Aerodynamics - can cycling teach athletics a thing or two?
Posted: 26 Aug 2015, 3:39pm
I've been watching the world athletics championships and have been struck by the number of athletes who have manes of long flowing hair. Nearly always this is constrained into a "bunch", but nonetheless it jumps from side to side as they run. Even less streamlined are the hairstyles with long "dreadlock style" bunches (pardon me for clumsy descriptions), which may even have hairpieces interwoven.
These athletes are running at 24+ mph. At such a speed in cycling we notice aerodynamic drag quite considerably. In fact we notice at much lower speeds, whether competing or simply riding into a headwind. Team Sky has based much of it's success on the mantra "marginal gains". So why do these top class athletes race (with what seems to be a wind brake on their head) when the difference between gold and silver can (and is) measured to within a hundredth of a second?
I remember Kathy Freeman running in a skinsuit. Swimmers shave their bodies to improve the hydrodynamics. Swimwear material has been manufactured to reduce drag (to the extent that it became banned). Track cyclists wear cone shaped helmets, and have done for over a hundred years. Even "dropped" bars are an aid to overcoming aerodynamic drag.
I do understand the need for individual identity and personal expression, and your hair style is part of this. I would support this, But it does seem to me that the athletes are at odds with the wider sporting world of "marginal gains", especially when the margins are so small.
These athletes are running at 24+ mph. At such a speed in cycling we notice aerodynamic drag quite considerably. In fact we notice at much lower speeds, whether competing or simply riding into a headwind. Team Sky has based much of it's success on the mantra "marginal gains". So why do these top class athletes race (with what seems to be a wind brake on their head) when the difference between gold and silver can (and is) measured to within a hundredth of a second?
I remember Kathy Freeman running in a skinsuit. Swimmers shave their bodies to improve the hydrodynamics. Swimwear material has been manufactured to reduce drag (to the extent that it became banned). Track cyclists wear cone shaped helmets, and have done for over a hundred years. Even "dropped" bars are an aid to overcoming aerodynamic drag.
I do understand the need for individual identity and personal expression, and your hair style is part of this. I would support this, But it does seem to me that the athletes are at odds with the wider sporting world of "marginal gains", especially when the margins are so small.