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homsie wrote:
Secondly, if you think that the disk being more aerodynamic is the reason he won the race...well that's just doesn't make any sense either. From the sounds of things here, he had to have made a big jump from 300M out and got a big enough gap to hold off the charging pack. This jump and seperation is likely what won the race...not the wheel being aerodynamic. Had he not jumped and achieved some seperation, but rather slowly accelerated to maximum terminal velocity, somebody could have matched his acceleration and sucked his wheel almost all the way to the finish...then likely come around him. Surely, you're not going to tell me that an rear disk wheel would help a person more than drafting somebody, are you?

James

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I'm tired of doing homework so I think I'll jump in.

I believe what Fly is trying to say is that the aero wheel allowed him to attain and maintain a higher top end. Yes, he needed the gap, but once he got it, nobody with a non-aero wheel would be able to attain or maintain the same top end speed as Fly.

If somebody had stayed on his wheel (they marked him or got lucky...) then all bets are off. The drafter could surely come around at the finish, aero wheels or not and other factors being reasonably equal (fitness, strength, power...)

Further more, if a racer believes that he has superior equipment, then that might be the psychological edge he needs. The equipment might even be a detriment, but as long as the the racer BELIEVES it works, then it does. Fly obviously gave much thought to his equipment choices based on his knowledge of the course, competition, own abilities... He BELIEVED the aero wheels would help him win based on his "homework". His team believed too, and worked to chase everything down.

Just my two cents thrown in for fun.

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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151

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