Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
Since wind resistance is proportional to the cube of velocity (in this case, of the spokes) it seems to me that this resistance can be drastically reduced by increasing the diameter of the wheel. At any given bike speed, larger diameter wheels will turn slower. These guys get it:
No. The hub is still traveling at the bike speed as are the hub ends of the spokes. The spokes at the bottom are stopped. The spokes at the top are going twice the bike speed. Nowhere does the wheel diameter change any of this. You have however saved a lot in hub bearing drag. But 25% of almost nothing isn't worth writing home about.