Some years ago tubeless tires were introduced to the sport of mountain biking. The premise was that a tire that did not use a tube could be run at lower air pressures without the risk of pinch flatting from rocks or roots.
The manufacturer developing this wheel system did not find the acceptance they had hoped for. Undaunted, this manufacturer flew quite a few pros out to their facilities for some testing.
First the riders did a warm up lap. Next, they were instructed to inflate their own tubed wheelset to whatever psi(air pressure) they desired. Then they were told to let it rip out on the course as they would be timed. After these pros finished the first timed lap, their wheelsets were swapped out for tubeless ones. The manufacturer at this point inflated the tubeless tires to a much lower psi. The cyclists were sent out a for a second timed lap.
As the riders pulled off the course after this second timed lap, every last one of them swore the second lap on the tubeless tires was not as fast as the first lap on their own higher psi tubed wheels. And they were all wrong. The timing clocks told no lies.
The reason these seasoned racers perceived their first timed lap to be the fastest was due to the higher air pressure. Every rock and root hit sent a more solid impact into the racers body. They endured more physical jarring, and they were more fatigued at the courses finish. They attributed a higher average speed to causing all this body pounding. In the end, it was concluded that having a lower psi tire conform to the shape of rocks and roots, was more efficient than having higher psi tires bounce vertically off of them.
I would submit that with lighting, tight and bright hot spots produce a similar situational misreading. Left to our own devices, it is likely we view the contrast of a narrow bright beam with relation to dark surroundings as being more effective, or superior. In truth, when compared to flood beams, the thrower has shown us less, but we give it credit for more. This is the illusion of visual fatigue.
At any 24hour bike race, it is all flood lights. No throwers thrashing about in the night sky like light sabers. In timed events, these cyclist have found that you are most capable when using your eyeballs as intended. That means having access to your peripheral vision. In the woods, a thrower will cause you to overshoot every turn, resulting in excessive braking. This is the reality of how our vision functions. What we visually track in our periphery provides far more information than what we detect at our focal points.
Yes I know, we were all nocturnal snipers in another life, and needed throwers then. But this is not that life.:laughing:
The manufacturer developing this wheel system did not find the acceptance they had hoped for. Undaunted, this manufacturer flew quite a few pros out to their facilities for some testing.
First the riders did a warm up lap. Next, they were instructed to inflate their own tubed wheelset to whatever psi(air pressure) they desired. Then they were told to let it rip out on the course as they would be timed. After these pros finished the first timed lap, their wheelsets were swapped out for tubeless ones. The manufacturer at this point inflated the tubeless tires to a much lower psi. The cyclists were sent out a for a second timed lap.
As the riders pulled off the course after this second timed lap, every last one of them swore the second lap on the tubeless tires was not as fast as the first lap on their own higher psi tubed wheels. And they were all wrong. The timing clocks told no lies.
The reason these seasoned racers perceived their first timed lap to be the fastest was due to the higher air pressure. Every rock and root hit sent a more solid impact into the racers body. They endured more physical jarring, and they were more fatigued at the courses finish. They attributed a higher average speed to causing all this body pounding. In the end, it was concluded that having a lower psi tire conform to the shape of rocks and roots, was more efficient than having higher psi tires bounce vertically off of them.
I would submit that with lighting, tight and bright hot spots produce a similar situational misreading. Left to our own devices, it is likely we view the contrast of a narrow bright beam with relation to dark surroundings as being more effective, or superior. In truth, when compared to flood beams, the thrower has shown us less, but we give it credit for more. This is the illusion of visual fatigue.
At any 24hour bike race, it is all flood lights. No throwers thrashing about in the night sky like light sabers. In timed events, these cyclist have found that you are most capable when using your eyeballs as intended. That means having access to your peripheral vision. In the woods, a thrower will cause you to overshoot every turn, resulting in excessive braking. This is the reality of how our vision functions. What we visually track in our periphery provides far more information than what we detect at our focal points.
Yes I know, we were all nocturnal snipers in another life, and needed throwers then. But this is not that life.:laughing:
