Marlfox87

Is Digging ever really done?

@ dhridernz and carlmontnative I'd argue that the statement is valid: 1) You're operating on the assumption that on a DH course a 29 would roll faster. A 29" bike doesn't roll faster than a 26" bike. A 29" bike maintains it's velocity at a lower rate of energy: IE, it's easier to ride faster on a 29" bike over a certain distance. Mathematically speaking this means that the bike will maintain speed easier, but will do so at the cost of taking longer to accelerate and decelerate. If the course rewards a single consistent speed (as is often the case in a XC race) then a 29" will have the advantage. If the course rewards speed adaptability (as is often the case on more technical DH trails) a 26" will have the advantage. In the end "Faster" will most likely be determined by the course and how the rider rides it. 2) Statistically speaking there is no proof that Gwin was 'faster' than his average run. There is only one data point. So, the assumption that Gwin would have lost is he had been on a 26" is actually invalid. He very well could have won on a 26" bike. In fact, if you were to accept this single data point and compare it to his average time over the rest of the field then it would appear that he was in fact slower on the 29er. I'm not entirely certain what the specific would be, but from what I've gathered I'd estimate it being somewhere between 3-5 seconds. So long story short- There is no way of definitively telling if Gwin riding the 29er provided him with a distinct advantage. And there is no way of telling whether or not Gwin was 'faster'. At least from an objective standpoint at least. However, judging from the race results it would appear that a 29er did not provide a hands down ADVANTAGE, nor a DISADVANTAGE.

That gap is bigger than the one in his mouth

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