aerodynamics

[simon]

maybe a stupid question, but would it be an advantage aerodinamically if one shaves his arms for a time trial?i've heard swimmers do this(not for aerodynamics but aquadynamics;-))

[Franziskaner]

i doubt it. it has been shown that shaved legs don't make a difference aerodynamically, so arms should be the same thing.

[mattpage]

If you want your clothing to be as aerodynamic as possible then get a skin suit. I don't think shaving arms will make any difference at all.

[hottessa]

I disagree
Chris Boardman shaved his arms for his world hour recoed attempt. That guy knew a thing or two about being "aero"

[mattpage]

Maybe he thought he knew something about aerodynamics, but I doubt it will make any real differnce.

Get absolutly everything else sorted first, aero postion perfect, aero bike, wheels etc.

If shaving legs has been proven to be no advantage then shaving arms will be the same.

[jersievers]

Shaving or not, the F1 team that worked on lances stuff have said that a full skin suit is the fastest aerodynamically. UCI doesn't allow that so they do the long sleeve thing only. Nike has developed a material that is faster then perfectly smooth skin. Has to do with boundary layers and such, you know dimples on Zipps and Golf balls.

The same thing for swimming, the suits they have created are faster then shaved skin. A good number of swimmer I know don't shave anymore because of speed. They use the extra drag for training.

I have heard that shaving your arms will make a difference, but that I don't have any data or have I seen any. I use a long sleeve skin suit. The info I heard about arm shaving is that your arms are some of the first part to hit the wind so there is an advantage. Your legs are secondary to headtube, front wheel, down tube and arms, so the effect of shaving legs is almost nil because they are moving in "dirty" air.

[big fellow]

i seriously doubt whether shaving your arms makes any difference, unless you have arms like Robin Williams

even if it does offer some miniscule difference, I would guarantee that human skin has a much higher friction co-efficient than smooth and tight skinsuits which are designed solely for that purpose - to pass through the air with a minimum amount of friction

best case scenario is that shaving your arms gives you a massive psychological boost

[Tippster]

I'd imagine it would help Chewbacca...

[the_taaboo]

I'd imagine it would help Chewbacca...

but in a vacuum you don't have air resistance and thats Chewbacca's main habitation...

[allezkmiec]

I'd imagine it would help Chewbacca...

but in a vacuum you don't have air resistance and thats Chewbacca's main habitation...

Ahh, there you're wrong! I think Wookies would explode in a vacuum; Chewie spends most of his time in the (pressurized) Millenium Falcon. I imagine Chewbacca could, however, get great benefits from shaving for Wookie-races back home on Kashyyk.

I am the biggest nerd EVER.