"Lane was cool because he always rode a little different"

I always thought Lance was cool because he rode fast as hell and won five Tours.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

I agree...his legs are not as defined as usual (during the tour), but it's kind of normal; the last thing you want to do is to be at tour weight in february...

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/...s/arione/simoni1.jpg

off tom d's site, another example of a similar position, although not on of the greatest tt'er's in the world (but still damn fast).

Man, Simoni is one small guy. The bike looks almost cartoonish with him riding....

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TheBikeRacer.com

As far lance's postion being not as cool, I didn't want to say anything until I had photo evidence I could post to back it up. I haven't been able to find very many good photos online (I do have a couple off line, but I have no way to post them.) and the few I've found, I can't post.



So to sum up in a nutshell. Take a look at pic's of ulrich, hamilton, or even Milar. They all have this sorta calm, laidback, attitude/look. They have slacker hands/arms, and they seem to push back. I'm not saying it isn't fast (as it obviously is) but it just isn't that moving. However, you pull older photo's of Lance from earlier wins and it doesn't matter if he's blasting along in the final meters of a TT, or warming up on a trainer, he just plain looks fast. Also something about his position just hinted at "hey, I;m a rebel, deal with it." These latest picks of him just don't do that.



I'm not saying his new position isn't faster or even better; what I am saying is that it just isn't poetry-in-motion.





-It's not how fast you are, it's how fast you look.

I hope these pictures post ok and it helps the discussion. My observations are:

If you take a close look at side and frontal photos of Armstrong from last year's TDF and from this year's Algarve TT (rotate and scale the photos so the wheels are level with each other), you'll notice some minor changes:
-Seat height and back position appear unchanged.
-Arms are about 1-2" forward compared to last season. This rolls his shoulders further and decreases his frontal area.
-Shift levers are forward pointing and wrists are tucked (frontal view).
-Arm angle appears unchanged.

Probably only the wind tunnel can quantify the differences, but J. Cobb has pointed out on this forum how much loss can be due to cables and drinking straws on the front end of the bike. It would seem reasonable that shift levers and a part of an aerobar extending straight upward (especially when he's in the smallest rear cog), could pose significant wind drag.

There is also plenty of data out there that shows the benefit of decreasing frontal area as long as one can achieve this without sacrificing power.


If I knew how to post a picture here, I'd show the two ( front view and side view) to which I am referring.

Right on.

That's why so much of the endless droning on and on about position here and else where as it pertains to performance is completely moot.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Nope I'm going to have to agree. Big o' troll.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Very nice.

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

what does "troll" mean in this context? sorry i'm not american. i don't get it.

Kim

Outstanding Kraig! Here are a couple of more comparisons, albeit a bit more crude that what you have posted.



http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8065675



http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8065687

Anyone recognize/able to identify that front brake caliper??

"Anyone recognize/able to identify that front brake caliper?? "



Apparantly it's an earlier Dura-Ace model now out of production(AX or something??). Lance has used it before and seems to prefer them.

The funniest thing in the world is that, with these sightings, a brake caliper that sold pairs for $5-10 are now going to skyrocket in bids. 1980's technology will sell for as much as the newest DA stuff.

"1980's technology will sell for as much as the newest DA stuff. "

More, actually:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3659728879&category=42331

It means that you were 'trolling' for some sort of impassioned response... much like trolling for fish. Generally, this refers to an attempt to create controversy just for the sake of creating controversy.

Since the doughnut issue has been beaten to death I took your comments to be somewhat inflammatory.

Trolling online can also be, posting something, then just attacking the person when they answer. Kind of like old folk tales about a troll hiding under the bridge ready to jump out and eat you.

It's basically being an internet bully. (Though sometimes fun)

how exactly do you infer someone's intent from a few words on your computer screen half a world away? it was a simple observation that he was bigger than usual--something others observed as well. in any case i don't think my post was any more stupid than some of the drivel that gets tossed around here so much.

Kim