4 ms·

I use it constantly. It saves having to constantly adjust pressure on your gas pedal to maintain a speed. I also use the up/down buttons constantly to make smal

I use it constantly. It saves having to constantly adjust pressure on your gas pedal to maintain a speed. I also use the up/down buttons constantly to make small adjustments. It’s easier and more precise than the foot.

endisneigh 5y ago
It’s interesting that many people are saying this. I’ve driven from Palo Alto to NYC and back 5 times and never had any leg issues going 10 hours a day.
- laserlight 5y ago
  I don’t understand it either. My gas pedal stays wherever I put it with almost no effort.
  - defen 5y ago
    Even when you're going uphill or downhill? Or when the driver ahead of you slows down without using his brakes?
    - laserlight 5y ago
      Yes, indeed. I'm not aware of any hardship when I go uphill full throttle. Going downhill is harder because I have to keep my foot in the air not to depress the gas pedal. In those cases though, I either rest my foot on the break pedal or put it down floor depending on the conditions. When the driver ahead slows down, I slow down using breaks. I've driven for hours with and without cruise control. I've never felt any discomfort in my lower leg muscles because of using pedals.
- ordu 5y ago
  It is not about "leg issues", it is also about you mind needs to control your leg. And about your fuel costs: software can regulate power much more precise, speed becomes virtually constant, no acceleration means no changes in a kinetic energy, so less fuel is needed. Top bicycle athletes spend many hours learning how to pedal to minimize accelerations due to cyclic nature of pedaling. With a car it seems easier (all you need is to keep your foot steady, not to maintain constant torque while switching from one leg muscle to another) but I cannot do it. Cruise control beats me every time.
  - hermitdev 5y ago
    > Top bicycle athletes spend many hours learning how to pedal to minimize accelerations due to cyclic nature of pedaling. To expand on this: it's about maintaining a specific cadence (usually in the 100-110 RPM range). You don't change your cadence for the terrain; you maintain your cadence and change gears to match the terrain.
    - ordu 5y ago
      Yes, you need to maintain cadence, because of reasons, like saving your knees from wearing off. But if you want to win Tour de France, then you need to learn how to maintain constant speed also. Not just visually constant, not just as your computer shows, but even more constant. Speed deviates, it depends on a phase of your pedaling, but it means excessive watts lost due to visually undetectable accelerations. Constant cadence and constant speed are different goals, the first one is about biology (how to get your body to do more), the second one is pure physics. Maybe it is even "anti-biological" thing, because human's legs are designed to push, not to pull and not to create force perpendicular to a leg. I even heard something about using gears that are not exactly circular, to help an athlete to maintain constant tension of a chain. Amateurs (me for example) do not train for constant speed, though to some extent it comes naturally with practice. But world class athletes measure energy conversion inefficiencies in tenths of a watt, so they get a special training for this.
seltzered_ 5y ago
Also makes for a smoother ride for other passengers in the car.

endisneigh 5y ago

It’s interesting that many people are saying this. I’ve driven from Palo Alto to NYC and back 5 times and never had any leg issues going 10 hours a day.

laserlight 5y ago
I don’t understand it either. My gas pedal stays wherever I put it with almost no effort.
- defen 5y ago
  Even when you're going uphill or downhill? Or when the driver ahead of you slows down without using his brakes?
  - laserlight 5y ago
    Yes, indeed. I'm not aware of any hardship when I go uphill full throttle. Going downhill is harder because I have to keep my foot in the air not to depress the gas pedal. In those cases though, I either rest my foot on the break pedal or put it down floor depending on the conditions. When the driver ahead slows down, I slow down using breaks. I've driven for hours with and without cruise control. I've never felt any discomfort in my lower leg muscles because of using pedals.
ordu 5y ago
It is not about "leg issues", it is also about you mind needs to control your leg. And about your fuel costs: software can regulate power much more precise, speed becomes virtually constant, no acceleration means no changes in a kinetic energy, so less fuel is needed. Top bicycle athletes spend many hours learning how to pedal to minimize accelerations due to cyclic nature of pedaling. With a car it seems easier (all you need is to keep your foot steady, not to maintain constant torque while switching from one leg muscle to another) but I cannot do it. Cruise control beats me every time.
- hermitdev 5y ago
  > Top bicycle athletes spend many hours learning how to pedal to minimize accelerations due to cyclic nature of pedaling. To expand on this: it's about maintaining a specific cadence (usually in the 100-110 RPM range). You don't change your cadence for the terrain; you maintain your cadence and change gears to match the terrain.
  - ordu 5y ago
    Yes, you need to maintain cadence, because of reasons, like saving your knees from wearing off. But if you want to win Tour de France, then you need to learn how to maintain constant speed also. Not just visually constant, not just as your computer shows, but even more constant. Speed deviates, it depends on a phase of your pedaling, but it means excessive watts lost due to visually undetectable accelerations. Constant cadence and constant speed are different goals, the first one is about biology (how to get your body to do more), the second one is pure physics. Maybe it is even "anti-biological" thing, because human's legs are designed to push, not to pull and not to create force perpendicular to a leg. I even heard something about using gears that are not exactly circular, to help an athlete to maintain constant tension of a chain. Amateurs (me for example) do not train for constant speed, though to some extent it comes naturally with practice. But world class athletes measure energy conversion inefficiencies in tenths of a watt, so they get a special training for this.

seltzered_ 5y ago

Also makes for a smoother ride for other passengers in the car.