointy.

[@jarichiverson]

The rear is not the most important, frontal area is. But I agree that the rear is also important, you have to get into an airdrop shape, instead of creating a triangle.

[@llavero5]

@@jarichiverson You wrong, check a aerofoil, it has the wide part at front, and narrow rear. Its more important reduce the empty rear space than the cx or cd of front. And dont say "frontal area", thats another thing.

[@awildtomappeared5925]

not enough stripes! Everybody knows that speed is dependant on the coefficient of stripes!!!

[@EricAbbottTri]

I love this. I mean sure it's totally ridiculous and no one would actually do this but still, it's so fun to see the results!

[@paulrobertson4777]

well done guys! even if you didnt get the results you wanted it did highlight how difficult aerodynamics is. still really interesting.

[@gcn]

Very true Paul!

[@OlivioSarikas]

@GCN why didn't you try to build a frame that starts at the middle of the front wheel and bends side-wards to hide the riders legs, so the air can flow smoothly around him. In another video you said that 80% of the air resistance comes form the rider, so it makes a lot more sense to reduce it on the rider than on the bike.

[@someguy9520]

For that, we have velomobiles

[@VisnitchiRaul]

One motive, because you need to steer.

[@skippy2987]

There are a few reasons why this experiment gave these results. 1. Open rear. Had you closed the rear (pointy behind the rear wheel) it would have improved due to a smaller hole being punched through the air. 2. Frame/leg interference. With the wall so close to the leg you've removed one path for air to go around the leg in the triangle area, making air have to travel much further to get around the leg. If you pinched this area (say by sticking the two sides together with glue or double sided tape) you'd gain a few cm of clearance with zero drag penalty. Or you could make a hole and just make the tubes teardrop shaped. 3. Front wheel fairing. Completely enclosing the front wheel would halve the airspeed over parts of the tyre. Because drag is proportional to velocity squared, that's a big gain. 4. Use flexible tape like electrical tape. Any sharp edges at high airspeed points (corners) will promote separation. Wrinkles are aerodynamically sharp. If you consider that the entire experiment came out neutral despite mammoth changes in shape, you've obviously gained in some areas and lost in others. Find the bad points, fix them, and claim massive gains. Also. 3:10 - leg hair!

[@jackthompson361]

Very good points. Epic fail to theses guys all day long! In my opinion one gets the impression it has all been rushed like a tv show. In 1995 I built a fully faired aero frame kit for a bike from polystyrene! I used a combo of duct tape, zip ties, glue, double side tape, to secure it to the frame. The whole of the triangle frame was enclosed, it even had intergrated lights recessed into the frame! Rear wheel had a poly disc secured with zip ties. The finishing touch was subtle use of carbon fibre ( lookalike!) self adhesive film purchased from Halfords, and self adhesive decals. The bike was black, and grey, with yellow decals. Front wheel was a spinergy composite wheel. This project was commissioned over a year, with many hours a week dedicated to this design brief. The whole aero frame kit was built over new but very cheap £100 Halfords MTB with V brakes, and 21 grs. But within a year it looked like it was worth £5000 with passers by staring in awe, car driver giving me high fives, even cops loved it they would shout out-Stealth bike! That's what I named it 'Stealth'. Now building another around a 500 watt e bike!

[@sepg5084]

a DIY aero frame setup while maintaining lightweight and actual usability could use a thin synthetic fabric like the ones used in umbrellas, and velcro. A single piece of correctly cut/shaped/sewn fabric pulled tightly over the frame's main triangle (top tube, down tube, seat tube) and closed-up at the top tube and seat tube using velcro should be enough to eliminate the turbulence inside the triangle by closing it up. Aero wheels are another story though. This cardboard exercise does not look particularly well made nor rideable in the real world. I wish i had the opportunity and means to test what i mentioned above but at the end of the day it is the rider that's causing most of the drag anyway.

[@cerberus1981]

Suggestions for the crew: 1) Aerodynamic shroud mud guards for the wheels. Model them after the classic Indian cruiser motorcycles of the 1940s. 2) Aft extensions to smooth rear turbulence. 3) Import a Huffy Aerowind 😂

[@Bikejon]

Loving these real life tests! Right up there with the aero luggage. Makes you realise the genius of Obree to come up with a package more aero than today's bikes for the princely sum of £75. Astonishing!

