Pennies for your thoughts?

[davids]

I had an interesting experience this morning, and I thought I'd share it. (No, this is not for the Penthouse Forum.)

One of the guys I was riding with was carrying a large water bottle that he'd filled with pennies. He claimed it weighs about 7 lbs. I can't confirm that, but it was certainly heavy. I popped it into the cage on my seat tube for a few minutes, long enough to do some climbing and descending.

It was very noticable when climbing or accelerating - It felt like my rear tire had gone flat. Acceleration was sluggish, and definitely more work. I could feel the extra mass.

I was also aware of the weight whenever I steered the bike. The change in the center of gravity, or maybe the front-rear weight distribution, was probably the biggest difference here. I'd move - wait a beat - and the bike responded. I don't think the weight caused this as much as the location and concentration of the weight.

I'm not exactly sure why this guy uses this extra weight. It was interesting to try it for a few minutes, but I felt it screwed up my bike handling more than anything else. If I want to work harder on a climb, I'll find a steeper hill!

Has anyone else heard of doing this, or done this?

[LegendRider]

I believe the triathlete Mike Pigg used to market a weight that was designed to attach under the bottom bracket for the same purpose. I know a local Cat 1 who used to put sand in his water bottles during the winter.

[bostondrunk]

Its useless.
Think about heart rate and/or power output.
Training with extra weights, heavier wheels, Sandy on your handlebars, etc., will only make your training speed slower at a given heart rate / power output.
IMHO cheers mp bro, atmo

[Serpico]

...

One of the guys I was riding with was carrying a large water bottle that he'd filled with pennies. He claimed it weighs about 7 lbs.

...



they have a machine at the grocery store he can dump those pennies in and get bills back

[catulle]

Its useless.
Think about heart rate and/or power output.
Training with extra weights, heavier wheels, Sandy on your handlebars, etc., will only make your training speed slower at a given heart rate / power output.
IMHO cheers mp bro, atmo

word atmo pbr

[Too Tall]

Nr. Nachurl you forgot to say "oh SNAP".

BD - I forget sometimes you are a drunk...that's all I wanted to say.

[Ray]

I carry one all the time - need it to meet the UCI weight limit.

Bikes these days - just STUPID light :cool:

-Ray

[lnomalley]

i just troll the local coffee shops for a fat guy in serotta kit and rope him up to my seat post and do hill repeats. saves the pennies from dirtying up the nice bottles.
:P
;)

*evil laugh

[vandeda]

I know a local Cat 1 who used to put sand in his water bottles during the winter.

I personally like to fill my tubes with sand ... not only do I get the extra weight for training, but it's its own built-in run-flat feature. Highly recommended.

dan

[shaq-d]

i just troll the local coffee shops for a fat guy in serotta kit and rope him up to my seat post and do hill repeats. saves the pennies from dirtying up the nice bottles.
:P
;)

*evil laugh

omg, so that's you that picks me up every sunday morning!

sd

[vaxn8r]

What I do is gain 10 lbs every winter. Then I put on my heavy winter clothing and ride in the rain, soaking wet, on my winter bike clad with fenders, extenders and heavy tires. By then I'm about 20 lbs overweight. That works pretty well for me.

[gasman]

What I do is gain 10 lbs every winter. Then I put on my heavy winter clothing and ride in the rain, soaking wet, on my winter bike clad with fenders, extenders and heavy tires. By then I'm about 20 lbs overweight. That works pretty well for me.

And you still kick my a$$

[vaxn8r]

And you still kick my a$$
Heh...