The Power vs sleekness ratio....who wins?
09-10-11, 08:57 AM
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The Power vs sleekness ratio....who wins?
All things being equal. Bikes and rider weight, who will win in a battle of Power vs. Sleekness? If a guy 5'8" is the same weight as a guy 6' tall but shorty is more powerfull on a given road who should win if the taller fella was more areo in his positioning.
What is the math behind such a quandry?
What is the math behind such a quandry?
09-10-11, 10:01 AM
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Too many variables. Are you trying to armchair race your tanning buddies?
09-10-11, 10:15 AM
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When things get to that fine point it's all about "heart."
09-10-11, 12:16 PM
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Yeah, all heart... but all depends or the terrain, how tired the guys are, which of the guys is faster than the other one. U can have power but have zero cadence, u can be tiny and no strong but have a lot of agility. Sprints made wrong, u can get stuck in the peloton, too many factors, so its hard to say. For those type of things there is no math to back up who is going to win.
09-10-11, 04:50 PM
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In the South there's a saying:
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog...
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog...
09-10-11, 04:58 PM
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Yeah, but... Conventional wisdom is that smaller riders tend to have a better power-to-weight ratio, thus being better climbers (think Pantani), and larger riders tend to have a better power-to-drag ratio, and tend to be better TT'ers (say, Cancellara or Indurain).
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09-10-11, 07:24 PM
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The one using Di2
09-10-11, 08:06 PM
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clearly, the one who is faster will win.
09-10-11, 08:53 PM
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Thats the norm but is not really like that. Because u can look like something and you are not. I know short guys that cant climb, know giants that can climb for example so you have a norm but is not that rigid now a days. And never been 
U cant judge from the looks.
Personally I believe pantani climbed because he was dopped, not saying he was a bad rider because he was pretty good but if you see him his style climbing is not great either. The problem is that when he won the tdf the peloton in general did not climb as today's. U have jan ulrich, he is pretty big and climbed pretty well. Climbing is a gift, or you have it or you dont, some bodies are better for it, cancelara climbs but not as good as the other guys, sure even sprinters climb better than any good average joe climber so it is a think of point of view too
Cavendish is short and looks like could climb a lot, he is not heavy either, he doesnt even look like a sprinter He cant climb and sprints like crazy maniac. there u have everything debunked Indurain was a great climber just in case 
U cant judge from the looks.Personally I believe pantani climbed because he was dopped, not saying he was a bad rider because he was pretty good but if you see him his style climbing is not great either. The problem is that when he won the tdf the peloton in general did not climb as today's. U have jan ulrich, he is pretty big and climbed pretty well. Climbing is a gift, or you have it or you dont, some bodies are better for it, cancelara climbs but not as good as the other guys, sure even sprinters climb better than any good average joe climber
so it is a think of point of view too Cavendish is short and looks like could climb a lot, he is not heavy either, he doesnt even look like a sprinter
He cant climb and sprints like crazy maniac. there u have everything debunked Indurain was a great climber just in case Yeah, but... Conventional wisdom is that smaller riders tend to have a better power-to-weight ratio, thus being better climbers (think Pantani), and larger riders tend to have a better power-to-drag ratio, and tend to be better TT'ers (say, Cancellara or Indurain).
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Bend, OR
09-10-11, 10:47 PM
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Funny. That quote was originally attributed to Mark Twain. While Hannibal, MO was not a progressive place, it sent significantly more troops to the Union than the Confederacy (and this was all a moot issue by the time Twain was writing his famous quote).
09-11-11, 01:33 AM
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To apply maths to such a problem you would need to know the Cda and power output for both riders. Then apply this to the terrain they are racing over. As you haven't said what these variables are it is impossible to calculate. If you have two particular individuals in mind the best solution is for them to have a race.
09-11-11, 06:05 AM
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09-11-11, 06:19 PM
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Thats the norm but is not really like that. Because u can look like something and you are not. I know short guys that cant climb, know giants that can climb for example so you have a norm but is not that rigid now a days. And never been U cant judge from the looks.
Personally I believe pantani climbed because he was dopped, not saying he was a bad rider because he was pretty good but if you see him his style climbing is not great either. The problem is that when he won the tdf the peloton in general did not climb as today's. U have jan ulrich, he is pretty big and climbed pretty well. Climbing is a gift, or you have it or you dont, some bodies are better for it, cancelara climbs but not as good as the other guys, sure even sprinters climb better than any good average joe climber so it is a think of point of view too
Cavendish is short and looks like could climb a lot, he is not heavy either, he doesnt even look like a sprinter He cant climb and sprints like crazy maniac. there u have everything debunked Indurain was a great climber just in case
U cant judge from the looks.Personally I believe pantani climbed because he was dopped, not saying he was a bad rider because he was pretty good but if you see him his style climbing is not great either. The problem is that when he won the tdf the peloton in general did not climb as today's. U have jan ulrich, he is pretty big and climbed pretty well. Climbing is a gift, or you have it or you dont, some bodies are better for it, cancelara climbs but not as good as the other guys, sure even sprinters climb better than any good average joe climber
so it is a think of point of view too Cavendish is short and looks like could climb a lot, he is not heavy either, he doesnt even look like a sprinter
He cant climb and sprints like crazy maniac. there u have everything debunked Indurain was a great climber just in case SP
Bend, OR
09-11-11, 06:25 PM
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Not sure I understand your post. Both Coppi and Merckx were GREAT TTers, and good enough in the mountains that they could hang with the top climbers (most of the time). And just for another data point, Laurent Jalabert didn't win the KOM jersey in his last two Tours by suddenly becoming a great climber (he spent most of his career as a sprinter and all-rounder). He'd go out on long solo breaks BEFORE the big climbs, and build up a big enough time cushion that he didn't get caught before the summit. It's really tactics as much as abilities in the big leagues. I stand by my initial statement.
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