Windshield for Bikes

Sometimes I spot cool hacks or bike products but am unable to get a picture.  Just such an occurrence happened a few days ago when I emerged from the subway and saw a rider going by with a windshield attached to the front handlebars.  My phone was buried and a was carrying stuff so I did not have the time to take a photo.  I was intrigued because it was a very sophisticated shield, definitely not homemade, and had not seen such a product before.

I did some Interweb searching and could not find an exact match for what I saw, but this is the closest thing I found. The one I saw extended higher in order to provide face protection without have to bend down. 

The product in the picture is produced by Zipper Road Fairings, a company I had not heard of before, and they are a bit pricey.  Any readers have experience with windshields for bicycles? Bought something off the shelf?  Hacked your own? Do they work?

Comments are welcome or send us an email, we'd love a reader review.  And if anyone in Boston knows of the rider I saw, have her contact us.  She was riding north on Dartmouth toward Comm Ave =)

 

Comments

[Dave]

My friend made a windscreen out of a car rack fairing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandmegan/sets/72157632605670061/

He bolted it to his barends.

[MLC40]

Fairings and windshields are more commonly used on recumbents than upright bikes.

[Kim Laroux]

He may have simply used an ATV windshield. Some of them come with brackets to mount them directly to handlebars. It would be easy installing those on a bicycle.

[Bicycle Bill]

I'd have to say that this does not qualify as a hack.  I remember seeing bicycle-specific fairings by Zipper and others that were made to hook over the brake hoods of drop-bar bikes since the 1980s.

And as MLC40 noted, fairings are more common for recumbents than for wedgies.

[Carl]

@Matt, i imagine the one you saw was modded from a motorcycle fairing? i have an old Kawasaki fairing i might use for this... lol.

[Sean Byfield]

You can heat Lexan in a stove just to the point it will become pliable (very low heat) and conform it to a mold. Trimming excess is difficult - I used sheet metal nips and sliced off little bits until the edges were close. I then sanded the edges smooth so there are not any nasty little shards sticking out. Drilling holes is difficult as well. You have to start very small and work your way up.
I say Lexan because it is almost bullet proof and will not shatter. Plexi shatters on impact and would be quite dangerous for this use.