Gears

[bottombracket]

I stand corrected - horses for courses apparently!

Pain is no friend of mine... I just enjoy riding my bike...

I find that at 90rpm, I can do 80-100 miles a day for consecutive days fully luggaged-up (as long as I'm reasonably fit before I set off, of course).

Long happy days...

 

[Debian]

Not everyone wants to get stronger. Some of us just want to get from A to B, faster than walking, in relative comfort.

Getting stronger will come anyway, there's no need to go and make yourself hurt.

Klaus - find the rate of pedal spinning (it's called cadence) that feels comfortable for you. Then use your gears to try and maintain it as near as possible. So, higher downhill, and lower uphill. That's all there is to it.

Unless you're somewhere very hilly, you'll probably find you only need to use the sprockets (the gears at the wheel end) - I use 3 or 4 gears on a regular basis. I save the chainrings (the ones at the pedal end) for the more hilly bits.

+1

A large part of the reason why I cycle is because walking is too slow and boring. I don't necessarily want to become Mr Magic-Thighs so I spin fairly fast, I've not counted but I'd guess at around 90 rpm, maybe a little less.

And yes, find a comfortable cadence and stick to it by judicious use of the gears. It's the same principle when hiking, keep the same number of steps per minute - smaller strides uphill and longer ones downhill.

 

[jimboalee]

Not everyone wants to get stronger. Some of us just want to get from A to B, faster than walking, in relative comfort.

Getting stronger will come anyway, there's no need to go and make yourself hurt.

Klaus - find the rate of pedal spinning (it's called cadence) that feels comfortable for you. Then use your gears to try and maintain it as near as possible. So, higher downhill, and lower uphill. That's all there is to it.

Unless you're somewhere very hilly, you'll probably find you only need to use the sprockets (the gears at the wheel end) - I use 3 or 4 gears on a regular basis. I save the chainrings (the ones at the pedal end) for the more hilly bits.

Some of us might need to accelerate away from the path of a truck,, quickly.
No immediate strength, no lightning acceleration, splat!

There really is NO excuse NOT to have some 'full throttle' when you need it.

Maybe this is the reason why so many un-strong cyclist get caught by trucks. The cyclist can't get out of the way fast enough.
OK, the truck driver was totally at fault, but that doesn't mean the cyclist has to become a martyr.

 

[Debian]

Some of us might need to accelerate away from the path of a truck,, quickly.
No immediate strength, no lightning acceleration, splat!

There really is NO excuse NOT to have some 'full throttle' when you need it.

Maybe this is the reason why so many un-strong cyclist get caught by trucks. The cyclist can't get out of the way fast enough.
OK, the truck driver was totally at fault, but that doesn't mean the cyclist has to become a martyr.

And no doubt there are some motor vehicle collisions that could be avoided if one of the drivers had the skills of Michael Schumacher. It doesn't mean that every driver has to be trained to F1 standards.

If by "full throttle" you mean the ability to turn on the personal supercharger and accelerate from 12 to 30 mph instantly then there are all sorts of excuses reasons NOT to be able to do this.

 

[jimboalee]

And no doubt there are some motor vehicle collisions that could be avoided if one of the drivers had the skills of Michael Schumacher. It doesn't mean that every driver has to be trained to F1 standards.

If by "full throttle" you mean the ability to turn on the personal supercharger and accelerate from 12 to 30 mph instantly then there are all sorts of excuses reasons NOT to be able to do this.

It is the very reason that 'ordinary' drivers haven't the skills of Micheal Schumacher that I like to know I can GTFO of their way.

Could you list some reasons why cyclists will never need the ability to accererate at the same rate as motor traffic.....

Think about it Debian, if you CAN'T stand up and honk it, you are missing a skill.
Then again, you might be satisfied to ride round with a skills shortage.

 

[bottombracket]

Good Morning,
I couldn't resist...

Really experienced cyclists try to turn the pedals as few times as possible...

I guess I'm not very experienced...
I've only ridden my bike nearly every day for the last 25 years or so...
(Sold the car in '89).

In that time, I've ridden with National & ex National Champions, a Commonwealth junior medallist and a World Champ Trackie - none of them rode with the 60rpm technique you describe - all of them could whip my a55 (even if riding a shopping bike ).