[@michaellee1663]

It's like GCN does Top Gear, but more environmentally friendly. Also it looks like a low budget Pinnarelo Espada (a'la Miguel Indurain) TT & Hour Record bike

[@mzungu54]

What went wrong is the tail end of the bike fairing. You created more of a wedge than a airfoil. Just look at the bike from the front end. The frontal area is much greater now became the tail end is not faired in smoothly. I am surprised the tunnel guys did not pointed it out.

[@Theo2482]

Perhaps they were waiting for this shit to come to an end as soon as possible. I am sure they had some more serious work to do there.

[@tinhizzy8634]

​@@Theo2482 😂😂

[@stuartdryer1352]

You desecrated that bike but it was pretty funny.

[@rikugriffin]

You should have tested a recumbent bike a long side just to see how much drag you can remove by riding in a different position

[@dugamonn]

The rear of the cardboard has a huge non closed area. There you create a lot of turbulence. I believe you even created some sort of air brake with that design.

[@jaysparc]

I'd go with a plexiglass fairing that's attached to the handlebars. Your frontal resistance is greater than anything else.

[@chrisduke3251]

Good job reinventing a sail for cross winds. I'll call it the Jib. It's actually a good idea for a fair weather bike, but the efficiency drops below 30mph. It makes sense above 30mph on an ebike, but hell if you hit a good cross wind on a light weight bicycle. Motorcycle fairings do make them go faster, but they are much heavier and can take a cross wind better.

[@tenor79]

Emma's dry sense of humor is amazing. This video is next level.

[@palmer3977]

@2.48 who thought Emma was drawing a pair of balls?

[@moninum]

Boobs

[@VisnitchiRaul]

Write 2:48 !

[@lahyessam9725]

Your fundamental mistake is using cardboard in the triangle of the bike when saran wrap would be just as effective and could have been applied in 2 minutes

[@geoturcotte]

I’m an mechanical engineer and love bike tech... keep Simon in that wind tunnel with more experiments please!! Totally agree with Stephano, Simon”s profile probable accounts for 60%+ of the overall drag, so you”re only getting marginal gains on the bike improvements. You may get more improvements just by making his aéro. The flared-out cardboard at the back probably doesn’t help either. The cardboard should have extended past the rear wheel and connected behind the wheel to reduce airflow separation.

[@TheGamingCucumber]

'commuter bike'

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

And an Orbea Terra at that!

[@smalerider1727]

FFFSSS Orbea Terra is a gravel bike, stop calling the Trek Crocket a gravel bike.

[@satpalmodinagar7172]

I made a rear disk wheel and used it in many ITT , AND got benefits same as a disk wheel. I am surprised it didn't work for you 😅

[@Esperluet]

80% position, 12% frame, 8% wheels

[@jfconant8430]

Testing the theory! GCN did the test! Hilarious yet scientific!!

[@JAWORA46]

Cardboard Fibre taken to the extreme :)

[@jonahbert111]

You do not want to fill in the middle of the bike where the legs are, as it just transfers more drag to the legs and more wetted area drag. It is better to just use like 7 to 10 mil plastic to make aero airfoils of the vertical round stuff and to extend the seat post tube to extend and shadow the rear wheel, just like high priced bikes do in carbon. Also do the fork and seat stays into more aero shapes. Having done it, it really is quite easy (and weighs very little). But the biggest drag is the hips, which do a great impersonation of a parachute. That can be addressed as well, but to do it right requires some blow molded plastic of the right shape, suspended on a bearing above the head tube, as it will not turn with the handle bar. I have one not done "right", but it will carry lots of water and a pie with veggies to boot. LOL It really is much better than without it. And despite my poor construction, only weighs a couple pounds and is removed easily with one reusable zip tie. It shadows and supports my upper body. I have drop downs, but I think a straight bar would make more sense. But having a support for the upper body is huge for long rides, at least for me.

[@Finn-pe7uj]

Hey Daniel, an old comment but could you elaborate on your idea for the hip fairing and water carrier/support? I'm really intrigued

[@smalerider1727]

I can't say I haven't thought of doing this myself. Thanks GCN of preventing me from wasting my time, other than the 9:22 watching this.

[@thebigfatcaterpillar]

I am a return viewer! Ever since Emma joined GCN, I literally watch every video as soon as they upload it!

