tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564958057737541664.post8555994174262973843..comments2024-02-14T17:11:22.168-08:00Comments on On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?: Aero mass-start frames and the Tour de Francedjconnelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484858820878605035noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564958057737541664.post-1585744381553763882011-08-08T20:53:32.692-07:002011-08-08T20:53:32.692-07:00I can attest to the Noah being super, super stiff....I can attest to the Noah being super, super stiff. One can feel the stiffness of the front end in cornering and braking, and it's rock solid when putting down the power in a sprint.<br /><br />I'm not a pro stage racer, so even a 5 hour ride for me with off road bits is tolerable on the bike. I could see how day after day of 5 hour races it might feel fatiguing. <br /><br />It sure handles better than any other bike I've ridden, very fast and responsive. <br /><br />Without spending significant time and effort doing testing, I can't say if it's aerodynamically faster or not. But the rigid feel and handling alone make it a superior crit/race type bike over anything else I've ridden.<br /><br />As I'm racing less though, I keep thinking about a bike that might be a little more comfortable and forgiving when I wonder off road or onto rough surfaces.Brian Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16526342604881980594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564958057737541664.post-1844977354057886492011-08-08T13:03:11.162-07:002011-08-08T13:03:11.162-07:00I love Gerard's blog. Cervelo was the one that...I love <a href="http://gerard.cc" rel="nofollow">Gerard's blog</a>. Cervelo was the one that did "Col de la Tipping Point" years ago deminstrating the SLC should be faster than the R3 in anything except a steep uphill time trial... if you look at the numbers, the round tube bikes should simply be non-competitive. So your take seems spot-on. How do you quantify fatigue and comfort or, for that matter, stiffness? If you feel more confident on a bike, and can move up ten spots in the peloton by the base of a climb, that's a huge advantage which won't show up in any power-speed equation.djconnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484858820878605035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564958057737541664.post-52402405145838871822011-08-08T13:00:19.473-07:002011-08-08T13:00:19.473-07:00Gerard must follow your blog :)
From his own blog...Gerard must follow your blog :)<br /><br />From his own blog today http://gerard.cc/2011/08/08/body-position-vs-bar-height-part-3/<br /><br />"Of course, that said no pro should ever ride the R3 except for Paris-roubaix (which it was designed for originally). The aero frames are ALWAYS the fastest solution, even in mountainous terrain, so every pro taking their profession seriously and wanting to get to the finish the fastest should ride them at all times (except Roubaix)."<br /><br />My own personal take on this is that it is worth riding an aero-frame... marginal gains and all that. But ONLY if in the process of doing so one does not reduce or compromise power output or increase fatigue.<br /><br />As you say it is more complicated than putting a frame on a jig in a wind tunnel and simply measuring drag.Allen Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03158467563463405723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564958057737541664.post-79354422113677379752011-08-08T12:58:39.931-07:002011-08-08T12:58:39.931-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Allen Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03158467563463405723noreply@blogger.com