Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: Science of cycling still largely mysterious
Date: Sun, 25 May 2025 14:51:11 -0500
Organization: Yellow Jersey, Ltd.
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On 5/25/2025 1:45 PM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
> Am Wed, 21 May 2025 19:17:51 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:
> 
>> On 5/21/2025 4:13 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
>>> zen cycle <funkmasterxx@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> A full suspension bike is far more efficient over rough terrain in terms
>>>> of speed and comfort.
>>
>> I dimly recall an article in _Bicycling_ magazine (before it effectively
>> morphed into "Buycycling") that documented the measured increase in
>> downhill speed of a suspended bike compared to a rigid bike. At that
>> time, it was an unfamiliar concept.
> 
> Problem is, some people generalize the fact that a good suspension
> increases downhill speed on some undergrounds to circumstances where one
> or all of these preconditions do not apply.  Suspension adds weight and
> converts some of the potential energy to heat. When riding downhill,
> additional weight has essentially no disadvantage, it might even help.
> On rough underground and at speeds where air resistance is the main
> parameter, helping the rider to hold a better aerodynamic position has
> more effect than that little bit of energy loss.
> 
> Almost nothing of all that applies while riding on reasonably flat
> ground or uphill.  Some modern wider tires have lower rolling resistance
> than narrow high pressure road tires of the old and offer enough
> suspension for most roads that aren't not completely broken.
> 
>>
>>> Indeed doesn’t take a particularly rough gravel road for my MTB suspension
>>> and tyres to make it a faster bike, vs the Gravel bike be that my times on
>>> Strava or unfortunate Gravel riders on the Ridgeway etc.
> 
>> And in the past few years, many people have realized that it takes very
>> little roughness to make wider, cushier tires valuable for increasing
>> speed.
> 
> Not necessarily. In recent years, some wider tires have become better in
> terms of rolling resistance at lower pressure and without compromising
> puncture resistance. It's not that people have recognized something that
> has always been the case. The wider the better doesn't apply, either.
> The optimum has only shifted a little, again.
> 
> Roads degrading faster due to heavier vehicles might be a reason, too.
> 
>> Bumping the rider about has serious energy costs.
> 
> Of course.
> 


Offroad cyclists (I am not among them) tell me that for all 
suspension's weight and sloppiness, they cannot brake or 
turn with a wheel in midair so suspension is necessary for that.

-- 
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971