21–30 of 152 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure if you know about Merckx's bike for his hour record - they did many interesting modifications to it aiming to reduce its weight
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure if you know about Merckx's bike for his hour record - they did many interesting modifications to it aiming to reduce its weight
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
On a nice track, assuming a perfectly smooth surface and zero elevation change, I'm willing to accept the effect may not matter enough to care. But introduce even just a little bumpiness or some elevation change (perhaps in the track curves), and it might matter for someone pursuing the hour record.
This trend has continued -- it is very noticeable in road and mountain bikes.
But this trades off against impact resistance, aerodynamics, and the can-it-fit-between-your-legs-metric.
I'm convinced titanium is a pretty optimal bike material. I hate aluminum frames, too stiff, some amount of flex makes a bike so much nicer. Hate carbon, too. Steel is nice. I've have a lite ghisallo frame which I think was under 2lbs. The whole bike is under 15lbs and still manages to carry my 200lbs of weight.
I'm convinced titanium is a pretty optimal bike material. I hate aluminum frames, too stiff, some amount of flex makes a bike so much nicer. Hate carbon, too. Steel is nice. I've have a lite ghisallo frame which I think was under 2lbs. The whole bike is under 15lbs and still manages to carry my 200lbs of weight.
Titanium frames have a devoted fan base. Personally, I tried to notice the difference back when I did road racing but didn't. Maybe I didn't want to: Ti ain't cheap.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
You slow down incrementally between every power stroke.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure if you know about Merckx's bike for his hour record - they did many interesting modifications to it aiming to reduce its weight
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
> Weight has no impact on sustained speed. On a nice track, assuming a perfectly smooth surface and zero elevation change, I'm willing to accept the effect may not matter enough to care. But introduce even just a little bumpiness or some elevation change (perhaps in the track curves), and it might matter for someone pursuing the hour record.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, Sheldon mentions it in this article. I don't think those mods helped. Weight has no impact on sustained speed.
Rolling resistance increases linearly with weight, so it does have some impact.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Titanium frames have a devoted fan base. Personally, I tried to notice the difference back when I did road racing but didn't. Maybe I didn't want to: Ti ain't cheap.
What is cheap these days?
For titanium, I'm seeing Black Friday deals starting at like, $3200-3500 (Lynskey / Litespeed). But they're often sold at higher prices than carbon bikes. (For my money, I prefer carbon frames -- you get more flexibility in tube shapes and the end result can be lighter and stronger than titanium.)