Can A Fairing Make Riding Less Of A Drag?

What Fairings Do You Sell?

Here at T-Cycle, we build and sell Windwrap Fairings, as well the as the mounting hardware and some accessories to go along with it all. First off, there are six types of fairings:

• The BLC Fairing is designed for high bottom bracket remote-steered bikes. The curve of the bubble provides good aerodynamic coverage and all the clearances where you need them.

• The Cafe Fairing is designed for bikes where the cranks are just ahead of the head tube. It provides a nice aerodynamic toebox and clearance for the handlebars to turn. It's also used on MBB bikes like the Cruzbikes.

• The WERX Fairing is fairings that turn with the handlebars. The WERX is specifically made for long wheelbase bikes where the pedals are down fairly low, like the Easy Racers Tour Easy, Gold Rush, and others. The shape and contour of these fairings provide great aerodynamics. The WERX is capable of supporting a Body Sock.

• The WGX Fairing is a full-sized fairings that wrap around from under the pedals up and over your knees. Ideal for lots of bikes and trikes with the cranks out front.

• The WRNS Fairing is a fairing that turns with the handlebars and is made for long wheelbase bikes where the pedals aren't down as low, like the Rans Stratus, Easy Racers Tomahawk, and others. This fairing is designed to provide great aerodynamics and good foot clearance, with the main curve of the bubble shifted up compared to the WERX fairing. It is capable of supporting a Body Sock.

• The XT Fairing is a small fairing that typically mounts on the derailleur post. It works on a lot of different bikes and trikes. Since it's a small fairing, it doesn't provide as much aero assistance as the larger fairings. On bikes and trikes with low seats and limited forward visibility, it's sometimes the only fairing that will work. In spite of its small size, it's great at keeping your feet warm if you're a cold weather rider.

To further complicate matters, we sell seven types of fairing mounts:

• The BLC Mount Kit is specially made for remote-steered long wheelbase bikes and Delta trikes. It uses a lower mount that extends up, over, and down from the main tube.

• The Cafe Mount Kit uses hardware specific to the bikes that use the Cafe Fairing. It has a bottom bracket mount for the lower part of the fairing and an angle adjustable upper mount that attaches to the derailleur post.

• The Classic Two Point Mount Kit is used in situations where the bottom part of the One Point Mount Kit can't be used (RANS VRex and Lightning P38, mostly, with their other tubes coming out under the boom). An arm attaches to the bottom bracket to support the lower part of the fairing. The upper part of the mount is the same as the OnePoint mount.

• The WERX Mount Kit is for fairings that turn with the handlebars on long wheelbase bikes like the Easy Racers. The standard width has handlebar mounts sized for the bar spacing on the Easy Racers, Sun, and Lightfoot handlebars.

• The One Point Mount Kit is the most adaptable and universal fairing mount. It is used with the WGX and BLC Fairings on lots of bikes and trikes. It has an upper arm and a lower arm. Each arm mounts at the same place on the main frame of the bike/trike, hence the name "One Point." You can separate the attachment of the upper and lower mounts if you wish (you'll need an extra set of mounting bands).

• The RNS Mount Kiti s a mount that turns with the handlebars on long wheelbase bikes. The T-Bar option is for bikes with a single large handlebar mast like the RANS Stratus and Easy Racers Tomahawk. The Chopper Bars option is for the RANS long wheelbase bikes with wide chopper style bars. They are similar to the WERX mounts but sized for the spacing on the wider RANS chopper bars. 

• The XT Mount Kit is a universal, easy fit mount for the XT fairing. The mount attaches under the main frame tube behind the bottom bracket shell. It has built-in adjusting hardware to provide angular adjustment and extend the positional range. It is easily removed and reinstalled for transport.

Which Fairing Do I Need?

Well, that's a great question. To answer this, we've assembled a little chart where you can match up your bike with the applicable hardware and fairing.

Can I See Over It?

Before you order a fairing, you should check for vision restrictions, because, though they are often clear, fairings are meant to be primarily looked over and not always through.

As our shapely green man demonstrates, there are four main points that should be taken into account: 

1. The top of your foot stroke. 
2. The top of your knee stroke. 
3. The highest point of the handlebars, including your hands if you have above the seat steering. 
4. Your eye height while seated on the vehicle. 

In order to properly see over a fairing, your eyes need to be: 

1. 1.5 inches (3.8cm) higher than your knees. 
2. 2 inches (5cm) higher than your toes. 
3. 3 inches (7.6cm) higher than your handlebars. 

Following these rules will give you a line of sight to the road about 20 feet (6 meters) ahead of you. If you want to see the road closer without looking through the fairing, you need to add 1 to 2 inches (2 to 5cm) to the above differences. For most riding conditions, 20-30 feet (6-9m) is a reasonable sight line. Keep in mind that while fairings are transparent, glare, rain, fog, superheroes and other conditions can impair your ability to see through a fairing. For racing, where absolute speed is paramount, you could reconsider the above requirements, but for the day to day, it is important that you have a good sightline over your fairing. 

Also keep in mind that fairings alter the aerodynamics of a bike considerably. If you have a greatly laid back seat for aerodynamics, the gains from adding a fairing will be less dramatic. So, as you take the measurements listed above, remember that you can raise your seat now that you have a sleek, wind-fighting fairing!

How Do I Take A Fairing Off?