Unfortunately there is a boatload of contradictory scientific evidence about these sorts of thing. Most of the differences we think we perceive are based on the beliefs and assumptions we have about the equipment on our bikes, rather than differences we can actually perceive. The felt difference in performance between a 230 gm tire and a 250 gm tire is primarily placebo effect (whereas the difference between a 230 gm tire and an 800 gm tire might fall above the threshold of perceivable difference), but many people will adamantly tell you they can clearly feel the difference. In a double blind test they couldn't.
I remember a number of years ago when a bike magazine had a bunch of otherwise identical steel frames built from a range of tubing from low end to high end. When the riders did not know which was which, they couldn't tell them apart- yet thousands of published bike reviews have extolled the superiority of one tube set over another, claiming dramatic differences in performance. Those difference were "perceived" based on the expectations of the reviewer. How many time have we read reviews composed of complete nonsense like a frame being "stiff yet compliant?" Tim > On Jan 4, 2014, at 7:53 AM, Ron Mc <[email protected]> wrote: > > Bill, again, I'm telling you it's not a personal thing - it's in our wiring > to recognize slight changes, especially where work is concerned. We don't > feel the baseline work, what we feel is the change from the baseline work. > Bike riders feel weight difference in wheels more than anything else, because > we feel the responsiveness it produces. For racers, total weight, > aerodynamics (i.e. skinny tires) all add up for the slight edge that may nose > them ahead by the finish line. But the rest of us know if we have light > wheels when we start up the hill and we know if we have efficient rolling > tires when we crest it. > >> On Friday, January 3, 2014 12:28:45 PM UTC-6, Bill Lindsay wrote: >> " It's the next subtle increment that we feel. So yes, subtle differences >> in wheel inertia are more significant to us than adding mass to the bike >> frame. " >> >> and I never once said you can't feel it. If the small difference is a big >> deal to you, that's perfectly fine. >> >> Do lighter wheels spin up faster? Yes! >> How much faster? A tiny bit faster. >> Is that tiny bit a big deal to some riders? Absolutely >> >> If you can feel the difference and if you like it better then do it. It's >> great. None of us are racing or timing ourselves. If it feels a lot >> faster, who cares if it isn't actually measurably a lot faster? If it feels >> MUCH easier to pedal, who cares if it isn't actually measurably much easier >> to pedal? >> >> Trust me, I'm a tires guy. I've got ~30 pairs of spare tires in my parts >> bins. Sometimes I run skinnier tires. Why? Because they feel different, >> and sometimes I prefer to do it. I feel like it. Sometimes I decide to run >> 700x25, sometimes 700x28 and sometimes 700x35. They feel different and I >> run what I feel like running. Feeling is a big deal >> >> I remember a similar back and forth when a vendor made a crankset in 170 and >> 175 and refused to offer it in 172.5mm. He emphatically stated that the >> reason he wouldn't do it was because it is impossible for a rider to feel >> the difference between 170 and 172.5. A lot of people (including me) got >> kind of miffed about it. I sure as heck can feel the difference. Could I >> get used to a 170? Sure. But I've got 6 bikes and they all have 172.5s. >> I'm not switching cranks on all my bikes, and I don't want to RE-get-used-to >> the bike every time I ride it. I can feel the difference and I prefer to >> run 172.5. I doubt there's a measurable performance benefit, but if >> somebody told me NOT to run 172.5s because it's impossible to feel the >> difference, I'd inform them that they are wrong. Similarly, I am not >> telling you, Ron, NOT to run skinny tires. I'm not telling you whether you >> can feel it or not. I'm not telling you what you should prefer. If I did >> any of that I'd be a bigger jerk than I already am. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
