The Win Tunnel: Shaved and Dangerous?
It’s the most asked question: do shaved legs really help you go faster? In this episode, Mark and Chris break out the razors and get down to the follicle level to find out if hair-free legs truly are dangerously fast legs.
Why not just shave your head and eyes lashes while you’re at it.
so I would be really interested to see the data of the different between a 1x and 2x set up in the tunnel
So how many watts does that correspond to? That’s the ultimate question because that’s usually how we think about drag as athletes.
What speed where you running tha test at? Im a XCO/XCM racer i we mostly have lower speeds 25-30 km/h. Im also interested to hear what power the seconds you mention correspond to? 80 sec, whats that in watts?
I am not that hairy but I am going to give it a try.
what about shaved vs using leg warmers?
if shaved legs aren’t beneficial, then covering the whole bicycle in carpet would be fine.
Just look at how perfect and beautiful cyclists look shaved and how crap unshaved. Never mind the wind tunnel.
Who else went and shaved their legs immediately after watching this vid?
Amazing.
Video and audio quality sucks!!! The Audio cuts every 2 seconds on some parts!
SO SICK!
Any chance you could test this out http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/why-leaving-hair-on-your-legs-could-help-you-go-faster-186135
Do specialized s-works sub6 shoes
Interesting, I’ve heard about wind tunnel research that said the exact opposite (though I don’t remember which one). Wasn’t it Sky who put special gel on their legs in a time trial once to roughen up the surface of their legs?
I predicted shaving reduced drag all along. Glad to see that technology finally caught up so that now it can be proven.
>_> whoa…. its…. mind blow truth, I admitted it I actually don’t believe it LOL
I might try this one day (now staring at shaving knife… hmph..) thanks Specialized, you guys make me laughs out loud this one! +1
Shaving legs is gay though
I have super furry legs and every time I ride I feel the wind dragging on them, and have been wondering just how much would I save if I shaved. Now I know!
Legs only?? Or arms as well?…what about the rest of the body????
who cares if its faster… its all about style, Style, STYLE, *** STYLE ***
especially if you’re running Campagnolo,
and *** DON’T SHAVE *** use an automatic tweezer machine
What if you wear thin lycra legs? Same as shaved?
The video gives the impression that performance gain is just about aerodynamics. And it is probably not the case. Shaving estimulates periferal blood flow and gives you a good sensation of "readiness".
You should wax, not shave. Save some more weight, too.
shaved legs? keith had some ugly legs
LOL. Ladies absolutely HATE it on multiple levels…
wtf they did not even publish the real data, not even showing their speed, what is this
try different amount of bar tape used
2:10 Results: shaved legs save 1m10s over 40km. Equivalent to going from a traditional round tube frame to a Venge frame.
This test is flawed in so many ways. Anyone who thinks exposed leg hair at the bottom of your legs creates any sort of noticeable drag is a clown. If there is any sort of truth to this, then eye lashes will also create "drag". Bunch of leg shaving women looking for excuses imo.
It would be useful if you guys posted the data for each test in a description link.
+Specialized Bicycles, so we can assume shaving will let your skin smoother and the flow will keep laminar until separating (maybe the separation afterwards is defined by the geometry of the legs/calfs, which end abruptly… a flow visualization would figure that out).
Anyway, I wonder now what happens when you’re drafting, so the wake reaching you is most probably turbulent (?). Would shaving see such a remarkable difference now?
What about arm hair?? And head hair for that matter ??
2:10
how about leg warmers?
I don’t think the big difference is all due to the extra wind drag from the hairs.
For all you spring leg shavers (guys who let it grow all winter), try this. Shave 1 leg and go for a ride on a cool day with out tights. You will really notice the temperature difference. The thousands of hairs act like tiny radiators sucking the heat out of your leg. Remove the hair and your legs stay warmer. Eddy B used to tell us to wear tights when it was below 65f out. Some guys used gobs of IcyHot to try to keep the legs warm on colder days so they could race without tights which always seem to slow us down. Anything to keep the legs warm would do. IMO shaving is good for a ~10F lower temp outside. How much difference does that physiological change (not psychological) make in wind tunnel test? How could you even measure the effects of temp difference? Maybe try turning up the heat in the wind tunnel and just compare drag at many temp levels. This sort of testing would probably be better done on an ergometer in a lab where the room air temp can be controlled. Perhaps the hairs cool the skin, the body sends more blood to the skin to keep it warm, thus depriving the muscles of oxygen. The human body does use blood flow for temperature control. In life threatening cold, the body will cut blood flow to the extremities to save the head and core. Shave and the skin stays warmer, increasing oxygen availability to the muscles.
2:10
I’m an MTB’er I need the hair to cover the scars
Great vid guys, funny too
What about shaving your balls? did you test that?
Impressive and definitely worth it for pro racer. As a casual rider, though, I’m not sure I’m ready to shave to save 1 min over 40km. Lycra is an alternative.
I like the "time gained over xx km" metric since it applies to riders of all levels.
So what about lycra legs over shaved and hairy?
Please do shoe covers verses no shoes covers, and maybe road vs mtn while youre at it!
this is bull
OK ….. great info but what about aerosocks. Shaving better than unshaven, but are aerosocks better or worse than bare skin?
wtf
It’s been a few years since this video came out. Has there been any follow up on it?
Fenders vs no fenders vs ass-saver
The best practical reason for smooth legs for me is that it makes applying sunscreen and other stuff easier. With hair you need much more of it and it takes much more rubbing to spread evenly, because the hair impairs the flow. For the same reason it’s also much easier to shower and dry yourself off. On the road, body hair is very good at catching small insects, which can be very itchy – herefore I de-hair my arms as well as legs. I don’t race, so the speed gain is irrelevant for me, but it’s nice to know.
Wow startling results.