Energy conservation and low cadence are different things.

Lance apparently spins 100, Hoy 120+ at full steam - when I can beat them, I will feel ready to criticise their technique.

I was lucky enough to hang out at Manchester velodrome during a GB Olympic team traing session (Wiggins, Staff etc) - same story...

I read an article a few years ago by a coach to some pro Tour riders. He restricts their low cadence/high resistance workouts to once every couple of weeks - and then only for short-ish sessions to recruit the slow twitch muscle fibres you mentioned. (muscle fibre proportions can be changed)

I, personally, take the same approach (short periods at low cadence/stiff gear to gain strength...

Just time for another coffee before I pedal off to work! @90

(Klaus - you've opened a can of worms Very interesting... Sorry we've hijacked your thread.)

 

[jethro10]

It is the very reason that 'ordinary' drivers haven't the skills of Micheal Schumacher that I like to know I can GTFO of their way.

Could you list some reasons why cyclists will never need the ability to accererate at the same rate as motor traffic.....

Think about it Debian, if you CAN'T stand up and honk it, you are missing a skill.
Then again, you might be satisfied to ride round with a skills shortage.

I probably am a million skills short of a full set and don't give a damn.

I change gear till it feels a bit too hard then change back one so it's nice n easy if that helps the OP.
I've been re-biking for a year or so now and it's still made me a lot fitter, even though I don't really try for that.

to me it's all about pleasure, whether that comes from fresh air, saying hello to the old couple out buying the sunday paper as I fly past, or stopping to take a photo.

But as i say, a great side affect of this is increased fitness - skills or no skills.

Jeff

 

[Randochap]

Gears are a tool. Use the gear you need to get the job done, depending upon what that job is -- pleasure or pay (not sure many here make their living on the bike).

If the tool you have doesn't do the job, consider changing or adapting.

 

[jimboalee]

Good Morning,
I couldn't resist...


I guess I'm not very experienced...
I've only ridden my bike nearly every day for the last 25 years or so...
(Sold the car in '89).

In that time, I've ridden with National & ex National Champions, a Commonwealth junior medallist and a World Champ Trackie - none of them rode with the 60rpm technique you describe - all of them could whip my a55 (even if riding a shopping bike ).

Energy conservation and low cadence are different things.

Lance apparently spins 100, Hoy 120+ at full steam - when I can beat them, I will feel ready to criticise their technique.

I was lucky enough to hang out at Manchester velodrome during a GB Olympic team traing session (Wiggins, Staff etc) - same story...

I read an article a few years ago by a coach to some pro Tour riders. He restricts their low cadence/high resistance workouts to once every couple of weeks - and then only for short-ish sessions to recruit the slow twitch muscle fibres you mentioned. (muscle fibre proportions can be changed)

I, personally, take the same approach (short periods at low cadence/stiff gear to gain strength...

Just time for another coffee before I pedal off to work! @90

(Klaus - you've opened a can of worms Very interesting... Sorry we've hijacked your thread.)

I'm not criticising anyone's technique. Only forwarding an observation from forty five years of cycling.

I was lucky enough to chat with Mike Burrows and Chris Boardman when they were aerodynamics testing the Lotus bike at MIRA.
This was before Chris changed to Roadrace riding. He commented it was a whole different style. About Roadrace events - "Most of the riding is behind other riders, not pedalling at all".

What you are talking about is 'where the power is produced'. I've no argument with your comments. What I must say is "there is no point riding along for the entire ride at 90+ rpm when you can up-gear and turn the cranks slower if conditions allow".

 

[jimboalee]

I probably am a million skills short of a full set and don't give a damn.

I change gear till it feels a bit too hard then change back one so it's nice n easy if that helps the OP.
I've been re-biking for a year or so now and it's still made me a lot fitter, even though I don't really try for that.

to me it's all about pleasure, whether that comes from fresh air, saying hello to the old couple out buying the sunday paper as I fly past, or stopping to take a photo.

But as i say, a great side affect of this is increased fitness - skills or no skills.

Jeff

This is the very reason why there are no books entitled "Choosing gears for bicycles".
Most cyclists buy a bike with loads of gears and naturally select what feels best for them.
All the physics and maths was done years ago by the early bike designers.

