Any Pro or Semi-pro cyclists out there? Better shave your legs!

I came across this story and thought I should share it.  The gist being, male cyclist that care about time should grab a lady bic and smooth up those legs (Science commands it!)

Here's a quick quote from the Geek.com:

"New research has called prior findings into question, purporting to show that leg-shaving can reduce drag on a bicycle rider by as much as 7%. That’s a rather mind-boggling amount, one which would result in a time-gain of almost 80 seconds per hour of high-speed riding. For competitive riders that’s an amazing result, though it’s contradicted by research conducted several decades ago which found negligible benefit to shaving."

There is a video in the article showing the set up and how this was tested.

http://www.geek.com/science/study-reveals-leg-shaving-is-essential-...

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Permalink Reply by Ifi Susana on September 10, 2014 at 7:39am

Luca Paolini riding in Vuelta is sporting a very lovely beard this year. I wonder how much time that beard is costing him...

I personally was very against shaving my legs, as I am a cat 4 lady, until I crashed and found that a shaved leg would have helped not get so much gravel and dirt into the wound...The more you know...

Permalink Reply by Michael A on September 10, 2014 at 11:02am

Modern techniques for road rash are wonderful, back in the day we used a white scouring pad and saline to clean the wound, then put Mercurochrome on it covered in feminine pads and then gauze.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on September 10, 2014 at 2:49pm

Since I started doing club rides this year, I decided to give the shaving a go. Aside from feeling 'cool' with the 'in crowd', I must say that ladies have been doing a good job at keeping the 'shaved leg sensation' a secret. I count the feeling of freshly shaven legs against soft bed sheets as one of the best feelings in the world.

Permalink Reply by Reboot Oxnard on September 11, 2014 at 2:41am

Swimmers have known about this since, well, Johnny Weissmuller. You didn't think Tarzan looked like this naturally, did you?

Permalink Reply by David Beazley on September 11, 2014 at 3:32am

I still think the improvement is the same as changing anything at all on the bike.  New seat post--7% faster.  New head light--7% faster.  New bar tape--7% faster.  New socks--7% faster.    Well, it's all faster until that 2nd or 3rd ride.  Then, it's back to normal ;-).  

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 11, 2014 at 7:21am

Boxy rando-style handlebar bags and properly installed fenders also reduce drag in a windtunnel. Probably by 7% or whatever. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 11, 2014 at 9:50am

True, and the following was a closely-guarded secret until just this morning at Interbike when Shimano announced their new Dura-Ace HB-9000-Faraday racing dynohub.   

It's a little known fact that dynohubs actually have 7% less drag than even a Dura Ace HB-9000 front hub, at least in the Northern hemisphere.  That is because the spin of the earth's magnetic field causes a reverse-induction capacitive reaction phased-loop coupling within the coils of the dyno, and actually generates enough forward spin on the wheel to overcome the power drawn off not only to the bike lights and any accessories, but also overcoming much of the friction of the bearings themselves.  

Unfortunately, in the Southern hemisphere, this effect reverses.  Much of the testing, up until now, of dynohub efficiencies was done in Australia and this is why many people thought dynohubs were such power hogs.


KevinM said:

Boxy rando-style handlebar bags and properly installed fenders also reduce drag in a windtunnel. Probably by 7% or whatever. 

Permalink Reply by Haddon on September 11, 2014 at 12:53pm

I was told to post this for some reason and so here it is, remind us in spring.

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