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A question about bicycle weights and physical weight

Old 03-10-23, 03:30 PM
  #26  
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This thread is making the people of South Carolina look bad.
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Old 03-10-23, 03:34 PM
  #27  
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It depends. Is the 40 pound bike a recumbent?
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Old 03-10-23, 03:41 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Ok...Lets take an elite level pro cyclist on a 40 pound bike vs an "overweight MAMIL weekend warrior" on an 18 pound bike. Who would go faster and win ?
This can't be a serious question.
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Old 03-10-23, 03:52 PM
  #29  
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But don't you get a better workout on the 40# bicycle?
(ducks, runs for cover)
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Old 03-10-23, 03:58 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by skidder
That's only if the killer bunny rabbit gets to the European swallow first.
Do you mean this killer bunny?

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Old 03-10-23, 04:40 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Eric F
This can't be a serious question.
Dude .... it took you that long to recognize a total troll thread?
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Old 03-10-23, 05:57 PM
  #32  
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Troll threads can be entertaining.
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Old 03-10-23, 06:01 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Lombard
Troll threads can be entertaining.
There are those which give people a chance to be humorous and those that feed the most toxic kind of trolls.

This one is sort of fun, even though it was a bad joke from the start. I like bad humor sometimes.
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Old 03-10-23, 10:50 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by gpsblake
Would the 40 pound bike be as fast as the 20 pound bike was when I was 20 pounds heavier?

Not that I am either of those things but just was wondering...

Yes, 40lb bike woukd always be faster as long as you are riding downhill, So make sure you always travel downhills and always call someone for a ride back home
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Old 03-11-23, 01:55 AM
  #35  
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Hang on just a sec, let me see what ChatGPT thinks about this so we can get a definitive answer.

Or, on second thought, not.
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Old 03-11-23, 04:40 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by retswerb
Hang on just a sec, let me see what ChatGPT thinks about this so we can get a definitive answer.

Or, on second thought, not.
Out of morbid curiosity, I posed my "bikes on the moon" question to ChatBot, and its answer (15 mph) didn't even mention the lack of air resistance, let alone factoring it in.
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Old 03-11-23, 09:38 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by genejockey
But don't you get a better workout on the 40# bicycle?
(ducks, runs for cover)
I don't think so.

IMO... You might get just as good a workout if you are only going to ride for a short time, say about an hour give or take 30 minutes.

But this assumes a person riding for fitness that is maybe a little bit of a adrenaline junkie and is doing a hard effort for their rides. With either bike they are going to get the same workout since they will essentially be near their limits of what they can sustain.

Even for a person just out for a ride casually, it might be the same too, just because the ride parameters will be based on the amount of exertion they wish to do.

No need to duck.

Last edited by Iride01; 03-11-23 at 09:42 AM.
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Old 03-11-23, 10:15 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by Iride01
I don't think so.

IMO... You might get just as good a workout if you are only going to ride for a short time, say about an hour give or take 30 minutes.

But this assumes a person riding for fitness that is maybe a little bit of a adrenaline junkie and is doing a hard effort for their rides. With either bike they are going to get the same workout since they will essentially be near their limits of what they can sustain.
It depends. What you said really assumes the rider will always put in the same effort regardless of bike or for that matter any other parameters. However, let's say I want to sustain a certain speed on flats like say 17mph and want to get there, but have no desire to go faster. In that case, the heavier bike will be a greater workout.
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Old 03-11-23, 10:21 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Lombard
It depends. What you said really assumes the rider will always put in the same effort regardless of bike or for that matter any other parameters. However, let's say I want to sustain a certain speed on flats like say 17mph and want to get there, but have no desire to go faster. In that case, the heavier bike will be a greater workout.
Yep, that would be the thing that makes the heavier bike a better workout. However to me, that's a bizarre way to ride a bike. Whether on a leisurely ride or a hard ride, my speed is almost never constant. I ride to the certain amount of effort I feel in my legs. At best my cadence is the only thing that is somewhat constant. In my rolling terrain here I'm constantly shifting gears.
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Old 03-11-23, 11:34 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by rydabent
A vast number of threads on this forum would make everyone think that speed is the holy grail of cycling. I contend it is not. I say that the vast majority of cyclist just ride for the enjoyment of the ride. We just like to be out in the open air, enjoy the sites, and or run errands. We dont ride high priced bikes, or dress in high priced kits. We dont care about form, position, cadence or any of that, we just enjoy the kind of riding we like.
Weren't you paying attention, OP?
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Old 03-11-23, 12:47 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by genejockey
But don't you get a better workout on the 40# bicycle?
(ducks, runs for cover)
.. but forgot your flame suit ..

Of course not. 200w is 200w is 200w ... -> get a clunker and spend the savings on a power meter ;-)
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Old 03-11-23, 02:34 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Lombard
It depends. What you said really assumes the rider will always put in the same effort regardless of bike or for that matter any other parameters. However, let's say I want to sustain a certain speed on flats like say 17mph and want to get there, but have no desire to go faster. In that case, the heavier bike will be a greater workout.

Here's the larger point: the determinant of the quality of the workout is the rider's effort, not the quality of the bike. You can get a lousy or great workout on a heavy bike or a light bike or anything in between.
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Old 03-12-23, 07:28 AM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by gpsblake
Example. I buy a 40 pound bike and I buy a 20 pound bike at 190 pounds. Okay, all things equal, the 20 pound bike should be faster.

But let's say I lost 20 pounds and went down to 170 pounds but kept the same muscle mass. Would the 40 pound bike be as fast as the 20 pound bike was when I was 20 pounds heavier?

Not that I am either of those things but just was wondering...
For all practical purposes, the only time the weight of a bicycle is a factor in speed is while going uphill. So no matter how much the rider weighs, he will go faster uphill the less weight he is propelling up the hill.

If you ride enough to lose twenty pounds, that riding will make you stronger and you will be faster on any bike you ride no matter what it weighs, you will be faster on both the 20 and 40 pound bikes, and since everyone is different the test results will be different. I suggest you get 20 and 40 pound bikes and run this test for us, and when you have lost 20 pounds report back here. See you in the fall.
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Old 03-12-23, 11:43 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by beng1
For all practical purposes, the only time the weight of a bicycle is a factor in speed is while going uphill. So no matter how much the rider weighs, he will go faster uphill the less weight he is propelling up the hill.
There is another force that is often overlooked, it is affected by weight (bike or cyclist), and it can be significant at lower speeds: rolling resistance (Frr).

Power to overcome rolling resistance increases linearly with velocity and total weight.

Frr = g * (Mbike + Mcyclist) * Crr
Prr = Frr * V

Where:
  • Frr = rolling resistance force (N)
  • g = gravity acceleration (9.8 m/s^2)
  • Mbike = mass of bike (kg)
  • Mcyclst = mass of rider (kg)
  • Crr = coefficient of rolling resistance (dimensionless)
  • Prr = power to overcome rolling resistance
  • V = bike+rider velocity
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Old 03-12-23, 12:12 PM
  #45  
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What about inertia any time you want to accelerate?
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Old 03-12-23, 12:28 PM
  #46  
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If the lost weight is fat which was at the extremes of the rider's waistline, wouldn't that lower the rider's moment of inertia around corners?
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Old 03-12-23, 12:32 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
If the lost weight is fat which was at the extremes of the rider's waistline, wouldn't that lower the rider's moment of inertia around corners?
Yes it does. You can also initiate a turn without counter steering by shifting that excess weight from one side of your waist to the other. (But, you can only do it if you're wearing shorts, not bib shorts.) Emoji.
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