How To Reduce Drag On A Bike

When cycling, the only thing that's more of a pain in the butt than a highly uncomfortable saddle is when you experience a cyclist's worst enemy - DRAG! Although I can't make your saddle comfier, I can show you how to reduce drag on a bike, so let's take a look.

To reduce drag on a bike, you need the following gear: deep-rim or disk wheels, an aero bike, a skin suit, a teardrop helmet or a helmet with no ventilation, and aero handlebars. You must be aerodynamic when riding. These items and techniques will help to reduce drag.

The following is an in-depth explanation of how to reduce drag on a bike, the reasons why the items listed above are so necessary for reducing drag, and a few tips to make your new bike last longer. We will also cover how to make your bicycle run as smooth as the ribbon on that medal you will get after reading this.

What Can Cause Drag On A Bike?

Before we go over how to reduce drag on a bicycle, we first need to understand what factors are causing drag when riding.

• The bicycle - any bicycle that you ride will experience drag when cycling. However, some bikes are designed to have much less drag than others.
• The type of wheels - all wheels experience drag, but not all wheels experience the same amount of drag.
• The clothes you wear - any clothes you wear will cause drag no matter what. However, you can minimize the amount of drag your clothes create by wearing clothes designed for cycling.
• The helmet - the design and shape of the helmet you are wearing will affect the drag you are experiencing when cycling.
• The position you are sitting in - when cycling, the most significant drag factor is you and the position you are sitting in.
• The type of handles - believe it or not, your handlebars influence the drag you experience when cycling by a decent margin. However, the truth is that it's not the handles themselves creating drag but the fact that they put you in a position that catches more wind.
• Hand placement - hand placement is vital because where your hands are placed on your handlebars will dictate whether the drag you are experiencing is increased or decreased.

Now that we know what problems are causing drag on a bicycle, we can go over how to fix them and what needs to change to minimize the drag experienced.

How To Reduce Drag On A Bicycle

The factors mentioned above fall into two categories:

• Items that are causing drag
• Techniques that are causing drag

Let's take a look at what measures you can take to reduce drag on a bike.

Drag Reducing Techniques

• Your sitting position when riding a bicycle, the best thing to do to cut down on drag is to sit with your head down and close to the handlebars and have your saddle high while still being comfortable. Sitting like this puts you in the most aerodynamic position possible.
• Your hand placement - one of the easiest ways to reduce drag is to hold the handlebars just above the brakes. Try your best to keep your elbows in. Keep in mind; this may not be possible depending on the handlebars you have on your bike.

Drag Reducing Items

• The bicycle - to reduce the bicycle's drag as much as possible, the best thing to do is to go out and buy an Aero road bike specifically designed to reduce drag.
• The wheels - the wheels on the road bike you are cycling with should be deep-rim wheels with a disc wheel at the back to decrease drag as much as possible.
• The clothes you wear to cut down on drag when cycling, the best thing you can do in terms of what you are wearing is to put on a skin suit.
• The helmet - whichever helmet you decide to wear when cycling should be one without ventilation holes. Although ventilation holes are necessary to cool your head down, they make you hotter by making you work harder.
• The type of handles - The best thing you can do to reduce drag on your handles is to actually attach aero bars. This positions your hands in front of your head, making your riding position more aerodynamic.

All of these parts and upgrades are definitely going to be expensive. However, the gains will far outweigh the cost for a cyclist who is unwaveringly serious about cycling and races. But what if you want to save some money? Check out the video below:

Are there other ways to increase the speed of the bike?

When cycling and increasing your overall speed, getting rid of drag can only get you so far. In addition to drag, your own bicycle's friction may also be slowing you down. This situation is easily fixed, which ensures the maximum efficiency of the bike and allows it to function better, which, in turn, will allow you to focus entirely on drag.

What Causes Friction On A Bike?

Regardless of the bicycle you ride or how well you employ your riding skill, there is always a source of friction somewhere on your bike.

However, there are ways to mitigate the friction, helping you to gain speed and make cycling more manageable, allowing you to focus entirely on drag prevention.

The following factors may be causing friction on your bicycle:

• Quality of the wheel hub and the ball bearings in the wheel hub.
• Grime and dirt build up on transmission and chain.
• How well you're maintaining and cleaning the bike's transmission.
• What kind of chain lubricant you are using as determined by the conditions you are riding in.

The accumulation of these factors or even any one of these can cause excess unnecessary friction.

How To Reduce Friction On A Bicycle

• Grime and dirt - the build-up of dirt and grime in your transmission and chain can cause a lot of friction and wasted energy generated by the restriction in movement of the chain. Not to mention damaging the chain and the gears.
• Gears maintenance – clean your gears regularly and take care of them by lubricating all parts. This not only helps reduce friction in the bike's gears but allows them to move smoothly while increasing their longevity.
• Wheel hub and ball bearings - something else you can do to reduce as much friction as possible is to clean out the grease in your wheel hub's ball bearings and replace the grease with high-speed lubricants. Doing this will allow your ball bearings to move more freely.
• Chain lubricant - using the correct chain lubricant for the conditions you're riding in is paramount to reducing friction. For instance, if you go riding in dry, dusty conditions and you use wet lubricant, you will get a build-up of dirt. However, if you go riding in rainy or wet conditions, a dry lubricant will get washed off.

Summary

When it comes to minimizing drag on a bicycle, the position you're sitting in is the key factor.

A more streamlined helmet, deep rim tires, aero bars, and an aerodynamic bicycle can all help to reduce drag. However, none of these upgrades will help at all if you're not sitting in the correct position.