Re: Most significant advance in bike technology for speed?

On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:21:08 -0500, zen cycle wrote:

On 1/25/2025 1:43 PM, cyclintom wrote:

On Fri Jan 24 18:00:57 2025 Zen Cycle  wrote:

>
I'm going to take issue with this claim. The speeds have been showing
a steady increase. "Great" increase is somewhat subjective, and
taking into account the general "square-law effect" with going faster
on a bicycle, a increase of 1MPH from 28 to 29 MPH could indeed be
considered a "great" increase over going from 25 to 26 MPH.
>
Granted, this has little to do with integrated shifting, my nit is
over the claim "there was no great increase in average race
speeds....since about 1960"
>
>
from wikipedia, the top ten fastest editions of PAris-Roubaix were:
>
   Mathieu van der Poel (NED)    47.80 km/h (29.70 mph)     2024
   Mathieu van der Poel (NED)    46.84 km/h (29.11 mph)     2023
   Dylan van Baarle (NED)        45.79 km/h (28.45 mph)     2022
   Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)    45.20 km/h (28.09 mph)     2017 Peter
   Post (NED)        45.13 km/h (28.04 mph)     1964 Fabian
   Cancellara (SUI)    44.19 km/h (27.46 mph)     2013 Rik Van
   Steenbergen (BEL)    43.99 km/h (27.33 mph)     1948 Mathew
   Hayman (AUS)        43.91 km/h (27.28 mph)     2016 Peter Sagan
   (SVK)        43.55 km/h (27.06 mph)     2018 Pino Cerami
   (BEL)        43.54 km/h (27.05 mph)     1960
>
Out of the top ten in the 100+ year history of the race, 6 are within
the past ten years. I challenge anyone to argue against a 10%
increase since Sagan in 2018 to VDP in 2024 as anything but a "great"
increase.
>
Milan/San Remo shows a similar trend. From
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/milano-sanremo/results/fastest-
editions
   :
>
Edition    Year    Avg. speed 115    2024    46.11 114    2023   
45.773 113    2022    45.331 97    2006    45.268 112    2021   
45.06 100    2009    44.421 98    2007    43.665 110    2019   
43.625 104    2013    43.577 102    2011    43.486
>
It certainly isn't due to drivetrain technology, I'll suggest the
trend towards wider tires has a great deal to do with it, but more so
training and diet technological advances.

>
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Got that Frank, he takes issue with your comments despite the fact
that these courses all change change a little from year to year, the
speeds on the hardeat races despite being shorter than in the past are
going down and not up.

 
the speeds of the hardest races are going down?
 
Paris roubaix Mathieu van der Poel   47.80 km/h (29.70 mph)     2024
Mathieu van der Poel   46.84 km/h (29.11 mph)     2023 Dylan van Baarle
     45.79 km/h (28.45 mph)     2022
 
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/paris-roubaix/results/fastest-

editions

 
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/liege-bastogne-liege/results/

fastest-editions

 
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/results/fastest-

editions

 
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/results/fastest-

editions

 
Must be more of that "tommy math"
 
 
 

While I don't agree with your use of flat rides that are all in high
gear and things like STI are unlikely to have effect, Flunky's
comments at least are rediculous.

 
Sure sparky, show a reference to an overall trend which shows that race
speeds are going down.

Either that or you don't know that they were on different courses. Does
this really have to be explained to you?