On today's sports bicycles, when you see or mention the fender, many people will think that it is an accessory that lowers the overall level of the car and increases weight and resistance.
In the United States, some drivers install mudguards during the rainy season and remove them after the rainy season. The same is true of many drivers in the UK, who only remove the fenders during the race. No matter what the reason is, people all agree that the fender on the car is not conducive to the speed of riding, and that this will slow down the speed of riding. So is this really the case?
aerodynamics
In the research of aerodynamics, bicycle quarterly, a British bicycle magazine, has carried out extensive wind tunnel tests. This includes riding position, clothing, riding bag and so on. Of course, they also tested the aerodynamic performance of the fender on the car. They made a retractable front fender so that they could test the drag coefficient under different conditions. Here are their conclusions:
The mudguards that extend out in front of the tires do reduce drag. This is because the tires spin twice as fast, and the fenders just act as fairing. However, this will only work if the front of the fender extends beyond the top of the tire and begins to drop. As shown above.
L the fender section behind the yoke does add some resistance. But when mud builds up in this area, it also increases resistance.
There is no difference between the aerodynamic performance of the all inclusive fender and the mini fender.
Did it surprise you? The picture below is GP motorcycle, attention! Their front wheels have mudguards to improve aerodynamics. Bicycles have a lot of terms for fairing, otherwise we will definitely see similar mudguard design in events like the tour de France