Re: [CR]Narrow vs. wide drops ... and Urban Legends ...

(Example: Bike Shops)

Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 20:35:52 -0500
From: "John Thompson" <JohnThompson@new.rr.com>
Organization: The Crimson Permanent Assurance
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Narrow vs. wide drops ... and Urban Legends ...
References: <200605260539.WAA00525@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>
In-Reply-To: <200605260539.WAA00525@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>


Donald Gillies wrote:
> 5% more breathing capacity with wide bars ?? I can hardly believe it.
> The chest is a fixed cavity and you breathe by pulling the diaphragm
> down, drawing air into the lungs. The arms are unable to influence
> the size of that cavity. The diaphragm is several inches below where
> the arms are in all riding positions except facing backwards sitting
> on the handlebars steering with your hands behind your back.
>
> I'd like to see a reference to the "so-called" research that purports
> that wider bars increase breathing capacity ! ! !

The best I can find is that the effect of riding position, and presumably arm position, on breathing capacity is "inconclusive:"

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Volume 29(6) June 1997 pp 818-823

Influence of different racing positions on metabolic cost in elite cyclists

GNEHM, PETER; REICHENBACH, STEPHAN; ALTPETER, EKKEHARDT; WIDMER, HANS; HOPPELER, HANS

Department of Anatomy, University of Bern, CH-3000 Bern 9; and Institute of Sports Sciences, CH-2532 Magglingen, SWITZERLAND Submitted for publication January 1995. Accepted for publication January 1997.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=cache:-zpW-sQrM6wJ:www.ms-se.com/pt/re/msse/fulltext.00005768-199706000-00013.htm+factors+affecting+lung+volume+sports+medicine

--
John (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA