Factors affecting speed?

Badger South <[email hidden]> wrote:
: sprockets and deraileur, then took a ride. My time improved by two minutes, over a rolling
: hilly river trail of 4 miles from 18:32 (prev. day and average over a month) to 16:15, the very
: next day.

: I've continued to get times in the 16 minute range for the past 8 rides, with ease. Go
: figure... ;-)

Performance is said to increase in jumps from one plateau to the next, not linearly with more
training. Other than just the bike with less drag than before, maybe you have gained confidence AND
physical conditioning to ride faster. How do you feel after the ride?

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Badger South <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I actually think you can get a very significant improvement in speed with weight loss (muscle gain
: with fat loss), especially if you are getting the loss due to the exercise on the bike.

Then it's not really the weight factor.

Fat weights less than muscle, so a kilogram of fat would increase your aerodynamic drag more than a
kilogram of muscle. Fit 100 kg cyclists generally reach about the same speeds as fit 60 kg cyclists
- they can put out more power, but also they have more aerodynamic drag.

Generally speaking the amount of muscle mass is not decisive for performance in cycling. However,
you are talking about a very short stretch, which involves anaerobic performance so perhaps muscle
mass could become a factor at that intensity level.

How hilly is the course? :-)

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Badger South said:

I tend to agree, but last week I posted that after getting the LBS guy to inflate and adjust my
tires, plus lube the chain, I had a 2 min improvement in a timed portion of my route (4 mile
section), overnight. ;-)

You felt better or pushed harder. Two minutes is easily within the variability of how I do within
that distance.

RFM

David Reuteler said:

anecdotal evidence. har. but i strongly disagree with the statement that losing weight won't help
you much on the flats. besides your statement makes no sense. if i start at 175 and go to 185 i
slow a lot, but if i lose the weight back down to 175 do i not gain the speed what i lost? why is
there significiant hysteresis in this problem? do you ever get it back?

Try getting 10 years younger, and see if that helps your times at all. It worked for me...

Mark "wouldn't be in the bike biz if I could sell THAT" Hickey Habanero Cycles
habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Try getting 10 years younger, and see if that helps your times at all. It worked for me...

wow, how'd you get 10 years younger?

anyway, i'm 33 .. i'm waiting for the floor to drop out from underneath me so to speak. so far so
good -- no real drop in speed or endurance since the late twenties. hopefully i'm one of those lucky
[censored] who can take it into their early forties. or seventies.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Fat weights less than muscle, so a kilogram of fat would increase your aerodynamic drag more than a
kilogram of muscle. Fit 100 kg

As I said in another message in this thread, that depends on exactly _where_ the fat is. An
aerobelly like mine may _reduce_ drag; it certainly doesn't add any -- same frontal area, with a
more aerodynamic shape than the flat wall of a stomach that fit people have.

If the fat were in the arms, legs, and/or neck, that could cause additional drag. If the fat was
width on the torso rather than depth, obviously, more drag there.

See, there it is: As a bicyclist, if you're going to put on weight, put it on as an aerobelly.
--
Rick Onanian

David Reuteler said:

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Try getting 10 years younger, and see if that helps your times at all. It worked for me...

wow, how'd you get 10 years younger?

anyway, i'm 33 .. i'm waiting for the floor to drop out from underneath me so to speak. so far so
good -- no real drop in speed or endurance since the late twenties. hopefully i'm one of those
lucky [censored] who can take it into their early forties. or seventies.

Or do what I do - just start slow and train a little harder every year. You just keep getting
faster, and won't have burned yourself out by the time you're 40. When I'm in shape (not now, with
the holidays and preparations looming) I'm pretty much as fast (or as slow...) as I have ever been,
certainly faster than when I was in my mid 20's (20 years ago).

I figure by the time I'm 70, I should be competitive... ;-)

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 10:52:32 -0700, <[email hidden]>, Mark Hickey

Quoted message said:

Try getting 10 years younger, and see if that helps your times at all. It worked for me...

WOW! By converting, I'm only 41.157 'American'.
--
zk

Rick Onanian said:

See, there it is: As a bicyclist, if you're going to put on weight, put it on as an aerobelly.

I'd think a long, tapering butt might be more help. Hey, someday, with genetic engineering...

--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, omit what's between "at" and "cc"]

"John Foltz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Badger South said:

Oddly, having a much lighter bike adds a -little- improvement,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

adding bodyweight (fat) can have a greater effect, reportedly,

every

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

3-5lbs of fat decreases your time as much as a minute per mile,

IIRC.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What!!!?? you mean just by dropping 5 pounds I can go from three minute miles (20 mph) to two
minute miles (30 mph?) Does the

benefit

Quoted message said:

continue to accrue if I lose another 5 pounds (one minute miles at 60 mph?)

I only ask because I need to lose 15 pounds... How fast would I be going if I did zero minute
miles? :-)

--

You would have to buy a Lightspeed. :-)

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Fat weights less than muscle, so a kilogram of fat would increase your aerodynamic drag more than
a kilogram of muscle. Fit 100 kg

As I said in another message in this thread, that depends on

exactly

Quoted message said:

_where_ the fat is. An aerobelly like mine may _reduce_ drag; it certainly doesn't add any -- same
frontal area, with a more aerodynamic shape than the flat wall of a stomach that fit people have.

I'll have to start marketing a kevlar gut fairing - best of both worlds.

cheg <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> I only ask because I need to lose 15 pounds... How fast would I be going if I did zero minute
:> miles? :-)
:
: You would have to buy a Lightspeed. :-)

make sure to get the newtonian model.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

David Reuteler said:

cheg <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> I only ask because I need to lose 15 pounds... How fast would I be going if I did zero minute
:> miles? :-)
:
: You would have to buy a Lightspeed. :-)

make sure to get the newtonian model.

The Einsteinian models all get bent eventually.

Bernie <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>: You would have to buy a Lightspeed. :-)
:>make sure to get the newtonian model.
: The Einsteinian models all get bent eventually.

which is weird 'cause they're slower and infinitely heavy. no benefit that i can see 'cept maybe for
time dilation.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

Rick Onanian said:

As I said in another message in this thread, that depends on exactly _where_ the fat is. An
aerobelly like mine may _reduce_ drag; it certainly doesn't add any -- same frontal area, with a
more aerodynamic shape than the flat wall of a stomach that fit people have.

It could also depend on your riding style - if you're bending over with drop bars, aerobelly just
gets in the way of your pedalling.

I'm an upright rider though. I can thrust my aerobelly proudly forward and ride in its draught.

Anywhere I can get my button nose remodelled? A profile à la Chirac could take minutes off my times.

Meilleurs voeux !

EFR
:°

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

It could also depend on your riding style - if you're bending over with drop bars, aerobelly just
gets in the way of your pedalling.

That's true; when my bars were too low, my knees constantly whacked my aerobelly.

Quoted message said:

Anywhere I can get my button nose remodelled? A profile à la Chirac could take minutes off
my times.

I don't know who Chirac is, but if his/her nose is as large as mine, well, I'd be happy to trade.
Mine gets in the way when working in

Quoted message said:

Meilleurs voeux !

EFR
:°>

--
Rick Onanian