Shifting and Drivetrain - The RX 100 bar end shifters and Campy deraillers with Hyperglide cluster shift perfectly and access to all three chainrings are buttery. High tension side is maintained by two nylon sealed bearing pulleys, one quite larger than the other. Chainline angle at the seat is about only 25 degrees to minimize losses, with the second high tension pulley angle at less than 5 degrees. Jeff Babcock and I are just leaving for our Sunday Group Ride Aerodynamics - Aerodynamics is the single most important issue regarding speed on a bike. Note the much lower riding position compared to the Y-Bike rider.
Some theories state that closer to the ground air move less than higher up.
I am less than half the height of Jeff, subsequently, my total frontal area is less than half his. Resistance - Most of the weight is shared amonst the two front tires. I think they are exagerating things a bit, the total of the three tires do have more rolling resistance than a two wheeler, though not by much. On numerous tests in organized rides, I have even out coasted tandem teams, the usual champions in this league. It will be interesting to compare it to Bill Murphy's low racer or the M-5, Festina type bikes.