Product design and development of an aerodynamic hydration system for bicycling and triathlon

Proper hydration and aerodynamic performance are both essential needs of a competitive cyclist or triathlete. Several aerodynamic systems have been developed for use on bicycles but few have been designed to be truly aerodynamic or easy to use. This project focused on the design and development of a frame mounted hydration system for cycling and triathlon that offered improvements in usability and aerodynamic performance over the current market solutions. A wind tunnel test validated a viable location on to place the fluid reservoir. Product specifications were derived from consumer needs and concepts were generated to fulfill those needs. Several iterations of CAD models of the entire product were made. The resulting product, a top tube mounted reservoir with a drinking tube and tri-leaf check valve for re-filling the reservoir while riding will be prototyped by the author over the summer of 2007.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Cote, Mark (Mark Brian)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kim B. Blair.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40411

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40411