1
In order to fit the tailbox on the bike with no interference we had to first devise a way to cantilever the back end, leaving room to slide the box off and on about a million times.
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2
Front view. Yet another use for a bike trainer. Note how the trainer is attached to the floor with battens so that when I sat on the bike the front end wouldn't come up. We shimmed between the cinder block and the frame to get the bike level so that we could assess the orientation of the tailbox as the installation proceeded.
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3
Initial fitting. It takes 2 people or a whole lot more time and frustration!
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4
Once we decided the placement of the mounting brackets, John cut templates out of cardboard first to establish the shape and bend of the brackets before starting to make them out of the aluminum sheet stock he had on hand.
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5
Clamps were necessary to attach the fairing to the brackets while fine tuning the positioning. Measure 11 times, drill once. (Note the use of masking tape- on the carbon it was much easier to see pencil marks on the tape for accurate cutting)
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6
4 out of 6 brackets in place. We mounted them to the same mounting points I had used for my rear rack, which will remain so that there will be luggage capacity and a fender for the rear wheel inside the fairing. Note how John placed L bends on some of the brackets to give them additional rigidity.
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7
No, the camera's not tilted. There was a lot of crawling around and a lot of mounting and dismounting of the fairing to get the cutouts correct around the rear stays and wheel.
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8
Once you start cutting you realize how many items there are to interfere with clean aerodynamics underneath a bike. We ended up cutting a large hole for the chain, because the final positioning dictated that the drive side of the chain between the mid-idler and the cassette had to pass through the fairing wall at a low angle. A separate small hole was later cut for the derailleur cable, not installed in this photo.
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9
Note the wedge shaped opening for the chain. Small additional cut out at upper right above tire is so the computer magnet can pass cleanly. Lots of details to be considered.
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10
Mounts in place. John attached L brackets to the fairing with several layers of carbon fiber and epoxy. (using a layer of fiberglas to insulate the aluminum from the carbon in order to prevent corrosion) Then the brackets on the bike and the brackets on the fairing were simply bolted together after a final check for positioning.
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11
Final fitting. I later added Zotefoam fillers to close the gap at the lower leading edge of the fairing. Also added rubber molding used for car doors on the edges of the shell as a cushion against my body and as a safety device in the event of a crash.
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12
The final product on race day.
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