From: macher@telerama.lm.com
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc
Subject: Small Windshield, Large Benefits
Date: 18 Dec 1995
Using techniques posted by others, and modified slightly, I have built a small windshield for commuting use which has exceeded all expectations.
The windshield is 14 inches wide by 20 inches high. It is square on the bottom and round on the top, with a slight backward bend to it on the top half.
It is made from 3/4 inch plastic water pipe, which when heated with a propane torch or other heater, becomes soft like a wet noodle, and is easily formed into whatever shape you desire.
I have drop bars on my commuter bike, and use a piece of 1/8 inch aluminum as the mounting which holds both the windshield and my 35 watt home brew headlight. It is about 1.5 inches wide, and bent to form a shallow, inverted U shape, the ends of which fold down over my brake hoods. An electrical tie threaded through a hole drilled in this bracket, and wrapped around the brake hood on each side, serves to secure the mounting bracket well.
I use a Girvin flex stem, and the weight of the head lamp and windshield, plus handle bar bag, is not a problem. The windshield is actually very light, and the benefits are really great!
Last winter I needed to wear a face mask and keep my jacket zippered up as far as it would go when riding to and from work on my 32 mile round trip commute. This morning, with the temperatures at 33 degrees F, I rode in with my jacket half unzipped, and without any ear coverings, and was not cold. The windshield is smaller than my front cross section, so it does not make any difference in wind resistance that I can notice, and may actually add a slight streamlining effect, as it sits in front of what is essentially a scope formed by my body. The top of the windshield is low enough that if I wish , I can sit straight up and get a full face of wind, or if I get down on the drops I am completely behind it, and totally shielded from the wind as I go down the first 40+ MPH hill on the way into work. I have not noticed any adverse affects on handling, at high or low speeds, at least not enough to worry about. Same for cross winds. As for lower temperatures, I have ridden in the low 20s F with my jacket open at the neck, but needed ear coverings.
If you are a winter commuter, consider building a small windshield. It is amazing how much more enjoyable the ride in sub-freezing weather can be! And, when you are behind the windshield, it is also really quiet! You will actually hear new sounds that wind noise usually drowns out.
Here is how I did it, following someone else's methods, slightly modified:
Materials
Some plastic electrical conduit or water pipe.
Clear plastic sheeting
Black silicone rubber caulking (previous guy used hot melt glue)
Two plastic TEEs to fit pipe
Two plastic end caps
Small can of plastic pipe cement
Method
I used a propane torch to heat the pipe, and bent it around a bucket that was about 12 inches in diameter to get the curved top. While it was still hot, I bent the top backwards to get a pleasing backward curve to the top half. Make the piece of pipe you are bending too long, and cut it to length after you have bent it, because it is a little tricky getting the bend exactly in the middle.
Cut the ends of the formed pipe off even, at the length that will give you the height you want. These ends will slip into the plastic TEEs, The plastic TEEs are put on in a way that will allow one of the openings to face backwards and the other opening to face downwards.
After the frame is basically shaped, a slot is cut on the inside of the frame. I did this with a hacksaw blade which was held in a holder that I bought somewhere. I will probably try a slot cutter in a router next time, as cutting this slot is the least enjoyable part of building the windshield. The plastic pipe tees are slotted half way down, and a separate piece of pipe is cut and slotted to slip over the plastic windshield, across the bottom and between the pipe tees.
Use the windshield frame to mark the plastic sheet to size, and cut the sheet so that it will slide into the plastic frame, and extend into the frame as close as possible to the outside wall of the inside of the tube. After the plastic sheet is inserted into the frame, drill small holes, about 3/16 inches in diameter, about every 4 inches around the frame, into which you will squirt silicone rubber caulking. This rubber will hold everything together, but is resilient enough not to cause the plastic sheet to fracture with road vibration. Be sure to drill through both the frame and the plastic sheeting.
Before using the rubber caulking, cement the plastic pipe into the pipe TEEs. Insert the cross piece, which you should try to miter, on the bottom of the plastic sheeting, to complete the frame. If you can wait, paint the frame before final assembly. I could not wait, and painted mine black afterwards. Use silicone rubber to fill the ends of the bottom cross piece if you miters are less than precise.
Two small pieces of pipe, about 6 inches in length, are used to hold the windshield to the mounting bracket. They are slotted and slip over the piece of aluminum, and caps are held on the end of them with small sheet metal screws. The slots are just slightly smaller than the aluminum, so that when the caps are slipped on the ends, the tubes squeeze tight on the aluminum. These mounting pieces are glued into the openings in the TEEs that face backwards.
The downward openings in the pipe TEEs are used to hold small pieces of pipe, which are slotted to hold small plastic shields about 5 by 7 inches in size, and are bent by heating with a torch, to make removable hand farings for the colder weather. Simply slot these short pieces of pipe, cut and bend small pieces of plastic sheet to suit your fancy, and hold the plastic sheet in the pipe with a squirt of silicone rubber caulking in each end. Drill one hole in the plastic TEE where the small pipe is inserted, and hold it in place with one small sheet metal screw. Now you have a hand faring that will shield your hands when you want, and which is removable in 15 seconds if you do not need it. Works well for me.
The windshield does not seem to adverselly affect handling of my bike, at speeds to above 40 MPH. There seems to be some negative effect at low speeds, while hill climbing, due to the weight of the windshield, plus handlebar bag and headlight. I have been using it for the last eight weeks or so, in varied conditions, without problem. I have not found any reason why I would want to remove the windshield from the bike until the weather warms.
My commute is an hour each way, a little more in the winter. If you have a similar winter ride, in sub-freezing tempreatures, try building a small windshield. Doing so has certainly exceeded my expectations and increased my winter commuting enjoyment.
Bill Macher
Pittsburgh Pa. USA
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