Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
You have been consistent and relentless stressing that these new techs will slow the riders and are a drag on performance. Please explain how speeds are increasing sport wide and not decreasing as you insist should be happening.
With the extra weight of disc brakes, a rider knows that he'll instantly get dropped if he lets a tiny gap open up in front of him. So, he makes an extra effort to ride on the front of the peloton to avoid this peril. Of course, the other riders have the same idea, and they all try to ride on the front of the peloton. The result is basically a disc-driven form of half-wheeling, where the speed keeps creeping up throughout the race as each rider noses slightly ahead of the other riders. Scientists believe that average race speeds could reach 100 kph if bike weights were increased to 65 kg.