4 ms·
Aerodynamics trumps weight for cyclists, even for wheels. "In summary, wheels account for almost 10% of the total power required to race your bike and the domi
by slashdotdash 10y ago
Aerodynamics trumps weight for cyclists, even for wheels.
"In summary, wheels account for almost 10% of the total power required to race your bike and the dominant factor in wheel performance is aerodynamics. Wheel mass is a second order effect (nearly 10 times less significant) and wheel inertia is a third order effect (nearly 100 times less significant)."
http://www.biketechreview.com/reviews/wheels/63-wheel-performance http://www.biketechreview.com/reviews/wheels/63-wheel-perfor...
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Why_Wheel_Aerodynamics_Can_Outweigh_Wheel_Weight_and_Inertia_2106.html http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Why_Wheel_Aerodynamics_Can_Ou...
- rawland 10y agoConsidering time trial or the last meters of a sprint, I completely agree. Riding in a bunch, race or the city. Not so much. In Crits (80 laps times 4 corners at least) or a city ride you don't move fast most of the time, but bike handle, accelerate & brake most of the time.
- slashdotdash 10y agoSome worthwhile further reading, including worked examples, comparing a wheelset with superior aerodynamics versus one that is lighter. "... the point of all this was to demonstrate the relative unimportance of wheel rim mass and why aerodynamics matters even when accelerating" [1] http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sum-of-parts-ii.html http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sum-of-parts-ii... [2] http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sum-of-parts-ii.html http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sum-of-parts-ii... [3] http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/15047/are-aerodynamic-rims-worth-additional-weight http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/15047/are-aerody...