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Old 01-24-2012, 08:36 PM   #69 (permalink)
pete c
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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I think extra weight can be helpful if your drive includes long not very steep declines where the extra weight keeps you at a high enough speed to avoid being run down. On level ground it will hurt you, although the lengthened P&G cycles may lessen the pain some.

As for rolling losses being a certain percentage of load a 30 mph, that depends quite a bit on weight. When I am on my bicycle at 25 mph on level ground, I am hammering it pretty damn hard. If I am lucky enough to catch the rear bumper of a city bus, I can and have maintained better than 30 mph with damn near no power output because the bus knocks my aero drag down to next to nothing, but, it does zilch for my rolling losses.

A 5000 lb car, doing the same thing will see little difference in throttle inputs.
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