Descending with the big guys

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Comments

  • kieranb
    kieranb Posts: 1,674
    grab your lead filled bottle at the top like Jean Robic?
  • nferrar
    nferrar Posts: 2,511
    When you're talking about good pro descenders though you're talking about cornering ability which can easily overcome any minor weight-related handicaps.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Same with any level isn't it - bottle (not the lead filled variety) and ability to corner are far more important than weight. If anything I'd have thought it applied more to amateurs - because on a lot of dry descents all pros should be able to pretty much go as fast as the bike can go - whereas there is probably more variation in the amateur ranks.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Brake less.
    _
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    According to WIki Nibali weighs 10st 1lb, Voeckler is very very fast down hill - according to wiki he's 10,4 - even for pro cyclists these are by no means heavy riders - so I still don't think weight is a significant limiter - there may be a very very slight advantage to be heavy but as a skinny bloke you should be out of sight of the fat boys when you go over the top anyway.
    Dont forget they usually descend on closed roads which makes a huge difference.
    Cancellara is probably the best at the moment.
    Real light wieght riders ie true climbers are not usually the fastest downhill.
    I normally try to follow the fattest going downhill as you also get good shelter :lol:
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • Simon Notley
    Simon Notley Posts: 1,263
    I agree with Herbsman... and without wishing to sound like a soon-to-be-fired Apprentice candidate, I do have a degree in physics, so I would hope that I know what I'm talking about.

    Conceptually this is extremely similar to the recent posting regarding the effect of weight in hilly time trials, the key thing is that frontal area increases as mass^(2/3), so with equal power-to-weight ratios on a flat road, a heavier rider will always go faster than a lighter one. If the riders stop pedalling and power is instead provided by tilting the road downhill, the physics remain largely the same.

    Hopefully you can convince yourself of this via the following thought experiment. Take Thor Hushovd and let him coast down a hill without pedalling. Now replace Thor with a cardboard cut-out of himself (with the exact same frontal area) and repeat. Would you expect the cardboard Thor to move as fast real Thor? In a vacuum, yes, in air no. If you're not convinced, perhaps consider that there was a 20mph wind blowing up the hill. In this case, you might not be especially surprised if cardboard-Thor actually blew back up the hill, his 'body' acting like a sail. However, it would be absurd to expect this to happen to real-Thor.

    The issue of bearing resistance is probably insignificant compared to this.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Nice analogy - but imagine a Thor made out of lead - he wouldn't get to the bottom of any hill first as the bike would go straight over the edge at the first corner - proving my point that it is all about cornering ability (I knew that philosophy degree would come in handy) :wink:
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Simon Notley
    Simon Notley Posts: 1,263
    Cardboard Thor also has a length greater than three times his width and is therefore illegal under UCI rules.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    Simon Notley wrote:
    Cardboard Thor also has a length greater than three times his width and is therefore illegal under UCI rules.

    ALL HAIL CARDBOARD THOR!
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    Nice analogy - but imagine a Thor made out of lead - he wouldn't get to the bottom of any hill first as the bike would go straight over the edge at the first corner - proving my point that it is all about cornering ability (I knew that philosophy degree would come in handy) :wink:

    I think the question is "who freewheels faster". Obviously if you have a fat wuss vs Paolo Savoldelli filled with helium down a twisty mountain pass then Savoldelli would win FFS.

    Philosophy graduates eh? Missing the point as usual. And yes, I would like fries with that.

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