Reading time: ca. 3 min. | An article by Alfons Urban | TUNAP Blog
Gold and world record for women's team pursuit
TUNAP has made a valuable contribution to extremely successful competitions at this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo by optimizing the drives of the track bikes of the German track cyclists.
Through cooperation with the FES Institute (Research and Development Sports Equipment), not only the chains, as in previous competitions, but complete drives were optimized. The primary goal was and is always to keep the power loss as low as possible, which increases the efficiency. In order to be able to celebrate successes such as the triple world record set by the German women's team pursuit, the need for detailed fine-tuning was demonstrated several times at the Tokyo Olympics.
The load strand is the upper, taut part of the chain, the empty strand is the lower, sagging part: The slack in the empty strand corresponds to about 1% of the center distance.
The track bike: fixed drive and no freewheel
As an example, the side sketch shows the drive of a track bike. A track bike is characterized by a so-called fixed drive: a fixed gear ratio that can only be changed by swapping the gears. In addition, a track bike has no freewheel, which means that you have to pedal constantly. The speed can only be increased or decreased by the cadence.
The chain tension is adjusted by moving the rear wheel and corresponds in the so-called empty strand - the sagging, load-free part of the chain - to a sag of approx. 1% of the center distance.
Chain test bench at TUNAP.
What does all of this have to do with TUNAP lubricants?
Through its research and development work in recent years, TUNAP has gained a lot of experience in the area of the efficiency of bicycle drives.
With our test stand, which simulates the technology of the bicycle very realistically, very high loads can be applied to the drive. This enables us to determine measurement results in a relatively short time and use them for further development.
Increase in efficiency thanks to OMC2 technology
The OMC2 technology has been known at TUNAP for years. Thanks to our further developments, the effect of micro-smoothing could be significantly improved, whereby the development of heat and wear could be extremely minimized. Indirectly, this means an increase in efficiency and a minimization of power loss.
We use this metal smoothing effect to make the bicycle drives - the chainrings, sprockets and the chain - significantly more efficient compared to the competition or to new parts.
Mathematical advantage thanks to TUNAP lubrication in track cycling disciplines
| Discipline | Power Ø | Distance | Time without TUNAP | Power loss without TUNAP Ø | Power loss with TUNAP Ø | Time with TUNAP | Advantage through TUNAP |
| Time trial | 1,045 watts | 1.000 m | 56,3" | 16,072 watts | 12,054 watts | 56,1" | 0,2" |
| Team tracking | 1,000 watts | 4.000 m | 03' 48,9" | 16 Watt | 12 watts | 03' 47,8" | 1,1" |
| Time trial road | 500 watts | 30 km | 36' 30,7" | 8 watts | 6 watts | 36' 21,8" | 8,9" |
| Classic races | 300 watts | 250 km | 6h 5' 51,2" | 4.8 watts | 2.8 watts | 6h 4' 4,7" | 1' 46,5" |
Sprint bike and jersey of Robert Förstemann at TUNAP
Due to the long-standing cooperation with the FES Institute and German track cycling, the original sprint bike and jersey of track cycling professional and Olympic participant Robert Förstemann (Olympic bronze medal in team sprint 2012, World Championship gold medal in team sprint 2010, European Championship gold medal in team sprint 2010, 2013 and 2016) is now on display at TUNAP. TUNAP lubricants were also used in Robert Förstemann's sprint bike.
Our chain lubricants for professional and popular sports
An improved version of the TUNAP Sports Chain Oil Ultimate is already being developed and will again set new standards in terms of power loss and efficiency. A variant of a dry lubricant is also at an advanced stage of development and will provide additional advantages in terms of cleanliness of the drive and dirt attraction.
Be curious and stay curious about our innovations. Our ambition is to develop the best chain lubricants in the world and to support cyclists in professional and amateur sports with our know-how in the best possible way!