[@gcn]

👍

[@tobiasknoll8235]

Now I know, what the engineers of Diamondback did to create the Andean... At a local Triathlon I saw a DIY cardboard discwheel, the dude actually rode it in a competition! The best thing I´ve seen yet, was a silicone swimming cap, pulled over your average helmet, to create an aero road helmet. #ghettoaero

[@janatlmb2770]

You have spent few ours in the wind tunnel. Well-well. This elegantly demonstrates that those guys at RD who develop stuff to go faster/lighter do better do fantastic job.

[@robbchastain3036]

Thanks, Si and Emma, for trying this, nice arts and crafts project with the staff at the wind tunnel. And please try some more as surely a fairing of some sort will prove to be beneficial. Maybe even a small backswept fairing on either fork leg to reduce some of that turbulence around the cranks--something wrong has to be happening with feet pushing into the wind 90 times or so a minute.

[@palicar]

You have to use gloss finish card stock.

[@LUCYDIAMONDBOXER1]

I'm pretty sure I can Aero for 45p? Not that expensive and the minty ones are tasty

[@joeyc8546]

If you try different lengths of blading to see which ones work best at the test speed it might help work out the most efficient spec for covering the frame with while reducing the material exposed to the air. You could also try model aircraft wing fabric as it is lightweight, cheap and can be stretched to cover areas. The surface is smoother so it might create less turbulence. Researching wind surfer sail designs as the modern ones apparently can go into headwinds so they might help create forward motion on the bike to counter the drag. Keep going with the experiments, that looked promising.

[@flosa1995]

What exactly looked promising?

[@benstanden8784]

I think there's a subtle, but significant, error regarding the "reducing turbulence" assumption. For low speeds (like a bicycle) a turbulent boundary layer delays flow separation and reduces drag. If the flow is entirely laminar, the flow will separate sooner and the laminar separation bubble behind the bike and rider will cause way more drag... All that said, very interesting (if not slightly painful) to see a DIY aero Orbea! I manufactured some custom rear wheel disc covers for my TT bike, according to the CFD I did, they save 5-10 Watts over a standard wheel.

[@jakegarrett8109]

On your CFD, did you make sure to have the wheel rotating? Those covers might actually create more drag (acting like a torque converter). Your disk cutout geometry would be very important to model correctly since it can change the boundary layers and how it "grips" the air as it spins.

[@benstanden8784]

Jake Garrett yeah and made sure the ground had zero velocity relative to freestream (I.e. no wind). As soon as things start spinning, the aerodynamics get horrendous :S

[@aliensporebomb]

So the bike in question is an Orbea Terra and is running road tires with aero wheels. Maybe reduce your seat height a few millimeters to exhibit a lower profile and have a slammed stem as low as you can go to reduce the height above the bike frame. Then go 1x and eliminate the front derailleur. Realistically though: the cardboard fairings and disc wheels are amusing maybe what Si could do to gain that speed/aero advantage is draft behind another GCN presenter (Conor maybe) riding in to work and that way he'd be fresh as a daisy and might make up that 5 minutes.

[@tomstech4390]

The rear half of the frame cover where its over the rear traingles is the problem, because the wheel has to sit in it theres a big void which creates a vacuum behind the fairing, cut the rear triangle section off so its just the front triangle and you're good to go.

[@BrunoVasco]

that was fun!

[@davidturpin9135]

Aims to increase skin friction for a smaller wake. Leaves wide-open gap in the back that is basically a parachute.

[@sherenecurry4]

Really quick assembly

[@SansP3ur]

An aluminium foil helmet would've vastly improved your drag coefficient.

[@mikethomas5252]

3:11, hairy legs. This experiment is immediately discredited.

[@cup_and_cone]

Can't wait til these show up to the next group ride.

[@_RussD]

Better hope there isn't a crosswind!

[@carlstatham594]

GCN does it's own bodge

[@corkhead0]

The fairing didn't work because the back is wide open. Surprised the wind tunnel guys didn't tell you to close it off.

[@someguy9520]

i once made a cardboard disc wheel and 100mm deep cardboard frontwheel from alloy box section rims. It did feel a lot faster, no kidding(i didn't make any fairings on the frame, so still the same traditional tubed frame) and made the diffrence between 35km/h with normal setup and about 37-38km/h with the aero bodge. The front was unbelievably twitch in crosswinds. I descended on my usual climb and almost got blown over to the other side of the road. the back handled as always, which is expectable, since there won't be any turbulance and pressure.

[@jerrygundecker743]

This bike in now a sail, or a kite. Suggest, once you're outside again, you change direction with each change in wind direction. Good luck.

