rruff wrote:
I can't believe you are doing efforts like that without a fan in the first place! .I wanted to test a theory.
rruff wrote:
I don't have any idea why you'd lose power outside, but supposedly not while overheating on the trainer.
When I ride outside in a conventional position, I have a 25-30 mph wind blowing from my neck all the way down the front of my torso. Not so when riding in the Mantis position. The wind is deflected off the aerobars and my arms to a large degree.
When I did the recent field test, even though it was fairly cool, I noticed the front of my skinsuit was quite wet afterwards. I'd never noticed this when riding in a conventional position, presumably because the greater airflow was drying the front of the skinsuit (and cooling me off)
Evaporative cooling makes a big difference, particularly at 70 degrees (or hotter) in the dry western US, like where I live. If you're racing in the UK, where it's 50 degrees and 90% humidity on a good day, it's not much of a factor.
So I'd bet you dollars to donuts, if I repeat the trial outdoors, or indoors with a big fan, there will be a significant disparity in average heartrates between the mantis and conventional positions. And that difference will be due to differential rates of cooling, not bio-mechanics.
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