Only saddos like me get interested in torque, power, efficiencies, calorific expenditure etc.

Another quote from Mr Boardman during the '98 tour was "The best bit of advice I've been given this week was 'check which way the wind is blowing in the mountains' ".

Yes, the pros swap and change their cassettes ( tools , RandoChap ) dependent upon the conditions.

As I implied earlier, the Pros have it sussed and are not going to write it down for everyone to know.

 

[Bill Gates]

Energy conservation and low cadence are different things.

He restricts their low cadence/high resistance workouts to once every couple of weeks - and then only for short-ish sessions to recruit the slow twitch muscle fibres you mentioned. (muscle fibre proportions can be changed)

High resistance low cadence recruit fast twitch fibres.

There is a lot of evidence to support High cadence recruiting slow twitch muscle fibres are more efficient particularly at high levels of power.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0965.htm

Some of us might need to accelerate away from the path of a truck,, quickly.
No immediate strength, no lightning acceleration, splat!

There really is NO excuse NOT to have some 'full throttle' when you need it.

Acceleration is a function of fast pedalling rates as well as power. You need both.

If you are really interested in progressing as a cyclist then IMO you should learn to spin. We had a thread on this on the Training forum. Worth a look.

https://www.cyclechat.net/

 

[jimboalee]

High resistance low cadence recruit fast twitch fibres.

There is a lot of evidence to support High cadence recruiting slow twitch muscle fibres are more efficient particularly at high levels of power.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0965.htm



Acceleration is a function of fast pedalling rates as well as power. You need both.

If you are really interested in progressing as a cyclist then IMO you should learn to spin. We had a thread on this on the Training forum. Worth a look.

https://www.cyclechat.net/

Just can't do it. Spent years trying but get tired quicker.

I'll carry on doing 200km randos with a cadence around 70.

PS. I'm not the world's fastest cyclist, but I have my Randonneur 1000 patch and happy.

Someone said "Slow twitch for endurance events"...

80 rpm on the gym bike is getting a bit fast,,, to MY reckoning. I slow it down and press a little harder, and I'm in for the whole hour.
Average 1/4 hp, cup of coffee and get back on for another hour,,, four times.
That simulates 100km.

Then I cycle home.

What really feels good is the knowledge... I can look at the weather forecast, and if it looks good for the next day, I can e-mail the AUK co-ordinator and ride a leisurely 100km DIY without much bother. Mostly at 65 -70 rpm in a long gear.

 

[Arch]

It is the very reason that 'ordinary' drivers haven't the skills of Micheal Schumacher that I like to know I can GTFO of their way.

Could you list some reasons why cyclists will never need the ability to accererate at the same rate as motor traffic.....

Think about it Debian, if you CAN'T stand up and honk it, you are missing a skill.
Then again, you might be satisfied to ride round with a skills shortage.

No one's suggesting a cyclist shouldn't be able to honk if they need to, or accelerate sharpish. Anyone can be able to do that, and yet prefer to spend most of their time riding within their comfort zone. You implied that if it doesn't hurt, it's not worth doing, which is bull.

You know what? I don't know, or give a toss about, muscle types and power. I ride my bike for utility and leisure, and I use my gears to make it feel good.

 

[bottombracket]

jimboalee - your terrier-like determination does you credit! Both on this thread and in your audaxing...

bill gates - interesting link - high gear/high cadence feels so bloody awful, it must be doing you some good!

Poor Klaus (the OP) must think we are a bunch of madmen when all he asked for was a bit of advice about how to use his gears.

P.S. mixed up fast and slow twitch in an earlier post, it seems...

 

[jimboalee]

No one's suggesting a cyclist shouldn't be able to honk if they need to, or accelerate sharpish. Anyone can be able to do that, and yet prefer to spend most of their time riding within their comfort zone. You implied that if it doesn't hurt, it's not worth doing, which is bull.

You know what? I don't know, or give a toss about, muscle types and power. I ride my bike for utility and leisure, and I use my gears to make it feel good.

If that is your opinion, your best course of action would be to let the rest of us discuss the subject and go look at another thread.