Hi all,
Yet another pointless, non-answerable math question!
Out on the speed-skating track the other day I got to discussing
velodrome records vs speed skating records with some of the other
skaters who also ride.
World records comparison:
Women 500m ice: 37 sec
Women 500m bike: 34 sec
Men 1000m ice: 1:07
Men 1000m bike: 58 sec
I contend that speed skaters are faster than cyclist. The transmission
losses of a bicycle, as well as the rolling resistance and wind
resistance of the bike are greater than the frictional losses of skates
on ice. The wind resistance of a skater vs a cyclist (just body) I
think is essentially the same.
But the bikes have lower times for the same distance. I belive this is
due to the banking of the velodrome making it such that a track bike
doesn't have additional losses from drag on the front wheel from
turning as a bike on a velodrome is essentially going straight the
whole time, while a skater has to exert quite a bit of energy to
counter centripetal forces in a turn.
So the question is, how much energy or power does a banked turn save
over turns on flat ground with tire scrub? Let's ignore the pedal
clearance issue.
Joseph