J
I like this subject and so will try again from a different approach...
Race rules limit what one can do to improve the speed of their bike
(and apparel) but even pro racers only are in events for a small
fraction of their riding miles. For 90-99% of miles ridden a rider is
under no rule at all---but riders naturally love speed.
However, so far it seems like people limit themselves to the race rules
for what they do to ride faster.
This makes zero sense.
Bike buffs freely spend thousands on every aspect of cycling so expense
is not a relevant issue.
Basically, people use aerobars and very expensive lightweight and aero
components.
(Interestingly, I think that weight doesn't matter much except for
reacceleration and uphills---and even for uphills it might not be very
important except for very steep hills. There are online calculators
that will shock you.)
Is there anything else people could do to get "free" speed? Is there a
list of such things and the gains they give? There's a webpage listing
a couple dozen race-legal things to save 3 minutes in 40km. "Illegal"
enhancers would likely be far more effective---and freely available to
anyone not in a race---which is 90-99% of miles ridden, as stated.
Speed is of interest for a couple reasons, of course. It's fun, it's
effective (extends range, makes errands quicker) and it's good
training.
Racers use every trick. They sometimes ride with heavy, slow bikes for
resistance. They sometimes motorpace for extra speed, or do downhill or
tailwind speedwork. They could also ride an extra-fast bike to get used
to more speed, faster footwork. It makes sense for speed aides to be
popular. Yet very oddly they're not often seen.
Once race rules are taken out of the equation (which makes sense since,
yet agian, they apply to only a tiny fraction of miles ridden) the
sky's the limit for tricks one might use to get a faster bike.
Any datapoints?
For instance, does an aero frame help at all? Could a frame be made
more aero just by taping on strategic cardboard fill? (In another
thread I suggest looking at fairing the bottom of the pedal/foot. And
using fairings in general.)
--JP
allbikemag.com
Race rules limit what one can do to improve the speed of their bike
(and apparel) but even pro racers only are in events for a small
fraction of their riding miles. For 90-99% of miles ridden a rider is
under no rule at all---but riders naturally love speed.
However, so far it seems like people limit themselves to the race rules
for what they do to ride faster.
This makes zero sense.
Bike buffs freely spend thousands on every aspect of cycling so expense
is not a relevant issue.
Basically, people use aerobars and very expensive lightweight and aero
components.
(Interestingly, I think that weight doesn't matter much except for
reacceleration and uphills---and even for uphills it might not be very
important except for very steep hills. There are online calculators
that will shock you.)
Is there anything else people could do to get "free" speed? Is there a
list of such things and the gains they give? There's a webpage listing
a couple dozen race-legal things to save 3 minutes in 40km. "Illegal"
enhancers would likely be far more effective---and freely available to
anyone not in a race---which is 90-99% of miles ridden, as stated.
Speed is of interest for a couple reasons, of course. It's fun, it's
effective (extends range, makes errands quicker) and it's good
training.
Racers use every trick. They sometimes ride with heavy, slow bikes for
resistance. They sometimes motorpace for extra speed, or do downhill or
tailwind speedwork. They could also ride an extra-fast bike to get used
to more speed, faster footwork. It makes sense for speed aides to be
popular. Yet very oddly they're not often seen.
Once race rules are taken out of the equation (which makes sense since,
yet agian, they apply to only a tiny fraction of miles ridden) the
sky's the limit for tricks one might use to get a faster bike.
Any datapoints?
For instance, does an aero frame help at all? Could a frame be made
more aero just by taping on strategic cardboard fill? (In another
thread I suggest looking at fairing the bottom of the pedal/foot. And
using fairings in general.)
--JP
allbikemag.com