I'm no physicist but I'd guess the speed at which aerodynamic drag makes a significant difference between a large rider like Craw and myself and a smaller rider on big jump trails is going to be higher than most of us are reasonably going.
Anecdotally I have two friends who are both on the smaller side of medium and roughly the same build, and I have like, 60+ lbs on both. For one, I know I can follow at their trail speed and clear stuff blind. The other if I follow at their speed, I'm going to die.
On the other side of the equation, it's obvious when I follow my smaller friends (read: all of them) that my weight is simply better at overcoming inconvenient forces like bearing friction, etc, where I can hang on and catch them on any sort of faster non-brake straight section and they have to pump and work the terrain to generate the same speed.
Dec. 2, 2024, 3:48 p.m. - Jotegir
I'm no physicist but I'd guess the speed at which aerodynamic drag makes a significant difference between a large rider like Craw and myself and a smaller rider on big jump trails is going to be higher than most of us are reasonably going. Anecdotally I have two friends who are both on the smaller side of medium and roughly the same build, and I have like, 60+ lbs on both. For one, I know I can follow at their trail speed and clear stuff blind. The other if I follow at their speed, I'm going to die. On the other side of the equation, it's obvious when I follow my smaller friends (read: all of them) that my weight is simply better at overcoming inconvenient forces like bearing friction, etc, where I can hang on and catch them on any sort of faster non-brake straight section and they have to pump and work the terrain to generate the same speed.