On helmets and hill climbing.

[Biker Joe]

Magnus Backstedt mentioned some interesting things during the Tour of Britain commentary.
A couple of things I found interesting was that the new style aero cycle helmets with the front vents covered up can give you an extra 30 watts of power @ 50kmh (If only I could ride that fast)
Another thing he said was, "Ride up those hills in a higher gear. It still hurts but for a shorter length of time.
(I tried it. It's true.)

 

[Rob3rt]

Magnus Backstedt mentioned some interesting things during the Tour of Britain commentary.
A couple of things I found interesting was that the new style aero cycle helmets with the front vents covered up can give you an extra 30 watts of power @ 50kmh (If only I could ride that fast)
Another thing he said was, "Ride up those hills in a higher gear. It still hurts but for a shorter length of time.
(I tried it. It's true.)

They don't give you an extra 30W, they would SAVE you 30W, as in to go the same speed, eg. (50 kph) you would need to generate 30W less power, or in more practical terms you could go a little faster, for the same power. The numbers however, are something I am not that convinced about, 30W seems like a lot to me.

The last comment about climbing is just guff on the most part!

 

[fossyant]

Load of guff. You probably save a watt at the most at the cost of boiling your noggin. No ta.

 

[Rob3rt]

Load of guff. You probably save a watt at the most at the cost of boiling your noggin. No ta.

It would be more than a single W, probably a handful, I just think 30W seems a bit overkill, going by a quick rule of thumb, that would be about 3 seconds per km, so about 48 seconds over a 10 mile TT, which seems simply excessive to me, I would guess a proper full on aero lid wouldn't save you 48 seconds, never mind one of these hybrid things!

 

[Rob3rt]

30W compared to what though?

One would presume, a typical vented helmet. This is commentator filling in air time, they are hardly concerned with the details, he probably just made the number up on the spot. They say all kinds of daft stuff!

"so and so is doing a good job of work" for example

 

[HLaB]

Another thing he said was, "Ride up those hills in a higher gear. It still hurts but for a shorter length of time.

True for some hills if you can turn the gear but for longer hills

 

[Biker Joe]

I thought that post would get the critics going.
I wasn't disappointed.

 

[Born2die]

Sometimes I spin the higher gears on hills I did a local hill circuit in a really high gear in prep for yesterday's strongman

 

[Biker Joe]

So trolling then.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

During the TDF, ITV 4 did a lot of wind tunnel analysis and I'm pretty sure they concluded that covering the vents increased efficiency.

 

[Boris Bajic]

My fixed-gear bicycle is always in the best available gear for any ascent or descent.

By "best", I may mean ludicrous, but it is always the best.

Remember, if the lark were an eagle, it would weigh more but sleep better.

Proof is the enemy of the renaissance.

 

[Milzy]

True for some hills if you can turn the gear but for longer hills

It's BS, even the novice knows not to power it up hills on a long sportive or you risk blowing up. It's far better to spin to win & save the energy for the flats & descents. Plus powering hills will give you knee pain eventually. Obviously the pro's have their own styles & some can get away with power climbs more than others.

 

[HLaB]

It's BS, even the novice knows not to power it up hills on a long sportive or you risk blowing up. It's far better to spin to win & save the energy for the flats & descents. Plus powering hills will give you knee pain eventually. Obviously the pro's have their own styles & some can get away with power climbs more than others.

Not denying that on some hills/ routes it isn't the best but on some short/ sharp climbs its better if you can keep the cadence up, to power up them and get them done, spinning loses over certain terrains; its knowing when to switch between the two techniques that will get you over the terrain faster without injury

 

[Rob3rt]

It's BS, even the novice knows not to power it up hills on a long sportive or you risk blowing up. It's far better to spin to win & save the energy for the flats & descents. Plus powering hills will give you knee pain eventually. Obviously the pro's have their own styles & some can get away with power climbs more than others.

Yeah.... because it is all about sportive performance!

 

[ayceejay]

One consequence of powering up hills for the amateur is what happens next, if you conquer your hill and then have to free wheel until you get your breath back I don't think you have gained much.