More Slide Questions ( Sorry, Longish )

[[old] mpukita]

<!--QuoteBegin-Canoeist+Jul 18 2005, 01:42 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Canoeist @ Jul 18 2005, 01:42 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-John Rupp+Jul 18 2005, 12:45 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(John Rupp @ Jul 18 2005, 12:45 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->the bungees on slides store the rower's weight force and toss the rower in the other direction at the end of each stroke. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />The bungees are at both ends of the slides. They would hurt your stroke as you stored energy in the bungee. As my physics professor said, "there is no free lunch!"<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Paul Flack<br /><br />PS: The force that can be stored in the bungees is very minimal. A fully extended bungee does not have enough force to overcome the friction in the slide wheels in order to move me back to the center of the slide. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Paul:<br /><br />Amen. <br /><br />I got my slides last week and you're right, the bungees (and I use that term loosely as they are more like glorified unstretched rubber bands with fabric coating) can hardly keep the slides centered even when there is no weight (such as a C2) on them. Their impact would appear so infinitesimal that I'm sure it's not measurable.<br /><br />For me, there is no question that they are easier on the lower back. As well, they REALLY help one realize strong leg drive and how very little the back and shoulders really do for power during the stroke. Poor form is absolutely transformed into poor pace almost instantaneously on the PM3. Much more so than without slides (at least for me). Why would this be?<br /><br />Thanks -- Mark<br />