This is a great idea - I love the maximise hills option :) It reminds me of one of our clubs TT routes which featured 1100M (3600ft) of climbing in 28miles, this would be great for generating some similar routes I reckon.
I know that Castle Coombe has regular bicycle races - both criteriums and time trials.
Pretty sure many of the circuits do, as its a good way to use the track and get some cash in, as they are often regulated in the number of motor races due to noise issues.
Yes - very true. I race timetrials and keeping a stable aero position requires effort and practice but it's worth it as the gains from aero improvements can be huge.
Another vote for deadlifting here. With a desk based day job and being a keen cyclist my posterior chain muscles were under-developed compared to my quads etc - deadlifting helped strengthen my glutes, hamstrings and lower back significantly and pretty much all of my back pain has gone.
I didn't use a coach, but did study a lot of videos on deadlift form and also videoed myself to check I was doing it properly.
Gates only quote between 95-98% efficiency. You can relatively easily get to 98% with conventional chains using wax and oversizing chainrings and sprockets and you don't need to worry about splitting your frame to replace them...
This is a very niche product but sounds like an interesting approach. The users of it likely won't care if it needs replacing every ride if it means saving watts and winning (olympic) races.
I am not suggesting that all 23c tyres are cheap, but that tyre quality (which comes at a cost) as well as size has an important part to play in comfort.
My 23c handmade FMB tubulars (definitely not cheap) are a much nicer ride than cheaper tyres.
Rolling resistance is far more complicated, on anything other than a wooden velodrome, the road surface actually means that there is a sweat-spot in terms of pressure - too low and rolling resistance will be high, as you say, this decreases up to a point at which the effects of the microbumps in the road start to cause energy losses through hysteresis and eventually the tyre bouncing over tiny bumps.
For a 23c tyre and a 70kg rider the optimum tyre pressure is actually typically in the 80-90psi range (5.5-6ATM) although again this is dependant on tyre quality, an expensive tubular tyre with very supple silk sidewalls can be run at higher pressure than a touring tyre with tough reinforced sidewalls.
Expensive bikes aren't for leaving around - they are for riding/racing. It is common to have a "beater" bike for cafe/shop/pub outings where its going to be locked up outside.
Helium can cause problems with the metals containing fusion reactors - He bubbles can get inside the metal structure and weaken it considerably:
"The sun makes energy by fusing hydrogen atoms, each with one proton, into helium atoms, which contain two protons. Helium is the byproduct of this reaction. Although it does not threaten the environment, it wreaks havoc upon the materials needed to make a fusion reactor.
"Helium is an element that we don't usually think of as being harmful," said Dr. Michael Demkowicz, associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. "It is not toxic and not a greenhouse gas, which is one reason why fusion power is so attractive."
However, if you force helium inside of a solid material, it bubbles out, much like carbon dioxide bubbles in carbonated water.
"Literally, you get these helium bubbles inside of the metal that stay there forever because the metal is solid," Demkowicz said. "As you accumulate more and more helium, the bubbles start to link up and destroy the entire material.""
https://cyclinguphill.com/bristol-south-mega-hilly/