Originally Posted by CTAC
Muscle works like a spring. It pushes pedal down and pushes body up. Have you heard about Newton laws? If force is greater than the body weight you are just bouncing up. Yes, you can compensate for that with your arm holding handlebars tight, but not by much.
As for the Robbie, he is faster *average* moment is greater then yours, not maximum.
So tell me, why is his moment greater then mine if all that is involved is the weight of the cyclist. It is faster because he is applying a greater down force on the pedal because of his superior leg strength. The down force ( hamstrings/quads/glutes/calves) as well as the weight contribute to an accelleration of the crank arm which in turn transfer this acceleration the rear wheel. When you push down on the pedal, your body only travels up before you break the force needed to overcome the force that the pedal is applying back to the leg. Here is a quick experiment....hop on your bike and go for a quick interval standing sprint....don't do an all out 100% sprint maybe just an 80% sprint then do it again but all out 100% standing sprint....wow, you miraculously go faster....why? because you applied more force to the downstroke of the pedal. Your weight didn't change did it? What changed? The force of the downstroke which led to an increase of the force on the crank which all acted at a point (the pedal for simplicity) which is a give radius from this center of rotation which when you apply a greater force at a given distance.....you have by definition (Force x radius) a Greater Torque!!!