Tour de-france type of riders, what's their deal?
07-03-21, 06:37 PM
#476
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It's pretty clear from watching races that small, thin cyclists dominate hilly time trials; while taller, heavier cyclists dominate flat time trials.
The reason for this is simple:
The bulk of work going uphill is lifting mass against gravity, so a higher power-to-body mass ratio will go faster, and small riders tend to have higher power-to-body mass ratios.
The bulk of work on a flat course is pushing though air, so a higher power-to-frontal area will go faster, and bigger riders have higher power-to-frontal areas.
The reason for this is simple:
The bulk of work going uphill is lifting mass against gravity, so a higher power-to-body mass ratio will go faster, and small riders tend to have higher power-to-body mass ratios.
The bulk of work on a flat course is pushing though air, so a higher power-to-frontal area will go faster, and bigger riders have higher power-to-frontal areas.
My understanding is that as you put on more muscle, your weight increases more than your power. Weight really doesn't matter much in the flat, but in the hills the extra weight of the increased muscle is too costly to be balanced by the increase in power. I think that's entirely consistent with what you're saying, there's obviously an ideal ratio of power to weight for hill climbing, and beyond that point, increasing body muscle mass has diminishing returns to the point that adding such mass actually impedes climbing performance.
07-03-21, 06:53 PM
#477
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Yeah, I've noticed it. I'm amazed at how long the arguments go on, too, as well as how stupid and pointless they get. Living in a place that generally has strong afternoon winds always from the same direction, it's easy to grasp the importance of aerodynamic drag - just ride the same road in opposite directions.
Interestingly, one never sees the 'Heavier bike gives a better workout" folks advocating for loose, billowy clothes, or putting big knobby tires on your road bike, or running the bearings in your hub without lubrication - maybe add some sand, that'll increase resistance!
Interestingly, one never sees the 'Heavier bike gives a better workout" folks advocating for loose, billowy clothes, or putting big knobby tires on your road bike, or running the bearings in your hub without lubrication - maybe add some sand, that'll increase resistance!
I actually think it is possible to get very different workouts based on differences in the bike, but weight and other forms of resistance are probably the least important fact in determining this. By this, I mean that your position on the bike is really going to have a huge effect on which muscles get worked and how much. The extreme contrast would be between recumbents and uprights, but I feel my pedaling motion and hip angles are quite different between flat bar and drop bar bikes, and obviously top bar length and how I'm laid out over the bike is going to make a difference.
I know this is sacrilege, but I use platform pedals and will actually shift my feet around a bit during very long rides (110+ miles) to vary up how my calf muscles are being used. It's subtle, but it helps keep them from getting fatigued.
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07-03-21, 07:03 PM
#478
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Just out of idle curiosity, what does your unicycle weigh? I'm thinking portability is a long suit.
Also, have you followed any of these arguments about counter-steering? I always think "what about unicycles" whenever the topic comes up, because whatever it is you do to turn that, it sure isn't counter-steering.
07-03-21, 07:06 PM
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07-03-21, 07:11 PM
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A heck of a lot more with the water bottles and tools and light batteries that give it range than without.
As in someone who had the naked factory configuration all but dropped it in surprise when it was handed through the subway turnstile, but was then begging for water just ten miles up the trail.
Ironically after a lot of end-of-ride last-gasp lifts, just before it ceased to be relevant I discovered that it tows backwards up train station stairs with something nearly approaching elegance.
As in someone who had the naked factory configuration all but dropped it in surprise when it was handed through the subway turnstile, but was then begging for water just ten miles up the trail.
Ironically after a lot of end-of-ride last-gasp lifts, just before it ceased to be relevant I discovered that it tows backwards up train station stairs with something nearly approaching elegance.
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07-03-21, 07:25 PM
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A heck of a lot more with the water bottles and tools and light batteries that give it range than without.
As in someone who had the naked factory configuration all but dropped it in surprise when it was handed through the subway turnstile, but was then begging for water just ten miles up the trail.
Ironically after a lot of end-of-ride last-gasp lifts, just before it ceased to be relevant I discovered that it tows backwards up train station stairs with something nearly approaching elegance.
As in someone who had the naked factory configuration all but dropped it in surprise when it was handed through the subway turnstile, but was then begging for water just ten miles up the trail.
Ironically after a lot of end-of-ride last-gasp lifts, just before it ceased to be relevant I discovered that it tows backwards up train station stairs with something nearly approaching elegance.
That's got to be a spectacle! "Mama, his tail has a wheel!"
07-03-21, 07:28 PM
#482
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More like "look Tommy, it's a tricycle"
Or what really took the cake "a penny whistle"
Or what really took the cake "a penny whistle"
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