Why do they want bobsleds to be heavier? I thought lighter things were faster.?
115763
Gravity states that if you drop 2 things at the same time, regardless of weight they would hit at the same time. Yet a larger mass rolling down a hill will gain more speed. Just watch the difference in speed from the skeleton & bobsled teams.
957813
Hi Either one of two answers. If the string is pulled and releases from the flywheel it allows more turns (faster wheel motion). If the string stays attached then you want the weight as small as possible.
892630
Um, bicycle weight is important to a certain extent. More to the point, rotating mass, such as wheel weight, is the key.\n\nSaving an ounce off of each wheel is like saving a pound off something that doesn't move, like the frame, handlebars, or saddle. I have a bike that weight 20 pounds or so (I don't know because I never weighed it), but it has an excellent set of wheels. At 45, I can wear cutoffs and a Tshirt, pass the "style" riders in all the latest gear, and they can't catch me. I love the part when I come up on them, they snicker and sneer, then they try to catch me. LOL!\n\nThat being said, the strength and skill of a rider is most important.\n\nBTW, don't discount Chrome Molybdneum (CrMo, Chrome Moly, or chrommoly) as a frame material. More races have been won on steel, including CrMo, than any other material.
426
i found myself picking up snowboarding faster than skiing. by picking up, i mean i felt ready to take on the more intermmediate/advanced runs after a day or two of the bunny slopes. one board and 2 turns (backside and frontside) was a lot less to deal with than 2 poles and 2 skis and limbs flailing around in different directions. moguls are harder on a snowboard and more fun on skis. flatter runs are more frustrating on a snowboard. getting off the ski lift seems easier on skis
649589
it's to emulate the effect of cycling on a real bike. IF there was no weight to cycle against, your legs could spin round and round very fast with no resistance. Cycling against the flywheel, it's tough to start it spinning and get up to speed, like on a real bike, and to keep it going round at speed takes effort, like a real bike.
984938
The simplest answer is balance.\n\nIt isn't energy - you expend the same whether you're pedalling or walking to achieve the difference in altitude.\n\nHowever, the cadence (rate at which you spin the pedals), and the gearing between your foot speed and the (rear) wheel speed  is a factor in the how fast the wheels move ... and therefore in how good a gyroscope you have. Faster feet (and faster wheel speed) means better balance.\n\nClimbing a hill, you trade off mechanical advantage for foot speed, at the expense of wheel speed. The amount of strength expended to keep the bike upright (by tweaking with your upper body) increases after a certain foot/wheel combination is achieved. Thus it becomes "harder" to do.\n\nThe other point of balance has been referred to earlier by another answerer; if the center of gravity (of the system, which includes both the rider and the bike) advances too far forward, there's a loss of balance. The same occurs if it moves too far rearward. At intermediate points, it requires more concentration and percieved effort to keep everything "rubber side down" ... thus it appears harder to accomplish some maneuvers on the bike.
114063
Of the sports in the Winter Olympics, I have to admit that skeleton bob is quite mad, but not the maddest. I think that honour has to go to Speed Skiing in Albertville in 1992. It was only a demonstration sport, but the winner was clocked at 212kph (not a sensible speed by any stretch of the imagination)
697168
The faster an object (in this case your arm) is moving, the more mass in the direction it's travelling it has.\n\nYou have to overcome the inertia (tendancy to stay in place in this case) holding the paper sheets to each other.  If you pull the roll slowly the paper doesn't tear and instead pulls out more paper; however, if you snap it quick the paper'll break off for you.  In other words: you produce more inertia in another direction than the paper can resist.\n\nA martial artist puts lots of power behind the motion, therefore building up enough inertia to break the board.  Olympic weightlifters do it too: rather than moving slowly to lift the weight and therefore wasting energy, they instead lift it as quickly as possible, putting all the energy they can into the lift.
26550
Watch "Cool Runnings" its a great movie about the Jamaican bobsled team making it big.\n\nI think they use boibsleds, but without skis. They use wheels and go on big hills. I think.
1165464
Well, actually, your theory is very similar to that of the Theory of Relativity, or something. If you slowed down time by moving faster, the objects would literally gain weight. (Fat people, plz do not go on space missions...) And once you were travelling at the speed of light, you would have infinite weight. (But of course, your MASS would still be the same. So fat people should let out a big breath.) I'm not sure exactly which theory this is...
957723
Stronger, more flexible, light weight
128774
Obviously, the 700 would be quicker. I can't give you exact numbers tho. I can tell you that 60mph on a quad feels like 120mph, and they are not designed to be ridden that fast.
159011
I get the one man luge.  It's a guy on a sled going a hundred miles an hour.  I'm okay with it.\nThe skeleton.  We're talking dangerous; because they're sliding head first. So I respect it.\nTwo man luge?  I'm thinking someone lost a bet.\nOne thing for sure.  You'll never see the gold medalists on a breakfast cereal.
704662
The theory is strong.  It should work that, if an athlete were to train under a progressively increasing gravitational pull, he or she would perform proprtionately better under in a lower-gravity environment.\n\nThe converse is true, as proven by astronauts that return to earth after long stints in micro-gravity.  They have been quoted as saying that a standard wrist watch becomes a bowling ball on after as little as 30 days in orbit.
877390
LOl oh wow, i never heard that, i thought if u tighten up it does make them c/um FASTER. LOL
145524
they go faster over a slop and bumpy things (from what i've heard) and they go slower on very flat and wet surfaces.\nhope i helped!:)
202373
Diameter? Think extremes, a 20" diameter wheel will go much further in one revolution than a 10" wheel. So with the engine doing the same speed, the car would go further in the same amount of time - faster!\n\nSo providing both wheels weighed the same, a larger diameter tyre will make the car go faster.\n\nIn practise the wheel and tyre weighs more, so the difference is hardly noticed, you can have a wheel that is too big. Someone once put 19" wheels on his big powerful car and kept snapping his driveshafts!