On Apr 21, 4:09 pm, Michael Press <
[email protected]> wrote:
> In article
> <b9cb9b3b-1032-44ef-8273-7bca3e8a4...@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
>
> [email protected] wrote:
> > On Apr 21, 2:41 pm, "[email protected]"
> > <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > Hi All,
>
> > > Time for more Velodrome math.
>
> > > I only just became aware that Chris Boardman no longer holds the hour
> > > record.
>
> > > I read that Sosenka used a 3.2kg wheel and 190mm cranks. The guy is 2m
> > > tall so the long cranks isn't strange, but what about the heavy wheel?
> > > Did that help? How?
>
> > > Joseph
>
> > It helped only insofar as he mentally thought it would help, because
> > he believed the long-since disproven myth about flywheel affect and
> > heavy wheels. In reality it didn't matter one bit.
>
> The flywheel will smooth out changes in cadence.
> Changing cadence is an energy drain.
I'm thinking you are right. Else they could add lead to the bottom
bracket to get the same effect. Air drag is the main factor in the
hour record, so this must be about increasing thrust. If you've used
an exercycle with friction only vs one with a flywheel and friction,
the flywheel feels a lot more natural to pedal.
It's kind of a hybrid... I wouldn't have thought adding any weight
would help, but you can't argue with success. This is a closed course
and riding a steady speed is the objective, so once you've accelerated
that mass it will help you maintain a steady speed.
-Paul