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Haven’t biked in years, starting over. Why’s everyone riding on less psi now?

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Haven’t biked in years, starting over. Why’s everyone riding on less psi now?

Old 09-26-20, 03:45 PM
  #76  
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Originally Posted by guadzilla
So after a few months of drinking the kool aid and riding at 80.85, i pumped my tires back up to 95/100 for the past couple of rides - and it has felt faster (given the wind and wattage). Was it a controlled test? No. But that loop is my main training route and I have a pretty good idea of what kind of speeds I do at different wattages and under various wind conditions, and this does feel faster. Admittedly, this is on very good quality tarmac, though.
Consensus is that higher PSI "feels" faster because of high-frequency vibrations transmitted to the rider. But apparently they are not REALLY faster.

At least that's what the experts say. I suspect it's true though.
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Old 09-26-20, 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by genejockey
Ah, but the REAL question is, Is everyone going a lot SLOWER now?
I most certainly am.
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Old 09-26-20, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by znomit
It's 2020, you don't need to back it up with data. If you identify as a faster rider we accept that.
That's good, because if I had to prove I was faster, I'd have to show you just how slow my faster is.
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Old 09-27-20, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by datlas
Consensus is that higher PSI "feels" faster because of high-frequency vibrations transmitted to the rider. But apparently they are not REALLY faster.
At least that's what the experts say. I suspect it's true though.
Yeah, I buy that too.

It was sloppy phrasing on my part. By "feel", I didnt mean I had the sensations of going faster - I agree that that can be misleading (and I have noticed that several times - my bike feels sluggish but when i look down, speed is pretty much where it should be). I meant to say that I estimated myself to be faster, given the wattage and how strong the headwinds seemed to be on that given day.
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Old 09-27-20, 05:52 PM
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All these folks mentioning their weight to the nearest kilogram or five pounds, and no mention of bike weight.

Your whip could be 6kg or 9kg...
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Old 09-27-20, 10:03 PM
  #81  
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Originally Posted by datlas
Consensus is that higher PSI "feels" faster because of high-frequency vibrations transmitted to the rider. But apparently they are not REALLY faster.

At least that's what the experts say. I suspect it's true though.
We need our GPS units to provide simulated tactile feedback. Pick your target speed, and it gives you the feel-good vibration frequency when you're there.
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Old 09-28-20, 11:02 AM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by znomit
It's 2020, you don't need to back it up with data. If you identify as a faster rider we accept that.
This is why races have become so unpopular: people don't enjoy being shown how much faster others are in an objective way.
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Old 10-04-20, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Psimet2001
This is why races have become so unpopular: people don't enjoy being shown how much faster others are in an objective way.
Bike racing, like most forms of racing, has rules in place to actively control the impact of technology on the sport. But bike racing takes it further, managing any change, whether technology or simply design. Change does happen, but it's slow.

On top of the sanctioning body limiting change via rules, the practitioners of the sport use "conventional wisdom" and "tradition" to fend off change. Those words can be viewed as code for "we have no data, but we believe". They do crumble, but they die hard.

The notion that, if the pros do it, it must be best, is flat wrong.
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Old 10-05-20, 03:57 AM
  #84  
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Originally Posted by downtube42
Bike racing, like most forms of racing, has rules in place to actively control the impact of technology on the sport. But bike racing takes it further, managing any change, whether technology or simply design. Change does happen, but it's slow.

On top of the sanctioning body limiting change via rules, the practitioners of the sport use "conventional wisdom" and "tradition" to fend off change. Those words can be viewed as code for "we have no data, but we believe". They do crumble, but they die hard.

The notion that, if the pros do it, it must be best, is flat wrong.
With appropriate context, what they do is very informative - but only in the right context. ​​​​​So what is best in mass start road racing doesn't necessarily apply to, eg. your solo ride and vice versa. For instance, tire pressure- the typical 7+ bar tire pressure they run is perhaps slightly above optimal from a suspension vs rolling losses perspective and costs them a watt or two on flat roads, but when you're cornering downhill fast on European roads (which are typically not a craggy mess which US riders regularly report riding on), a firm tire feels much better, and uphill the front-rear balance changes significantly throwing the 55-45 assumption out of the window favouring slightly higher inflation pressures. The slight loss of efficiency on flat ground, when mostly they'll be riding easy in the pack anyway, is a easy tradeoff to make. Similarly, on mass start road races they don't go overboard on aero kit because, well, you mostly ride in the pack.

​​​​​​You doing a solo ride has significant differences to a mass start race: you are pushing air all the time at a much more constant effort, so an efficiency gain which will affect the whole ride, if there's one to be had, is more worth pursuing than optimizing for the decisive race winning (or losing) parts of the race.

When you get into it, there are reasons road races are ridden with setups as they are, TTs and tris with setups as they are, and so on, which is all informative if you take into account the context of the respective races. Typically, what the pros are doing is right, for the situation they are in. Rarely does someone successfully do something unique and better, and then they do it becomes the new orthodoxy (or banned by the UCI, haha).
​​​​​​

​​​​​​
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