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Old 02-24-15, 10:10 PM
  #13  
thenomad
Riding like its 1990
 
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a late apex isnt always the best line and on a bike it rarely is. a late apex allows you to "extend" the straightaway after the turn. this is useful if you have acceleration on your side, or a turn sharp enough to to require heavy braking followed by hard acceleration. in cars this is more critical. some heavier cars cannot corner as well but have gob of power to accelerate, they need the late apex to maximize straight line acceleration. BUT some smaller lighter cars that handle the corner better and dont have the power will wnt to maximize speed by braking less and taking a traditional apex to brake less and maintain the speed they have depending on whats coming up after that turn, energy conservation is important. less braking.

this is where the idea of energy conservation applies to cycling, as you can imagine, massive acceleration power isnt usually on tap so less time under braking the better. traditional central apex will conserve the most speed as youd still need to brake before the turn but if you are at max grip youll carry it through a single radius turn at that constant rate better than you will slowing down more to make a tighter turn and trying to accelerate out.

best bet is normal apex unless a special circumstance. slow before the turn, wide start, hold one arc at max grip, clip the center apex and wide out. rinse and repeat
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