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Old 04-19-10 | 12:57 PM
  #85  
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black_box
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From: chicago burbs

Bikes: '17 giant propel, '07 fuji cross pro, '10 gary fisher x-caliber

Originally Posted by WhyFi
Stupid but honest question - he's doing loops and ending at the same elevation that he started out at... shouldn't he be making up a little time on the down side, anyway?
I'll take a stab at this and say "a little." The potential energy you gain from climbing the hill = mass * gravity * change in height. Going down the hill converts that potential energy to kinetic energy (0.5 * mass * speed^2) but the faster you use it up (i.e. higher speed) the more is lost to wind resistance (doubling your speed = 4 times as much wind resistance). Basically, going down the hill faster will be a less efficient use of the energy you stored when you pedaled up the hill.
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