Originally Posted by
Racing Dan
That may very well be how bikecalculator calculated it, but Im still convinced its wrong. Applying the same argument to the U-boat example, power to maintain position (0mph on the map) would always come to 0W no matter what speed or direction of the current, because the way You figure velocity in "Power = Force x Velocity" it would be zero, as long as the boat is not moving in relation to the map. That simply isnt true. V is the relative velocity of the fluid, be it water or air.
A submarine in water is a different system. Our bike wheels apply force to the ground, not the air. You need to solve the physics of the relevant system. If we pedaled to power a propellor and flew through the air, that would be yet a different system but more like the submarine in water.
Otto