Originally Posted by
unbreakable
so i am getting started in cycling and dont really have anyone to bounce ideas off of yet...
OK so here are a couple of questions:
If your body only has so much energy for exertion available and an increase in speed is an exponential increase in wind drag then wouldnt it be most efficient to exert the most energy in climbs because you are going slower hence a more efficient use of energy available? so its better to hit hills harder and downhill not so hard in the general sense?
I dont really understand power vs position - if you are on the bars then more power is available then in the drops? So if you have a strong wind on your back like your doing 20mph and cant feel much wind resistance... then you should be on the bars to increase power and maximize the wind hitting you in the back?
You have failed to calculate in the fact that you are lifting your body weight while climbing which you don't have to do while on the flat. So you have to figure in gravities pull on you when climbing. At slower bicycle speeds this is more significant than wind drag until you start to go over about 25-35 miles an hour or so. But it actually depends on the climb.
Here's an analogy. How many standing squats can you do? 20-30-40. How many walking repetitions on flat ground can you do?. Thousands. So you have this going on in addition to wind drag.