James Tibensky writes: > If your higher cadence comes from lily dipping and my slow one comes from > deep, long strokes, do you really think you're going faster than me? Six > inch long strokes at 100 strokes a minute will never beat two foot long > strokes at 75 a minute, will they? Not in my 300+ races experience it > won't. And it has nothing to do with the paddle, I'm sure. Or are you > saying that speed and efficiency are separate? > Yes, of course speed and efficiency are quite distinct things. I thought I took great pains to emphasize that point. Speed is just ds/dt; efficiency involves the ratio of output (as measured by speed, for instance) to input. Quoting myself: > While larger blades > can generate more power, that doesn't mean they're more efficient. They > also require more driving force, and the payback is not necessarily > greater per unit of input. Generally, with humans, as you increase power > output you get diminishing returns in terms of effort per energy output. > I think you've rather misstated my point. Yes, paddling longer strokes at the same rate develops more thrust. So does paddling a larger blade at the same rate. That's obvious; trivially so. But don't confuse speed with efficiency. They're related, yes; speed is a function of power input and efficiency (among other factors). Racers are not tourists. In a race, the object is not to achieve the highest efficiency; it's to win. Otherwise the Indy 500 would be raced in Honda Inspires ;-) -- mike ------------------------- Michael Edelman mje_at_spamcop.net http://www.foldingkayaks.org http://www.findascope.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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