Nike would be a good start.whiteboytrash said:
And from all the pop up ad's I've seen, this would be another....
Jan Ulrich handlebar position
- Thread starter sopas
- Start date
And from all the pop up ad's I've seen, this would be another....
It actually forgot about this for a while but just got the answer today.
He said the lightweight riders like Pantani pedaled in the mountains with "only 360 watts", while he and Indurain for instance had to pedal, because of their higher weight, with 465watts. Now, when you pedale with such strength, you have to use not just legs and arms, but also the back muscles. In order to do so you have to hold the handle bar on the sides, the brake levers, to get enough pull. He said that Armstrong was an exception to the rule, since he pedaled with high cadence but had almost 68 kg. When you get out of your seat and stand up, your legs have, additional, carry your body weight as well, which means for a heavier rider additional energy. That's why Jan usually stayed seated when he was biking on his limits.
He said the lightweight riders like Pantani pedaled in the mountains with "only 360 watts", while he and Indurain for instance had to pedal, because of their higher weight, with 465watts. Now, when you pedale with such strength, you have to use not just legs and arms, but also the back muscles. In order to do so you have to hold the handle bar on the sides, the brake levers, to get enough pull. He said that Armstrong was an exception to the rule, since he pedaled with high cadence but had almost 68 kg. When you get out of your seat and stand up, your legs have, additional, carry your body weight as well, which means for a heavier rider additional energy. That's why Jan usually stayed seated when he was biking on his limits.
jhuskey said:
Thanks.
Yeah, JU's explanation for staying seated makes sense.
If the bigger rider stands up, when he's climbing, he uses more energy.
The positioning of JU's hands though was interesting.
I looked through my catelogue of old cycling mags and as Sopas pointed out,
JU always had his hands on the side of the top bar, beside the breakhood.
Indurain on the other hand, placed his hands in the middle of the top bar or, as in 1993-1995, he placed his hands on the drops when climbing (freakish stuff).
But I can clearly recall JU in 1996 TDF, placing his hands on the drops when he climbed.
I can definitely recall seeing him do that.
Because at the time, I remember thinking JU is trying to psyche Indurain out
during the 1996 TDF
I can tell you that the 94 and 95 Pantani had his hands predominantly above the brakes, when he was off the saddle. After getting busted up at the end of 95, he changed to the lower gripping style. Apparently his legs were not the same length anymore, and he felt more fluid I imagine with that posture. There are a number of youtube videos that show him in the Carrera years.
limerickman said:
