Recumbent fairings are a necessary addition to any bent. Looks, the kind that turns heads, are great. Cutting down wind resistance, which can increase speed, is a different story. Some like the looks, others like the speed, some like both. Ah, someone will be happy.

Like custom made anything, fairings are pricey. Unless you make them yourself, that is. At the “Skunk Works,” better know as someone’s garage up north, all types of cutting edge objects find their way outside, into the elements, attached to a frame and a couple of wheels. With a home made oven, plywood forms and some air injection, whallah, a nose cone for a short wheelbase bent. Or maybe a canopy for a streamliner. They’re doing that up north, and pretty well at that.

Recumbent fairings really are a good accessory. They do protect from wind, and it’s harder for the bugs to smack you square in the face. There is generally a speed increase of about 20%, which could be from 1-3 miles per hour. Cold air is also deflected from the feet, and if one gets caught in the rain there is also some protection…as long as you keep moving!

Tailboxes, fairings for the rear of the bike, serve a similar and opposite purpose. Also great for aerodynamic airflow, they double as “goodie” boxes. Jackets, spare tubes and patch kits, multipurpose tools, power bars, sports drink, last weeks P & B sandwich, can all be found in those tailboxes that double as a “trunk!” For commutes, or the rider out on a 50-mile jaunt, they are indispensable.

For the lowracers, super stock racers or the streamliners, tailboxes are essential. With these fairings, speeds of 30mph and greater are the norm, and for those classes speed is the king! The smoother the line, the less friction air encounters and that is exactly the idea of a fairing. They really look cool and that’s a plus! It sort of goes back to form and function. When it’s all said and done, recumbent fairings are just fun!

If you're thinking about making a fairing, click here to get an idea of the tools you might need.