[@scottwright8630]

GCN announces world record low weight with their new cardboard-fiber frame (not UCI approved). Taking orders soon, your choice of colors!

[@yahyabaali7886]

Thank you for the experiment. I’ll choose the aero tucked in position over the duck tape and cardboard 😂😂😂

[@coinmarketswot3264]

The art is not too be too aero, so the industry can make business with a million ways to improve.

[@johnnydoe66]

In the Aeronautical Industry they would tell you that you have a lot of parasitic drag in your bodged fairing. All the frayed edges of the cut cardboard and all those pieces of tape, even the slightest edge will cause drag and turbulence. Also I bet if you filmed the frame at high speed then slowed it down, the cardboard fairing is quite possibly buffeting at the high speed causing more drag.

[@szczepankonieczny1666]

Yep, cardboard useless to prove anything in aerodynamics experiment like this since they were not able create any kind of shell which could sustain 40 kph wind, anyway if their performance while riding with attached cardboard was not so bad in comparision to pure bike it means that bike drag is small part only of overall drag and aerodynamic skinsuit is more important than aero bike frame which gives less marginal gains than cyclist body itself.

[@nelsonphillips]

I shouldn't watch these pseudo engineering projects by GCN because it always leaves me wanting to tell them what they did wrong.

[@jackthompson361]

@@nelsonphillips The impression I get is they are just taking the piss. I built something almost identical to this in 1995 out of polystyrene! I commissioned the project over a year, not rushing it like these GNC clowns in a few hours. I used a combination of glue, duct tape, zip ties, double side taped, self adhesive (lookalike) carbon film, spray paint, black self adhesive film, to fashion a fully enclosed aero frame. The rear of mine was enclosed with a rear recessed led light, the seat post had a fairing with a section rising up the top tube to meet join with it. The front of the bike ( it was built around an mtb bike with slick tyres) had a triple clamp sus fork, so I used some poly to enclosed parts of it, and several front lights were recessed into the front of it. The finishing touch was rear DIY poly wheel disc, and front spinergy carbon wheel.By the time I added decals and stickers, and self adhesive styling stripes, it looked like it had just come off the production line! People would really freak out when they saw it! No one had smart phones back then so people would look it...I mean really look at it and talk about it with intense fascination. Some cops one time shot a clip of it with a digital camera. They said it was like a bike from the future! I tested this beat in torrential downpours, and many adverse weather conditions, and it didn't miss a beat. Nothing fell off!

[@jakubindustriesprofisoluti4254]

What about a video comparing more #homemadeaero like a bathing cap over a cheaper helmet or tri bars out of extended bar ends or even homemade wheel extensions to make them look like zipp 858s and not an unridable disc wheel. Plz answrr

[@yosephalabdulwahab4151]

I just want to note that the duct tape design is not an ideal aero dynamic shape. As important the leading edge of a shape is the trailing is as important if not more important. The fact that you had a giant gap on the back of the bike means the air can vortex in words and create a large amount of drag behind the bike slowing it down. Airfoils are by far the most aerodynamic object. So maybe the issue with the cardboard bike isn't the cardboard but the engineering...

[@damianchristie288]

nice to know you are qualified to use a scissors and a screwdriver but i hope the bike and rider have certification and licence and insurance etc because its looking like this will soon be mandatory

[@omarmian7264]

More speed stripes! They always work.

[@ronbell7920]

I think you should have tried a fairing on the front wheel. O.K. back to the lab GCN. Keep the frame fairing and probably the disc wheel as well.

[@benperiod]

just by the way, people make wheel covers that simulate what disk wheels do at a very low price (I think around $50) if you want a rear disk for a time trial or triathlon, and they're generally made well

[@TheAegisClaw]

A. Tail fairings give the most benefit. B. Increase of frontal area slowed you down.

[@CodyFredetteMedia]

Awesome. Birthday GCN!

[@hitorishiro6152]

0.42 finally someone understands the extra 5 mins of sleep is still sleep and it's important

[@TrocaderoPenguin]

First thing would be a rear fairing. You need to close the turbulance your frontal area does. Check the recumbents. Fairing and wheel discs goes mostly at the rear.

