8 ms·

You are right I had the gradient off by 10x, sorry that should have been obvious, it has been a while Actual time savings of 1kg of weight reduction: 1 second

You are right I had the gradient off by 10x, sorry that should have been obvious, it has been a while Actual time savings of 1kg of weight reduction: 1 second And personally I've used aeroweenieing to podium in a cat 3 road race, and my wife has set state records and won pro races. You can make fun of fat guys doing a professional job if you like but it isn't just them.

ben7799 4y ago
If spending lots of money to win a Cat 3 race and knowing you did it with money and equipment instead of fitness and smarts is OK with you more power to you. But if it means thousands of dollars spent on a race that likely paid < $50 to the winner the whole thing can also look ridiculous too depending on perspective. This isn't really funny, it's a fundamental problem with cycling as a sport that limits who participates in the sport and hurts the sports ability to find and develop the best riders. It seems particularly bad in the US. Rules which helped control the equipment arms race would be good for the sport at the competitive level. Many promising athletes never try the sport because the costs are so prohibitive. On top of that in road racing if expensive equipment raises the speed of everyone in the field it accomplishes nothing other than increasing the risk of severe injury as speeds go up. If someone made $10k shoes that gave a competitive advantage in soccer or basketball, or a $10k baseball bat that offered significant advantages, etc.. that equipment would very likely be outlawed right away. Cycling has let everything get very out of control. Baseball obviously has already banned lots of bats that offer competitive advantage, whether it's banning metal bats after a certain level or limiting the power of metal bats below that level.
- stevage 4y ago
  In almost every hobby there are people who get enjoyment from choosing and buying equipment and others who just want to do the thing. Look at people with massive collections of beard games they never play, people with any cameras and lenses but little output, etc. It's fine. Let people enjoy their hobby however they like.
- skhr0680 4y ago
  Keirin bikes need to be built out of approved frames and parts, I’m surprised there isn’t a road racing category with similar rules

ben7799 4y ago

If spending lots of money to win a Cat 3 race and knowing you did it with money and equipment instead of fitness and smarts is OK with you more power to you. But if it means thousands of dollars spent on a race that likely paid < $50 to the winner the whole thing can also look ridiculous too depending on perspective. This isn't really funny, it's a fundamental problem with cycling as a sport that limits who participates in the sport and hurts the sports ability to find and develop the best riders. It seems particularly bad in the US. Rules which helped control the equipment arms race would be good for the sport at the competitive level. Many promising athletes never try the sport because the costs are so prohibitive. On top of that in road racing if expensive equipment raises the speed of everyone in the field it accomplishes nothing other than increasing the risk of severe injury as speeds go up. If someone made $10k shoes that gave a competitive advantage in soccer or basketball, or a $10k baseball bat that offered significant advantages, etc.. that equipment would very likely be outlawed right away. Cycling has let everything get very out of control. Baseball obviously has already banned lots of bats that offer competitive advantage, whether it's banning metal bats after a certain level or limiting the power of metal bats below that level.

stevage 4y ago
In almost every hobby there are people who get enjoyment from choosing and buying equipment and others who just want to do the thing. Look at people with massive collections of beard games they never play, people with any cameras and lenses but little output, etc. It's fine. Let people enjoy their hobby however they like.
skhr0680 4y ago
Keirin bikes need to be built out of approved frames and parts, I’m surprised there isn’t a road racing category with similar rules