Originally Posted by
davidad
In regards to the bushing comment. High quality bronze bushings would be more than adequate for our use. A bike wheel is turning about 670 rpm at 60 mph and a track racer may hit a cadence of 200 rpm. Rolling resistance of our tires are more of a factor than the bearings.
And at moderate-to-high speed, aero drag is the dominant force holding the rider back. One of the folks on the recumbents.com forum tested several wheels with a power meter to see which was fastest. The "winner" was a very cheap, ordinary wheel with
wheel covers fairing in the spokes.
It's fun to build up a really high quality hub and spin it in your hands to feel the smoothness of the bearings. Whether this translates to real-world improvements in "efficiency", well
