Your argument is simply absurd. No, a bike that is drag brake is NOT necessarily going slower than a bike that is pulse braking. A rider can drag as hard or lightly as they like, just as a rider and pulse as hard or lightly as they like. The rider is in control of the brake lever. The rider can do what their brain desires.
If there is no speed difference, then why drag your brakes? If there is no need to slow down you should just let the bike go. It doesn’t matter if the pressure on the brake is hard or light,
any friction on the wheel is going to be slower than
no friction on the wheel.
The entire premise of this discussion is that the cyclist with the HIGHER AVERAGE SPEED will reach the bottom of the descent with cooler rims, REGARDLESS of the differing approaches to timing the brake usage. From my very first post in this thread, many days ago, I've repeated this OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Have I somehow failed to communicate clearly? I say this in every post I write. How is this not getting through???
That is
your premise. I don’t agree with it. And yes, you have “repeated this OVER AND OVER AGAIN.” You have been wrong every time you repeat it. You have failed to communicate because you are incorrect. No friction (or segments of no friction) on a descent results in cooler rims than constant friction.
Let me lay it out again for the umpteenth time for you:
And, again, you are incorrect.
- The descent is a 10 mile downhill at a steep 20% slope. The run has many tight turns but the road surface is good.
- Rider 1 practices pulse braking. In the straights he maintains a natural terminal velocity of 60 mph. In the corners he slows to 40 mph to avoid crashing. At the bottom of the descent his computer shows an average speed of 50 mph.
- Rider 2 is a pro rider. He has pro technique and balls the size of watermelons. He is able to anal pucker bomb down the entire descent at the natural terminal velocity of 60 mph, never touching his brakes once. He is simply that good, he is a downhill God. However on this day he wishes to experiment with drag braking. He uses one pinky finger to drag his brakes the entire way down. At the bottom of the descent his computer shows an average speed of 59.5 mph. His one pinky drag braking slowed him down by 0.5 mph compared to no brakes at all.
- The wheel temperatures of both cyclists are now measured.
- Which cyclist has cooler rims? The pulse braker or the drag braker?
The pulse braker. But your whole premise is rediculous. No pro rider would drag brakes down a hill. Why would they? And why would the pulse braker have to slow so much for corners?
Let’s add two more scenario to your list.
1a. A rider keeps his speed at 40 mph all the way down the hill.
3a. The downhill God doesn’t touch his brakes all the way down the hill.
Now: Which one has the coolest rims? For extra credit, rank the bikes from coolest rims to hottest. (Hint: position 3 and 4 are not what you think they are)
But people who drag brakes down hills aren’t “experimenting” with dragging brakes. They are dragging brakes because they are too afraid the speed that they would reach on a downhill for whatever reason. They think that they are being “safe” by slowing down without realizing that they are overheating their rims and are far more likely to reach a temperature where they could experience a blowout…even if that is extremely difficult to do.
Please answer so we can put this debate to bed and end this discussion thread.
I have answered. Several times. It’s just “not getting through” to you.