Reducing weight... what about my hair?

[RoadRaven]

Hmmm... you might be on to something here, Kano...

If I bike nekkid, not only would I be lighter but I would give everyone else such a fright it would throw them off their game!

So... always train with clothes on because you carry that extra weight...

And always race nekkid (except for helmet and gloves of course! got to have some decorum, and riding a bike without a helmet would just feel wrong!) because not only will I be seconds faster with reduced weight, but everyone else in the pack will lose valuable time/momentum being stunned and I will be able to make a clean break...

Oh, and as I type... I just realised, it would be a huge time advantage in toilet stops too! (In fact, you could do the Tour de France thing, and not even get off the bike - that could ensure the gap stays big too!!!!
ROFLMFAO

*Rave wanders away thoughfully.... hmmm.... I don't think there's anything in BikeNZ rules or UCI regs stipulating you HAVE to wear clothes, just what clothing you are NOT allowed...*

[csr1210]

Too funny - I am rofl about potty stops (and stunning the competition)- what a great solution

[annie]

If you ride fast enough - sans clothing and hair -- they won't even see that you're naked!! You'll be a blur of motion! LOL!

Seriously, here's what I think about the hair. It won't make enough of a diff to be noticeable. BUT, but, but! It could make you FEEL faster and more dedicated to speed! And part of this is mental, you know. If you feel faster and think faster, in all likelihood, you will ride faster. Besides, hair will grow back. Why not give it a try?

Annie

[RoadRaven]

LOL Annie... I think I am leaning towards chopping it off, you are so right - so much competitive stuff is mental... not just physical...

...but prolly not til our spring/summer... its too darn cold to lose my natural warmth at the moment!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Don't forget to take out your false teeth and your glass eye before a race...and of course leave the gel-filled WonderBra at home...

[RoadRaven]

Don't have false teeth, or glasses or glass eye or any prosthetics...

But... if I take this further... mebbe if a shave off ALL body hair... you know, turn up to a race like Pink in Pink Floyds "The Wall" - not only would I freak everyone out, but I must - surely MUST be lighter!!!

[Starfish]

What about a colonic purge with a quick refill of Gu?

[Kano]

Well, now, how about making sure to exfoliate all over the night before the race too -- all those dead skin cells, you know...

Oh, and wax your arms, and well, let's see, where else do you have body hair???

Karen in Boise

[Caecilia]

Eyelashes and eyebrows definitely have to go, then. And can you trim your nails just a bit farther?

FWIW, I have the hobbit hair too - once it gets an inch or two below my shoulders, it stops growing longer and just gets bushier. Last month I had a few inches chopped off and the rest thinned. Two days later at my weekly weigh-in, I was down four pounds! Usual is 1-1.5, so I figure about 2.5 pounds of that was hair.

[rapid cycler]

OK, cycling isn't the totality of my reasoning for keeping my head shorn, but the lack of helmet hair is a nice side benefit.

[RoadRaven]

Rapid... I had that haircut about 9 years ago - it was brilliant. I wasn't cycling, but it brilliant!

DaqDaq... my hair sits between my shoulders at the moment. For training rides and bunch road races I just tie it in a ponytail, and I also wear a head band or tie a silk scark as if it were a head band. That way i don't get hair flicking into my face.

In a Time Trial I plait it and tie it in a sort-of-bun, then I have a wide silk scarf I tie right over my hair to hold everything in place and (hopefully) increase my aerodynamics.


As for the wieght of hair - its actually hard to find this out.
I have found that one person believes her hair, which reached down to the middle of her back (a bit longer than mine) weighed 1/4 of a pound. So thats like a quarterpounder... not worth worring about really... Someone else thought 1/2 a pound...

OK... so maybe I stop obsessing... BUT!!! how much water does hair hold? Not my sweat... as kano already so wisely pointed out, I was already carrying that with me... but when it rains, how much 'extra' do I carry with me in my hair???

Hmmmm... no need for me to relinquish my anal-retentiveness about this YET!

[Eden]

OK... so maybe I stop obsessing... BUT!!! how much water does hair hold? Not my sweat... as kano already so wisely pointed out, I was already carrying that with me... but when it rains, how much 'extra' do I carry with me in my hair???

Hmmmm... no need for me to relinquish my anal-retentiveness about this YET!

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

[smilingcat]

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

dump excess water out your water bottle and get a new bottle at the top of your climb. You want to be out of water totally near the top of your climb but still hydrated. And this also assume that you can get a fresh bottle of water at the top.

quart is roughly a liter, which is a kilo or 2.2lb so a pint would weigh whopping 1.1lb. Serious weight in them water bottles


BTW love that Rapidcylcer's ORBEA ... I wish my ORBEA was the same model... snif..

Smilingcat

[RoadRaven]

OK... I have been meaning to BUMP this thread for a while now...

Just before the Road Cycling Nationals last year (October 2007) my son (competing in U17 time trial and road race) asked me to cut his hair. I think this decision was based on aerodynamics rather than weight.

I really didn't want too, he looked great with long hair... It was down between his shoulders... measuring from the base of his hairline on his neck it was just on 10cm long.

So I gave him a number 4... arrrgh... it was hard...

But we gathered it all up and weighed it. Dry it was 250grams.
Unfortunately, it was thrown out before I could weigh it wet

So there you go... 1/2pound or 250grams if your hair is below your shoulders (and dry)...

[RoadRaven]

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

Well... 1/2pound of hair gone from my son...
Its official - if you want to be even faster up those hills Eden, your gonna be cutting your hair!