Road Cycling Essentials

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oli collett said:
I did the calculation earlier for Grudas' saddle up alpe d'huez - it was a 4s saving:
http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/TimeTrialAnalysis.aspx

If you want to save time, you should make aero savings. It's a lot more cost effective. Even 1kg is going to equate to only seconds up a big mountain but basically nothing on the flat
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How does it work in terms of energy saving though? If you maintained the same speed uphill but at a lower weight you're presumably going to be less knackered?

Just playing devil's advocate a bit really. I've not got round to purchasing any low weight or aero stuff yet.
 
oli collett said:
I did the calculation earlier for Grudas' saddle up alpe d'huez - it was a 4s saving:
http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/TimeTrialAnalysis.aspx

If you want to save time, you should make aero savings. It's a lot more cost effective. Even 1kg is going to equate to only seconds up a big mountain but basically nothing on the flat
Click to expand...

I don't really expect to get faster by saving a 100g :) I just like my bike when it feels light.. and IMO those cheap chinese parts.. why not? :D
 
oli collett said:
I did the calculation earlier for Grudas' saddle up alpe d'huez - it was a 4s saving:
http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/TimeTrialAnalysis.aspx

If you want to save time, you should make aero savings. It's a lot more cost effective. Even 1kg is going to equate to only seconds up a big mountain but basically nothing on the flat
Click to expand...

Cheers for that, remarkable how little difference it seems to make. I'll refine my bike building search to favour aero over weight.
 
FrenchTart said:
How does it work in terms of energy saving though? If you maintained the same speed uphill but at a lower weight you're presumably going to be less knackered?

Just playing devil's advocate a bit really. I've not got round to purchasing any low weight or aero stuff yet.
Click to expand...

Well the time saving is based on the same power.

85kg rider+bike over alpe d'huez at 250W (pretty average rider)
76:59
84kg rider+bike at 250W
76:20

If the 84kg rider+bike rode at the 76:59 time, they would have an average power of 2.5W - not a great deal

And remember that's on a massive climb - the point being that if you're doing a mountain time trial it is worth shaving weight off where you can, but on a normal ride, even one taking in a lot of climbing, a 1kg weight saving becomes almost insignificant

grudas said:
I don't really expect to get faster by saving a 100g :) I just like my bike when it feels light.. and IMO those cheap chinese parts.. why not? :D
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Fair enough, I think it's just worth making the point because people get quite carried away with shaving weight and spending money here and there when they could spend it much more wisely if the goal is to improve speed.
 
All the professionals seem to have a body build of an ectomorph, are there any pro's with a mixed body build of mesomorph and endomorph?

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oli collett said:
Well the time saving is based on the same power.

85kg rider+bike over alpe d'huez at 250W (pretty average rider)
76:59
84kg rider+bike at 250W
76:20

If the 84kg rider+bike rode at the 76:59 time, they would have an average power of 2.5W - not a great deal

And remember that's on a massive climb - the point being that if you're doing a mountain time trial it is worth shaving weight off where you can, but on a normal ride, even one taking in a lot of climbing, a 1kg weight saving becomes almost insignificant



Fair enough, I think it's just worth making the point because people get quite carried away with shaving weight and spending money here and there when they could spend it much more wisely if the goal is to improve speed.
Click to expand...

You're better off saving weight on rotating mass, which is basically your wheels and maybe a couple of bits of your drivetrain, getting yourself as aero as possible, which is going to be mostly positional for any given bike, but may play into things like what wheels you use, and then just making yourself as comfortable as possible. So yeah, some ridiculous saddle might save 50g, but if it's uncomfortable, then forget about it. You might save 30s up Alpe d'Huez, but if the other 4,560s are wretched because your arse hurts on your stupid saddle, then have you really come out ahead?
 
oli collett said:
Well the time saving is based on the same power.

85kg rider+bike over alpe d'huez at 250W (pretty average rider)
76:59
84kg rider+bike at 250W
76:20

If the 84kg rider+bike rode at the 76:59 time, they would have an average power of 2.5W - not a great deal

And remember that's on a massive climb - the point being that if you're doing a mountain time trial it is worth shaving weight off where you can, but on a normal ride, even one taking in a lot of climbing, a 1kg weight saving becomes almost insignificant
Click to expand...

Really interesting stuff. Cheers for crunching the numbers for me :)
 
Vonhelmet said:
You're better off saving weight on rotating mass, which is basically your wheels and maybe a couple of bits of your drivetrain, getting yourself as aero as possible, which is going to be mostly positional for any given bike, but may play into things like what wheels you use, and then just making yourself as comfortable as possible. So yeah, some ridiculous saddle might save 50g, but if it's uncomfortable, then forget about it. You might save 30s up Alpe d'Huez, but if the other 4,560s are wretched because your arse hurts on your stupid saddle, then have you really come out ahead?
Click to expand...

Well reducing wheel inertia is only really going to help when there are large, sudden changes in speed like in crit/circuit races etc. This calculator looks at that:
http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/AccelerationAndInertia.aspx

1kg saving across both wheels would mean a 5W saving vs. a 1kg saving made elsewhere in the bike accelerating from 40-60kph in 10s
 
IC3 said:
All the professionals seem to have a body build of an ectomorph, are there any pro's with a mixed body build of mesomorph and endomorph?

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PQdiKKul.jpg
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Pure sprinters certainly aren't ectomorphs, neither are the TT specialists, but cycling is a sport where lightweight>muscle for most disciplines.
 
One More Solo said:
Pure sprinters certainly aren't ectomorphs, neither are the TT specialists, but cycling is a sport where lightweight>muscle for most disciplines.
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I think only few people can actually say they're pure this or this, as many seem to be a mix of either Ecto and meso or meso and endo. I'm a mix of meso and endo which means I'm not going to be particularly efficient in cycling :p
But I still like cycling as a way of transport, instead of crowded buses :cool:
 
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Those of you using 25mm tyres... What pressure do you pump them up to? I'm used to riding 23mm tyres at 110psi or thereabouts, so going below 100 feels wrong :eek:
 
100 rear, 90 front. But they're fine a bit lower than that too.

I'm 65-70 kg usually.
 
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Vonhelmet said:
Those of you using 25mm tyres... What pressure do you pump them up to? I'm used to riding 23mm tyres at 110psi or thereabouts, so going below 100 feels wrong :eek:
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I ride 23mm at 100psi and 25mms at 90psi. It'll depend on how much you weigh as well though i guess. I only weigh 63kg so i could probably go a bit lower, but i find them comfy enough and still grippy as they are.
 
I tend to pump mine up to about 100 once a week so I have no idea what they average out at.

Just went to change my cleats and noticed that I'd completely worn away pard if the carbon sole on my shoes. I'm going to be riding the 100 in brand new shoes. What could possibly go wrong?
 
Came off today! First time in about 4 years. Car pulled out in front of me at a double mini roundabout and then slammed on their brakes for a zebra crossing. Slammed on my brakes but no chance so accepted my fate and did the best I could to avoid most of it. I was only going maybe about 10-15mph when I hit it, smashed her rear passenger side light housing in pretty bad and I went flying and landed by the front wheel.

Grazed arm and a cut finger, wheel buckled slightly in the quick release (but wheel not damaged fortunately) and handlebars twisted off angle.

Stupid **** got out, exchanged a few angry words whilst a nice pedestrian was helping me and my bike up and then she basically drove off. Didn't apologies and didn't have chance to catch her plate either.

First time in all my cycling I wish I had a helmet cam!
 
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