Thrashing - good or bad?

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Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
If it feels goo do it!

However... there is technique in everything.
Jimboalee states that a good rider can ride a 10% hil with a light touch on the bars, and I'd agree, sit back, relax the upper body and let the legs and lower back do the work, hauling on the bars is just a waste of energy.
Honking (standing-up) up a hill is the same, keep the bike and upper body as steady as possible and let legs and back do the work, throwing the bike around is again a lot of energy use for no gain. Honking generates more power but is less efficient, howver you don't have to pedal fast, standing you can do surprisingly low rpm and get up some amazing inclines... watch fixie riders go up say ditchling beacon some at near walking pace (well that's how I did it!).

I'm also with Randochap on flexy frames my old Holsworth was whippier than a whippy thing and an absolute delight.

I was in AW Cycles the other day and saw this... Genesis Equilibrium.
http://www.awcycles.co.uk/category/...brium,_Steel_Road_Bike,_2008/13206/index.aspx

The feel, the springy liveliness just brought back how great steel can be... I nearly got my credit card out. Great all-rounder for the cash and beautifully finished.
 
Just thinking about it further, I also tend to 'thrash' when I'm close to home.
 

gbb

Squire
Location
Peterborough
Is thrashing the same as honking ?

I'm not sure about the statement honking or thrashing is less efficient..is all together clear or pertinent to most of us.
I do a 40 mile loop in the summer. I used to generally stay in the seat...and my times or speed were pretty much the same throughout a summer.
Then i changed tactics and really gave it some up the short hills, out of the seat, keeping the shouders and head static and letting the bike go with my hips. Its infinately faster, you carry more speed over the crest (but you do need to recover a bit once the hills topped)
The result was a significant improvement in my average speed over that loop.

So, i can accept its not as efficient (i assume cleverer people than me have worked that out..i'm not going to argue :smile: )...but it is faster.
Surely its only important to be efficient if you're going to ride to you absolute maximum ability or stamina.
Put another way...i ride my 40 sat down, i get home and carry on the day.
Or i ride my 40 faster, thrash or honk the hills, get home and carry on the day. I dont feel much different. Efficiency isnt important to most of us.
 

peanut

Guest
depends on your rate of effort and cadence doesn't it!
If you can find the same cadence to effort ratio you have when seated then it not only uses a different set of muscles it also allows you to use your body weight to press on the pedals. If you are a heavy rider it is actually a very efficient method of climbing provided you can stay aerobic.
You never thrash but if you wanted to suddenly accelerate away and drop other riders a good place to do it is on a hill . You can accelerate more quickly out of the saddle on a hill for a short distance before you go over your aerobic theshold
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
Sorry all, it should have been "HONKING".

No excuses, except H & B are close on the keyboard.... :sad:


Honking is what a raceboy will do if he wants to surprise the pack with a quick spurt of speed. Stand up, pull the pedal up the backstroke and dump the bodyweight on the front pedal.


Anyway, here's my opinion.

"If you're a muscular bruiser, you're a long gear cruiser.
If you're wimpy and thin, then you must spin"
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
+1 FF & Randochap on flexy steel frames.

I've kept my Pug 531. Its quite high geared ( by today's standards ) for 23 lb, ( 38 x 23 ) so that's where I learned to honk; and pulling up the rear pedal was a necessity.

ps All the younguns,, Noise energy is a waste, so "SHUT UP" :sad:
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
As I've said before, ignoring all the jesting, speed is relative to power and independent of gear ratio.

It is all on your muscle type. Fast or slow twitch. What works for one rider might not work for another.
Experimentation is the key, and miles ridden will identify your type and IMPROVE your style.

Get out there and ride. Try different styles and you will notice which suits you.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
As for 'Thrashing', its a showing off technique.

There was, and still is, a proverb which goes :-

"What's the difference between a sportsman and an Engineer?
A sportsman makes a difficult thing look easy."

In cycling, it is a different matter.
Pro cyclists never tell their secrets. Even in the popular press, a cyclist won't give away any hint of how a lesser rider can improve to his standards. Cycling is HIS living, and its not a fantastically paid one either.

When you see a Pro rider thrashing the bike around, its a bit of gamesmanship to blag he is either knackered or 'full of beans'. Either way, it un-nerves the opposition to thinking the wrong thing.
It also gives the amateur rider the wrong signals, causing him to emulate it and NEVER be a Pro rider capable of winning the money he has struggled hard for.

Watch the tours, identify the blags, watch the tactics and heed Fab Foodie.
Do the road work and ride efficiently.
 

Bodhbh

Guru
Oh well, interesting to know - if you're not in a club, no ones telling you what's right or wrong...and some habits I think I must have from messing about on a BMX in the school days.

re: the guy standing for a long flat. I sort of assumed he was practicing balance standing or maybe it was some sort of end training for his 'out the seat muscles', but god knows (was following him for most of Ricky Road from Croxley to the town centre for any Watfordians).
 
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