"jack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:
"Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:jack said:> Right, makes all the difference.
> LOL
>
> Shawn
Actually what Xx says is true about the mtb being a faster accelerator.
The Redland Classic is a multi-stage road race. The prologue of the
classic
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:use to be a 200 meter Street Sprint (drag race) between bikes. Brian
Lopes
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:set the fastest time on a Cannondale MTB with road tires. He got beat
in
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:the finals when he was forced to use a road bike. See attached
article.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/mar00/redlands00p.shtml
I dunno if I buy that - I don't think there's a lot of difference
either way (assuming the same overall gear ratio and tire width), but
I suspect that a roadie sprinter would be faster on a road bike than a
MTB, if only because he/she could achieve a little better aerodynamics
toward the "fast end" of the race. And let's face it - all the sprint
records have been set on road bikes of one sort or another (at least
as far as I know - anyone out there with other data?).
Quoted message said:
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame
This is only a 200 meter race from a dead stop in a straight line.
Winning
Quoted message said:times were 15-16 seconds. The mtb was equipped with road tires. I think
this is like regular car drag racing. Who ever can put the power to the
ground will the get the jump. (wide mountain bike handbar can provide a
lot
Quoted message said:of leverage at the start) Aerodynamics will come into play if the race is
long enough.
Quoted message said:I suspect it all comes down to what you're used to working best.
That is a good point since type of racing Brian Lopes is use to are
sprints
Quoted message said:from a dead stop on a mountain bike.
Visit a Velodrome--see matched sprints taking place, and how they are won.
Even though a matched sprint covers 3 laps, the first 2 and a half are cat
and mouse low speed maneuvering...With less than 100 meters left to go there
is an explosion, and that is where the sprint really takes place. I raced at
the Velodrome at Brian Piccolo Park for years, and trust me, NO ONE would
ever attempt a matched sprint on a mountain bike. The track bike gives you
better "leverage" for the type of muscle contractions and power development
you need to hit 40 or more miles per hour, it weighs less than a road bike,
and that is significant with the gear leverage you apply from a dead
stop---this translates into this discussion as well, since in the "drag
race" scenario discussed here, from a dead stop, the road bikes should weigh
quite a bit less than even the lightest mountain bikes. How many 15 pound
mountain bikes are their running around--even if you put roadie type wheels
and tires on them?
The mountain bike gives better balance and handling for negotiating
obstacles on the trail---the road bike or track bike will provide better
geometry for the type of muscle leverage required for hitting the fastest
sprint possible.
Then again, you could put Marty Northstein (former Olympic track champion)
on a mountain bike, and any of us on a track bike, and he'd smoke us in a
200 yard sprint ....Maybe he'd only hit 41 mph instead of 45, but he'd get
to it faster than we would, and most of us would not be hitting much over 37
mph, especially from a standing start!
Dan V
