Quote from rmillay on Aug 3rd, 2011, 1:54pm:Again I will remind you, Bud, the weight (or mass) of a falling object does not appear in the equation for acceleration due to gravity. Thanks to that meddling Italian, Galileo, we have to face it, that gravity only works against us, not for us.
That's just not true at all. Step off that second floor balcony and tell me that gravity doesn't take you down.
This isn't rocket science, folks. Get past the half-baked coast down tests and find the ones where people took it seriously. Weight is a factor in downhill speed. Period. (Just as it's a factor in uphill speed.)
Another x-factor thrown into all the test riding is the fact that weight has so little effect when riding on flats. At speed, aerodynamics and comfort are the biggest factors there. (Never underestimate the comfort factor.)
But it's always been amazing to me how few people seem to know how weight really affects the speed of a bicycle. It doesn't take that much research to find out. And it's always struck me strange that the lightest riders, who will be the ones slowed down the most by a heavier bike, seem to never pay attention to bike weight when they buy, while the heavy riders, who will be affected very little by bike weight, turn into bike weight weenies. Go figure.