Another silly pedaling musing from me

[Martin318is]

Yes, I got it, just had some more information to submit as evidence your honour thanks to the excel chart I had received.

Bit worrying Fergie. given that my joke was actually addressed to Frank...

 

[biomac]

(...)
Anyhow, I think it would be hard to argue, based upon these results that Drew Peterson did anything but improve between 2010 and 2011 and that his use of very short cranks and arch cleats did not hurt his performance. Of course, one cannot say for certain, from this data alone, these changes account for his improved performance.

Frank,
once again please read this explanation of why and where bio-mxc² - or arch cleats you call it - also works with short cranks when it goes to tackle a climb.
For a better understanding see this graph: http://www.biomac.biz/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/biomac-y3_tretpiktogramm-236x300.jpg
With the traditional ball-above-spindle-position (red circle) the rider's positive (downstroke) forces can only be applied as long as 45% of the entire revolution. The rest of the spinning circle (55%) gets lost during upstroke therefore gets commonly called 'dead zone'. .
Riding midfoot (green circle) extends this time spent in downstroke zone by 10% and reduces dead zone to far less than 50% .
Now unlike on the flat where the only limiting force to a rider's momentum is aero drag riding uphill's crucial factor is gravity drag which translates into much more negative force as the rider's tot weight (bike + rider) contributes to it considerably whereas on the flat this tot weight would even increase (!) momentum.
So every time his foot leaves downstroke (acceleration) zone gravity drag moves in and the rider will suffer a considerable loss of momentum. Now by the time his second foot kicks in he has already lost speed. The steeper a climb/the heavier the rider, the more speed he has lost. And although hardly visible on the flat in steep climbs or with heavy weight this translates into something like a standing start every time the rider does his next downstroke.
Just imagine: a continuous standing start procedure every single downstroke.
Obvious that this adds up to terrible work load on a rider's thighs which will drive him straight into threshold zone - no matter what his powermeter will tell him!
Now if you combine bio-mxc² ( which stands for increased downstroke zone) with a short crank which again reduces the time of the foot spent in negative/gravity zone the rider's performance will improve notably because his momentum remains more constant. So less stop and go, less standing starts, less peak torque which will eventually sum up to less lactic acid, less fatigue -> better result, no matter what his powermeter will him.
Summary:
Its a rider's torque, not his watts, which decide on how good he performs up a climb. In turn, Torque is largely dependent on the time a rider's foot acts in downstroke zone. Short(er) cranks as well as bio-mxc² contribute to less fatigue, so better performance. In a climb.
Note:
Things change when riding on the flat, in a tt or a bike leg of a triathlon, that's where long(er) cranks have a beneficial effect.