Measurements of roll, steering, and the far-field wake in track cycling

Abstract

A series of measurements taken with two instrumented track bicycles in a velodrome are presented. The bicycle wheel speed, cadence, roll angle, steering angle, power, and airspeed are recorded. The experimentally-measured values are compared to existing theoretical models of roll and steering angles. The accuracy of the roll angle calculations is dependent on the fidelity of the modelled cyclist path and decreases for higher riding speeds. Experimental measurements of the steering angle show a reasonable agreement to theoretical calculations, albeit with reduced steering angles on the bends at higher speeds. There is also seen an increasing steering angle oscillation within each pedal cycle with increasing bicycle velocity which may influence a cyclist’s rolling resistance and the aerodynamic flow around the bicycle’s front end. Observations are made of changes in the flow field ahead of the bicycle due to the presence of other riders on the track, showing an effective tailwind of up to 0.7 m/s. The measured power shows a decrease at the bend entry due to the changing roll angle. Data presented in this paper provides new insights and can help to provide a validation of values used in existing track cycling analytic models.