Fatties - don't get a carbon bike, stop eating donuts!

FeynmanC

I'm paraphrasing of course.

http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6801.full.pdf+html

gaz545

Do people buy carbon bikes so it takes them less time to commute to work?
LOL!

jonny_trousers

Just think how fast he would have gone if he'd bought a decent steel bike!

Valy

tl;dr

thelawnet

Valy wrote:

tl;dr

basically he takes two completely different bikes, of unspecified gearing, tyre pressure, and components, except that one weighs 9.5kg and has 20-spoke wheels with 700x25 Marathon Plus (heavier more puncture-resistant tyres) and the other weighs 13.5kg and has 36-spoke wheels with 700x32 Marathon (non-plus) tyres. Then he rides them to work several times. He finds both bikes take the same amount of time to get to work.

He writes this up and publishes it..

The end.

meanredspider

He actually defeats one of his own points with the data. In discussing gravity, he says that the carbon bike conserves less potential energy to give up on the downhill stretch but then he also records that the two bikes have recorded the same Vmax. I find Vmax on my commute a really good indicator of the energy required - I have a steep downhill section where different tyres on the same bike can make 2 or 3mph of difference (43mph being my fastest recorded speed - there are some blind corners with the potential for farm machinery with big spikey attachments filling the single-track road!).

The general point in the OPs title though is a good one. I read (possibly on here) that there's no point in lightening your bike until you can see your abs and that makes some sense. Losing a kg off your bike costs quite a bit. Losing it off your belly probably saves quite a bit. A kilo off your bike is only useful when you're riding it. A kilo off your belly is useful all the time.

Also I get thinner and fitter when I'm riding my 11kg, Ice Spiker shod MTB to work than I do when I'm riding my 8kg carbon road bike. The MTB takes at least 10 minutes longer for the 15 miles - also better for fat loss & fitness.

Finally, I did the same thing with my race car. I was taking weight off it to the point where each 1kg was costing me 100GBP. Then I realised that it would be cheaper to take weight off the driver - so I set about losing weight - 20kg of it.

gb155

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jay dubbleU

I guess the point he's trying to make is unless you have a certain level of fitness spending money on a high end bike is a waste of time

But I think most of us knew that anyway ?

bendertherobot

Jay dubbleU wrote:

I guess the point he's trying to make is unless you have a certain level of fitness spending money on a high end bike is a waste of time

But I think most of us knew that anyway ?

Not even that really, the only point that can be made is that, on a 27 mile commute, a racing style bike, whatever the weight, will be as good as another.

Now, if he fancies riding, say, the Dragon Ride, back to back, on one, then other, we'd see more of a difference.

Valy

thelawnet wrote:

Valy wrote:

tl;dr

basically he takes two completely different bikes, of unspecified gearing, tyre pressure, and components, except that one weighs 9.5kg and has 20-spoke wheels with 700x25 Marathon Plus (heavier more puncture-resistant tyres) and the other weighs 13.5kg and has 36-spoke wheels with 700x32 Marathon (non-plus) tyres. Then he rides them to work several times. He finds both bikes take the same amount of time to get to work.

He writes this up and publishes it..

The end.

I see

Marcus_C

I'll have to watch out for him on my commute, yes, the only interesting thing I gleaned from that article is details of an SCR opponents route, I think I need help....

PBo

Jay dubbleU wrote:

I guess the point he's trying to make is unless you have a certain level of fitness spending money on a high end bike is a waste of time

But I think most of us knew that anyway ?

To be honest, the only point it is making is that Doctors have a sense of humour......I read these comments before the actual paper, and I was like WTF, how can BMJ publish such a poorly conceived, irrelevant paper?

Then I saw the "CHRISTMAS 2010: THE LIVES OF DOCTORS" section title, and realised this is all tongue in cheek.....

he might have a sense of humour, but he knows F all about literature....who the hell is Jane Austin? Was she married to the Six Million Dollar man?

Gadge

My natural speed on a bike is plain slow and lazy.
I overcome this on nearly every ride though by a distaste of losing and being overtaken!

gtvlusso

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

notsoblue

gaz545 wrote:

Do people buy carbon bikes so it takes them less time to commute to work?
LOL!

LOL!




:oops:

AndyOgy

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

+1

Gaz, your story is truly inspirational.

I work for a charity called Bike for Life. We promote cycling in any way that we can. I have shown your pics, blogs and videos to many people and they are blown away by what you have achieved. You can't possibly know how much of an encouragement you have been to so many people.

I'd like to thank you for sharing your story, and for being an inspiration to so many people.

PBo

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

I believe the modern parlance is "bromance"....

notsoblue

PBo wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

I believe the modern parlance is "bromance"....

Careful it doesn't lead to brodomy.

gb155

PBo wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

I believe the modern parlance is "bromance"....

Beautiful LOL

gb155

AndyOgy wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

+1

Gaz, your story is truly inspirational.

I work for a charity called Bike for Life. We promote cycling in any way that we can. I have shown your pics, blogs and videos to many people and they are blown away by what you have achieved. You can't possibly know how much of an encouragement you have been to so many people.

I'd like to thank you for sharing your story, and for being an inspiration to so many people.

Thats GREAT to hear, one day I want to have a job where I am promoting cycling to obese people , the humble bicycle has done so much for me that I didn't even think possible

gb155

gtvlusso wrote:

gb155 wrote:

Doctors, give me an operation to remove excess skin, then i can kick your ass on a carbon bike

Jeez Gaz - just checked out your pics on bloggy! Chapeau fella, well done!! You look fantastic (platonic love, I am a dude!)

Cheers Dude, Appreciate it, in a totally hertro way of course

jimmypippa

PBo wrote:

Jay dubbleU wrote:

I guess the point he's trying to make is unless you have a certain level of fitness spending money on a high end bike is a waste of time

But I think most of us knew that anyway ?

To be honest, the only point it is making is that Doctors have a sense of humour......I read these comments before the actual paper, and I was like WTF, how can BMJ publish such a poorly conceived, irrelevant paper?

Then I saw the "CHRISTMAS 2010: THE LIVES OF DOCTORS" section title, and realised this is all tongue in cheek.....

he might have a sense of humour, but he knows F all about literature....who the hell is Jane Austin? Was she married to the Six Million Dollar man?

The next day I was back on my old steel bike. I fitted the cycle computer, set off . . . and discovered I had got to work in 44 minutes. “Hang on,” I thought, “was
that minute worth £950 or was it a fluke?” There was only one answer: a randomised trial. I toyed with the idea of blinding it but, in the interest of self preservation
and other road users, decided against it.

The article isn't entirely serious.

Implications
Given these findings, why then do so many of us buy “performance” bicycles? Marketing must shoulder some of the responsibility. Many of us respond to “new” pharmaceuticals in a similar way to how cyclists respond to “new” bicycles. The industry invests significantly in marketing products of marginal benefit and we, as medical consumers, frequently buy into the panacea rather than objectively considering the evidence. We must excuse consumerism, particularly at this time of year, because without it our capitalist society would collapse.

Well I found it amusing