[@NathanTeskey]

One crosswind and it’s like et all over again

[@stephankrecksch7494]

Really GCN? Cardboard? Bodge!! Enjoyed it though. ;)

[@Niidea1986]

I am curious, wouldn't smaller wheels be more aero? They certainly got less spoke area generating turbulence, and also are stronger. What about 20" wheels with higher gear? :P

[@hendipray1016]

Old faithfull obree was the most aerodynamic bike

[@Wesrl]

Neil from GMBM has already built a DIY aero bike and tested it

[@Godscountry2732]

We have the technology to build a safe, comfortable and efficient aerodynamic narrow tracked vehicle that is capable of both high performance while yielding incredible fuel/battery range, yet we ignore it...You could allocate special lanes, to these narrow tracked vehicles, which would reduce rush hour traffic . These vehicles would be everything a motorcycle is except as safe as a small car, comfortable and much more efficient.

[@yas96225]

When you know a little about physics and aerodynamics, you know that Aero-bikes just look different. That's it. Aero is very important, but 99% of the benefit comes from the rider (position) and the wheels. All those kamm-tail or teardrop shaped tubes don't matter much. Especially after putting the bottle cages on. Knowing that, I still bought a Canyon Aeroad because it looks hot and Canyon is not sacrificing significantly on comfort or weight. Other aero bikes might look even better (e.g. Specialized Venge), but add 1kg which is noticable on climbs.

[@marcusschmitt4747]

Come on everybody at GCN! Can't you get Emma a proper fitting T-shirt? In the last shot she looks like the little girl who wears one of the old t-shirts of hear father... I propose you get her a proper fitting size and Si or whoever appears does that video with hear has to equally wear one of the shirts of that size for the whole video :D Would be fun though, at least :)

[@matthewlewis2072]

08:52 "...and also providing us with so much...Cardboard" And for not laughing at you.

[@NegativeNumbers427]

Matt has really gotten good looking recently.

[@markgfog6492]

Dudes! A small handlebar mounted fairing foes the trick. Banned by racing wallahs but supported by peer reviewed literature. I read this about 40 years ago in a Scientific American article about human powered transport. Also, please get racing wallahs to allow any size wheels so we van find out what works best.

[@PavelMachyniak]

The most aerodynamic is a drop shape profile what was not the case in this test. The back part must have a huge drag.

[@tarmacsurfers]

IDEA....aero bike vs skinny steel frame from back in day....always thought those skinny tubes got to be more aero than the scaffold tube like things we ride now as long as you can get into aero position.

[@brmordaz]

Just get a recumbent

[@bansheemaczero1715]

At least you had some fun trying this.

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

In a few years people will be looking for the documents (possibly) written in conjunction with this experiment. :) And I thought the video's intro was about the White-Gold Concordat in TESV: Skyrim -- until I realized it's White Si and Gold Emma.

[@CarlForde]

was waiting for the comparison with Emma on her bike with the 650 wheels. Si resistance is 30N. I'm sure Emma's resistance is much less which gives her a natural advantage in the wind.

[@prowat1185]

On the road i doubt it would make you faster when you will get side air

[@Tailslol]

good idea to hide an ebike, back wheel cover to hide a motor and inside frame cover to hide the battery.

[@garyives1218]

by Simon's expressions: I'd say he's found his calling :)

[@owyn768]

A disc wheel gets rid of the spokes whipping round so should take less power to just make it go around, I don't think you measured that.

[@ARVash]

Now if you made a kind of plastic bubble around the bike that was teardrop shaped THEN you could be more aero.

[@chaincyclist2736]

The rear of the bike has a low pressure zone that's pulling on the bike, creating drag, slowing you down. Try to close that up and you'll be better.

[@ewanpennington-jones7483]

Can you guys make a gcn does tech in the aero effects of different pedals please

[@Wilfgood]

Would be interested to see how a DIY rear disk wheel would do. Heard they can be pretty fast.

[@jamiepenfold4954]

Just your avrage communting bike with VISION deep section wheels

[@Metal-Possum]

Do a Graeme Obree, as well as have god-like levels of pain tolerance, and you'll pull it off without the need for cardboard bikes.

[@easyx9mm]

It’s almost like watching Top gear 👍😂🤪 where u just needed Hammond to crash something lol

[@erickbollmann1757]

Try a frontal fairing like the Arce motorcycle

[@torma99]

GCN started to copy old Top Gear (Grand Tour) for good? Dan (Clarkson), Si (Hammond), Matt (Captain Slow)? :D

[@ferox200]

I congratulate Si on his backlit hairy legs. I'm certain it did not impact the aero testing in the slightest. ;-)