Hi All,
Putting the arms to work seems like a logical thing to do on a long
quiet ride, rather than just resting. After some testing, it seems that
10-15% arm-power assist at moderate range 100-150 watts is quite
practical. Overall gain is not much, just ~1mph, but speed is more
steady over slight changes in elevation or wind, similar to pedelec I
guess. I am more intrigued by the synergy between arms and legs, quite
different from rowing where the roles are switched. Steering seems more
confident somehow, as if the hands have some direct influence on the
pedals, new nueron connections?
Yes, at first the arms do get tired but some moderate excercise should
be good in the long run. Can't imagine the exhaustion from pushing the
level of power mentioned in the article below...
Cheers,
Vi
http://journals.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/10417.pdf
Arm and Leg Exercise in Cycling
In a series of studies examining arm and leg exercise in cycling, we
found that
for a 1-min period, 6 subjects increased their power output by 17% using arm
and leg exercise compared to leg power alone (522 watts vs. 470 watts
average
for the 6 subjects). The most efficient mode of arm exercise was
bilateral op-
posed (arms moving opposite to their respective legs).
[python] Re: probefahrt entspannt
* /From/: "brechtix" <brecht.vandeputte@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* /To/: <python@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* /Date/: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 19:34:21 +0200
Wenn es mal schneller gehen soll, dann drücke ich mit
den Händen meine Knie, was so etwa 4 km/h bringt.
Then it would be the world's most efficient arm-power assist. However
extatic their owners and regardless of the great workout, I gather the
Thys Rowbikes are no faster than merely leg-driven hpv's. Probably our
heart & lung system provides a limit to the total wattage of arms and
legs combined.
I rode an armpowered trike once and it went very well for about a km,
then I found out my arm muscles were not trained for endurance. First
time I had spaghetti arms instead of - legs.
It's another fascinating aspect of the Python setup that without any
mechanical complexity or weight penalty one could deliver arm assist for
a short anaerobic outburst of acceleration or a short climb. In city
traffic I use the hamstrings for that trick.
