Recumbent Trike Versus Road Bike: Roll Down Test Featuring The ICE VTX And Calfee Tetra Pro

Rich & I conduct a roll down test, trike vs bike! For more science than you could possibly want on this type of test, you can visit this web page:
www.cyclingapps.net/blog/how-...
Music: FynestLyk by Noir Et Blanc Vie

[@brucefarrar300]

I love the comparisons, tests and product reviews you do. I ride a trike so am always looking for justification for switching from diamond frame to trike.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks very much, Bruce! We'll keep 'em coming! :)

[@taiwan1895]

That hill brings back certain skateboarding memories...

[@bikestrikesrazors]

If we would’ve known about these hills back then, I sure we could’ve been breaking necks in addition to arms. Thankfully we never found an empty pool. :)

[@stoffersgraphik]

I would not have thought that... thank you for this interessting test!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks very much for watching, Torge!

[@garyseckel295]

Always wondered about this subject! Now we know!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

I was surprised the road bike did so poorly on the test, Gary, but I guess it's just a matter of aerodynamics. We have to try this with the trike and a lowracer. :)

[@markfeldman6509]

Great video comparison. Triking is the only way to go. And one can really climb with ease in a high quality trike with great gearing.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Hey, Mark! Yep, it's all about the gearing when you're going uphill. Hard to believe professional road racers are using a 32 large sprocket on climbing stages these days, but I guess they've figured out they're better off spinning than grinding (something recumbent riders already knew).

[@DemiGod..]

@@bikestrikesrazors The lycra clad mob don't seem to need low gears. On the endurance bike with 28 gear inches, I go up 15% hills at 60 cadence, about 80 cadence on the tourer with 20 inch gearing . While climbing though , will from time to time, get ovettaken by one of the lycra clad mob doing twice my speed up the hill.

[@DemiGod..]

The bike rider was at almost 45 degrees from the horizontal, putting your hands in the drops makes you less aerodynamic. He could have been horizontal by making his forearms horizontal , hands on the hoods and lowering his upper body down to the handlebars.. Looking in mirror will help to see how aerodynamic you are.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks for the info, DG!

[@karlInSanDiego]

Here is an interesting paper on the subject. To massively oversimplify, because the weight on each wheel is a component of the rolling resistance, barring hub bearing friction, ignoring the wheel's aero contribution, and ignoring each wheel's additional weight to the vehicle, ADDING WHEELS REDUCES OVERALL ROLLING RESISTANCE, it doesn't add it. But real world creates a lot of reasons why this isn't done. They concluded that 5 wheels is optimal to minimize rolling resistance. scihubtw.tw/10.1177/1754337115625002

[@FirstLast-ml7yf]

The trike weighs more and has more potential energy at the beginning of the run because it has been brought to the top of the hill - energy which is released in the run as it is converted to kinetic energy. So test says nothing about the efficiency of the trike, such as aero. Something heavy on top of a hill has a lot of energy waiting to be released.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

But does weight really have a bearing? If you drop a bowling ball and a feather in a vacuum, removing the variations in wind resistance, they both fall at the exact same speed.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@@bikestrikesrazors Exactly. I have the same with two of my friends who ride a mountainbike and I use a gravelbike. One guy said it was because I was heavier. But my bike is lighter and it is less wind resistant. Besides that my position bended whilst he sits straight with the arms spread... every time I roll pass him and he has to pedal to keep up with me. It's not the weight, it is the aerodynamics.

[@maestrohun]

NIce test. I whould do a drive efficiency as well. For example in different weather condition (2 winds condition with opposite directions and no wind) with an electric motor with the same power output and what will be the difference in avg./top speed.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Great ideas for future videos, Kiak! Thanks for watching!

[@LaidBackPedalPusher]

Interesting that you mentioned aero-rolling resistance, but what about the road resistance divided by three vs by two wheels? Off the top of my head I would think the pounds per square inch of surface contact should also make a difference.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Yep, you would think that the third wheel would add rolling resistance, but at least with this test, it looks like the aero benefits override the rolling resistance issues.

[@rossbrumby1957]

@@bikestrikesrazors or reduce the rolling resistance- 3 tyres but with less weight on each so less tyre flex per wheel which reduces rolling resistance. For a more aerodynamic trike you should try borrowing a Greenspeed Aero and see how much faster different trikes can be to others.(at the start, don't pedal- it's a variable) and perhaps chalk a dotted line to follow the same exact line each time. A 5 trike comparo would be great showing times and top speeds too!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

@@rossbrumby1957 Hi Ross! I'd love to be able to do a comparison video with the Aero, but I can't even find one in this area to look at! The local shops here that carry Greenspeed never have one in stock and the company is kind of in limbo right now and I don't think they're shipping out any new trikes. Hope they square things away as Greenspeed makes a great trike!

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@@bikestrikesrazors If you would do the same test with a recumbent two wheeler, I think that would win from both the trike and the bike!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

@@SjaakSchulteis it might! Something to try!

[@toshaveornottoshave-4804]

Amazing...))

[@patrickhotra9241]

What about the fact that the recumbent, at twice the weight, will develop more momentum during the downhill portion, which would allow it to travel farther on the uphill section?

[@bikestrikesrazors]

There seems to be a lot of controversy as to how much weight effects the downhill run. Something about all objects falling at the same speed in a vacuum. We’d have to consult a physicist to know for sure. :)

[@HaraldHofer]

Physics 101: "Between 1589 and 1592, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei [...]is said to have dropped two spheres of different masses from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that their time of descent was independent of their mass [...] Galileo discovered through this experiment that the objects fell with the same acceleration, proving his prediction true, while at the same time disproving Aristotle's theory of gravity (which states that objects fall at speed proportional to their mass)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_experiment

[@rossbrumby1957]

Heavier bikes take longer to pick up speed too, so it gets cancelled out. That's physics. Different if a huge heavy rider is on, they have more wind drag so are slower. The rider should have been planking on the road bike for more aero effect!

[@garyseckel295]

Hmmm. Would a Hase delta trike with rain fairing (looks like a velomobile) be less drag than most trikes? I think it would indeed be less aero drag than the majority of tadpole trikes.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Those fairings can make a big difference. I had a small one on my Rans Rocket and downhill, I would roll about 3 mph faster than without it.

[@kimsac1]

❤️👍👍👍

[@pierrenieuwoudt1167]

Can you tell us what average speed the trike reached compared to the road bike ?

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Hey, Pierre! That would have actually been something that would have been interesting to note at the time, but unfortunately we didn’t keep track of the speeds. Next time! Thanks for watching!

[@pierrenieuwoudt1167]

@@bikestrikesrazors hi, thanks for the reply. I posted my last comment to you before seeing this reply, Keep well and thanks for the entertaining videos

[@hahafalseflag5090]

Trike it is

[@tomprentice6935]

⚔️💪😎👌👏

[@FACE-PROFILERZ]

Its like Egyptian Pyramid and Promised Land.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

LOL! Yep, that street has some strange homes on it!

[@FACE-PROFILERZ]

@@bikestrikesrazors I mean DF is like building pyramid tortured while riding whilst trike is on Israel sitting back comfortably on milk and honey. Am not gonna go back on DF anymore.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

@@FACE-PROFILERZ Ah! I can attest to the fact that a trike is much more comfortable than the DF!

[@rossbrumby1957]

Cryptic, very cryptic. Pardon the pun.