Confirmed
I wasn't aware this was a "myth" that needed busting/confirming, but if ever you needed a dramatic demonstration of why drafting works…
Just the thing
The Wine Rack Bag—is this the thing for the cyclist who has everything? [via The Orangecomo Adventures]
Who wants a "flappy paddle"?
tom pointed us to info on this new flappy paddle
gear system by Shimano:
Chris d'Aluisio, director of advanced research and development for Specialized, likens the difference between mechanical and electric shifting to the difference between driving a race car with a manual transmission and one with F-1 style paddle shifters. "You can stay on the gas and flip through the gears with no hesitation," said d'Aluisio. "It's seamless power."
Which indicates to me that it's amazing technology that most of us will never use—I think cables will be with us for some time yet. Flappy paddles have been in F1 cars for yonks, but do you see them in any road cars (except for poseur-mobiles of the kind that are reviewed, often disparagingly, on Top Gear)? But as Wired rightly observes:
Road-bike aficionados are much like trout: simultaneously enthralled and mortified by anything shiny and new that enters their environment.
Undoubtedly, there will be a market for it among the cashed-up cafe-cruiser set.
Creature feature
Little Creatures Brewery has bought bikes for its staff. Cool. As if we needed another reason to drop into their place? [via pedaller]
BikeScope
I'm told that
Your answers to the BikeScope survey will help us better understand the cycling environment of the City of Melbourne. The results of this survey will be presented to the City of Melbourne and will help inform their future planning.
No doubt if you've ever had any dealings with BV, you'll have been told the same thing. Bicycle Victoria's BikeScope survey closes on 22 August, and you could win one of them iPhone thingamajiggies. Knock yerself out.
Dipstick of the week
Cr Mark O'Brien of Moreland is advocating user-pays for bicycle-specific infrastructure. There's a creative new disincentive to cycling. Congratulations Cr O'Brien, you are dipstick of the week. (OK, dipstick of a few weeks ago.) [via Moreland BUG]
The recycle-cycle
The Innervision 1 Plastic Bike:
This bicycle prototype is aimed at improving and solving multiple issues involved in production. Particular attention was paid to maximize the potential utilization of automated processes and more cost efficient materials (IE: plastics).
The bicycle consists entirely of reinforced and unreinforced recyclable polypropylene.
[Thanks tom]
The no-bicycle-cycle
Nulla Minimalist Bike Concept Dispenses With Spokes, Most of Frame.
Family on a bike
Following my recent rant, I was pleased to notice The Family Adventure Project: "a family venture to promote the benefits of adventurous family experiences."
Camera angles and perspective
Ah, it's a digital age we live in, isn't it? Further to the dickhead police officer who assaulted a cyclist on Critical Mass in New York City, here's a compilation from several cameras of a number of arrests that took place on 30 March 2007. Sure it's edited to present a particular view, but several of the police reports really don't seem to match the events as recorded…
Dave Mouton's comments on the topic of Critical Mass are thought-provoking, as usual.
Helmet or not?
Wallace and Gromit ride again
Check out these cool sidecars. Dead sexy.
Comments
My first thought was that my heart rate is usually pretty high when drafting anything at speed - let alone a big rig that cannot see that I'm there and may hit the breaks at any time leaving me sliding under its wheels.
True, I hadn't thought of that—actual physical work is not the only cause of elevated heart rate. The other problem with heart rate as an index of work is that it tends to lag. For example, in the video you can actually see Tory go an slump onto a bench with a drink—it's quite possible that his heart rate was still responding after he'd finished his effort.
They probably did it just because they could—they had a runway, a truck, a film crew, a bike, and a spare hour. Which may explain why the execution was a bit half-arsed.
I think people generally don't have a problem understanding the idea of a slipstream, but if you don't ride you probably don't appreciate how much of a difference it makes. So I reckon it's interesting enough for that demonstration.
But yeah, it's hardly a myth, is it?
The mythbusters skit is so weird. It was nice of them to demonstrate the slipstream effect, but who would doubt for a minute? I mean how long have people racing bikes?
Yeah, when I started watching it I found myself saying, "Even I've heard of a powermeter!" But I think the contrast between Tory going flat-out to maintain 20 mph on this own and freewheeling behind the truck is something that anyone can understand. It was so obvious that I'd let the lack of power output pass—still it would have been nice to know what the difference was.
Mind you, I think they knew it was a pretty lame effort scientifically and that's why they were only prepared to say "Plausible". That may also be why this segment didn't make it to the final cut of that show.
oooh, 20mph!!!!!! The science behind this was pretty lame, they should have used a powermeter.. not one of their better experiements, but I'm just being picky :)