Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

pblakeney

morstar said:

pblakeney said:

First.Aspect said:

morstar said:

First.Aspect said:

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Why are the jockey wheels on the rear mechs of a lot of bikes at the Tour so massive and ugly?

Less acute bend in the chain>lower resistance. Ceramic barings too.

Does anyone realistically think this is detectable at the rear wheel even under lab conditions.

Marginal gains innit.

Which at the top end of a sport is fair enough I guess.

Makes no sense to me for anybody else but then I genuinely don’t understand why people pay several grand for a pair of wheels.

I may just be tight though.

Marginal gains = psychological.

It's like hypnosis. Works for some, not for others.

Sure I remember someone from BC admitting off the record that while the science is there it is indeed marginal and the biggest gains from "marginal gains" are physiological.

I think it is quite correct to say that BC were at the forefront of cycling tech for a decade or so and those gains have widely improved track performance. They have also translated to the road in may areas around aero in particular.
It's not all some myth.
However, that said, the gains are small and only really make significant differences in terms of beating your rivals, which really matters at an elite level.
Quite why bike companies get away with claiming massive savings over a 25km tt and being believed is beyond me.

The bold part will be the "gains", not the "marginal gains". 😉

veronese68

Pross said:

Why are the jockey wheels on the rear mechs of a lot of bikes at the Tour so massive and ugly?

Like this?



Hopefully an image now

webboo

When did a bike become a platform

briantrumpet

webboo said:

When did a bike become a platform

I think that word usage development might deserve to go on the 'annoying' thread.

thistle_

webboo said:

When did a bike become a platform

Probably about the same time Zwift changed from a game to a 'platform'

rick_chasey

Have no idea why people think the sock rule is bad.

Long socks on a bike are a disgrace and have no place in the pro peloton.

FreddieVonRost

rick_chasey said:

Have no idea why people think the sock rule is bad.

Long socks on a bike are a disgrace and have no place in the pro peloton.

Quite agree, rc.

pinno

I have long socks you fokkers 'cos I live in Jockland.

webboo

Long socks and bare ar*ed what a tradition.

surrey_commuter

I am intrigued why drug cheats are employed to commentate on pro cycling. Are they better qualified or are they just cheaper?

TheBigBean

surrey_commuter said:

I am intrigued why drug cheats are employed to commentate on pro cycling. Are they better qualified or are they just cheaper?

There is a scarcity of non drug cheats who have ridden at a pro level.

orraloon

surrey_commuter said:

I am intrigued why drug cheats are employed to commentate on pro cycling. Are they better qualified or are they just cheaper?

Oh come on. Any fule kno there was a time up until the mirror cracked when they were all topped up, all of them. So you have this timeline wall of druggies moved on into DS roles, UCI roles, podcasters and tv commentators. Is the march of time innit.

pinno

surrey_commuter said:

I am intrigued why drug cheats are employed to commentate on pro cycling. Are they better qualified or are they just cheaper?

But they were ALL at it - some more than others.

morstar

Unsure on the best thread for this...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54047347

The high street has been failing at the hands of the internet for years with no government intervention.

Therefore, I find the current panic baffling. Strikes me that this ultimately has very little to do with sandwich shops and is far more likely to do with office space and property ownership. Presumably, a fall in property values is what has our government and its lobbyists worried about.

pinno

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9gQ1KRhesM

bompington

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

briantrumpet

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

I would imagine that the replacement cost would be high...

...which means the manufacturers would be keen to push it as 'the future'.

rick_chasey

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

It's definitely the past. Quite common in the 19th Century.

briantrumpet

rick_chasey said:

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

It's definitely the past. Quite common in the 19th Century.

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that the 19th century isn't the last century...

pinno

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

I wonder how efficient it would be with a splattering of mud, sheep/cow shyte and rain.

rick_chasey

pinno said:

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

I wonder how efficient it would be with a splattering of mud, sheep/cow shyte and rain.

simple casing around it sorts that out.

Stevo_666

pinno said:

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

I wonder how efficient it would be with a splattering of mud, sheep/cow shyte and rain.

I'm sure they can do a special version for the Scottish market.

Fair play to them for some original thinking (well I haven't seen it before) and it looks pretty good as well.

rjsterry

rick_chasey said:

bompington said:

I saw this in a news article a while back: it had been tested and shown to be slightly more efficient than derailleur gears - but only up to something like 200W.

Definitely interesting though - propshaft rather than chain, totally flat and so presumably more aero cassette, lube-free? Novel and potentially beneficial. Could it be the future? Maybe, maybe not...

It's definitely the past. Quite common in the 19th Century.

Exactly. "We started with a blank slate..." and ended up at pretty much the same answer as someone did 140 years ago.
That 'casette' looks flimsy as hell. It would only need to shift very slightly out of plane to lose contact with the pinion.

pinno

It's a start.

Imagine a rear wheel that doesn't have to be so severely dished.
No rear mech.
No chain.

bompington

I have had a Sigma computer for a while - quite impressed with it, it's slightly fancy with things like cadence, altimeter, everything short of GPS really.

When I take the bike by car, the screen shows a little car graphic with the caption "transport".

How does it know?

webboo

I have the same computer which suits all my needs. However although it is set in imperial measurements , it has defaulted in to German language.

pinno

bompington said:

I have had a Sigma computer for a while - quite impressed with it, it's slightly fancy with things like cadence, altimeter, everything short of GPS really.

When I take the bike by car, the screen shows a little car graphic with the caption "transport".

How does it know?

I think it simply detects vibration, Carry the bike around the back garden and see if it does the same.

orraloon

Watching Giro Rosa. At stage sign on they have the teams lined up on show flanked by dolly models. Why? And what do the pro riders and the dolly models think of each other?

pinno

Odd.

pblakeney

orraloon said:

Watching Giro Rosa. At stage sign on they have the teams lined up on show flanked by dolly models. Why? And what do the pro riders and the dolly models think of each other?

"You go girl!"