Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 17:50:08 GMT
I'm a bit of a gear swapper! I will use the big ring for the top half of the rear cogs, the middle ring for all gears and the granny ring only for the lowest two cogs when trying to climb the side of a house! My main aim is to keep my cadence at a steady 70, I know most of you can spin higher, but my 68 year old legs seem to like 70!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 18:38:42 GMT
I believe that the purpose of the original thread was to cover powering the flats (?), I've popped in the other stuff so we can make the distinction that this isn't 'normal' riding, so as not to give newbies a bum steer. Yep, that's it Rad. Riding the flats fast is a bit of an art IMHO. You have absolutely no benefit or hindrance (ie an absence of hills) from the terrain you're riding through so performance is all down to the rider, their gear decisions, power and cadence. Pure cycling! EDIT: I know the same can be said for all kinds of cycling, that it's all down to the rider, but it just seems more so when the environment isn't lending a hand or slapping you round the face!
|
|
damo6
Peloton Rider
Posts: 294
|
Post by damo6 on Sept 25, 2013 19:42:07 GMT
I read this thread this afternoon before I left work and made a conscious effort to stick to the big ring as much as possible tonight - paid off with an average speed about 2mph faster than the last time I did the route. Also got PR's on 10 of the 11 segements so all good it seems. Does seem I have been a bit lazy in the past though and cruising along a bit to much
|
|
|
Post by Big Brother on Sept 25, 2013 19:49:37 GMT
My commute to work involves a mainly downhill route. Initially it's pedal up the hill (middle ring). Once the climb is done and I hit the level before the descent it's onto the big 'un and move down the rear sprocket a gear or two. It's the big ring all the way to work.
Coming home the big ring never gets a look in. Middle ring most of the way, dancing up and down the rear sprocket. Nearing the top of the climb I move onto the granny and select the 3rd from top rear. Cadence wise it's slow but there's enough resistance there to keep climbing and if needed, stand.
I used to do it all wrong when I first started my commute. Granny ring most of the climb and spinning like a madman! Got knackered early and struggled due to fatigue with the climb home. First time I stoppped 3 times for a drink and quick breather. With the more thought out gear selection put into use, eg tonights commute home the climb was done in one go with no stopping.
It works!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 20:08:34 GMT
That's impressive damo6! I smashed my ride home too, not quite on your level though. Truth be told I think my performance was more to do with dodging the rain! Big Brother, I was thinking about your commute when I suggested earlier that commutes were good to try the big cog theory out on - I knew with the hill you have on the way home it just wouldn't work at all! Maybe one day, for sections? There are hills I do now on the big cog I would never have thought I could do a few months ago. That said, mine are mere blips that you can see light at the end of the tunnel of, yours is what, three miles?!?
|
|
|
Post by Big Brother on Sept 25, 2013 20:12:32 GMT
@perniciousviper Yep, it's a 3 miler mate. Not brutally steep but quite relentless. I am improving my times and performance now though. Still working up a sweat but feeling a lot more comfortable when I get to the top. My thighs know they've had a workout!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 8:24:08 GMT
I made sure I recorded cadence this morning while maintaining the big cog regime, I'm even surprised by the results. I managed a top 10 (10/439) along a 4 mile flat section, I can't see on Strava what my average cadence was for this segment as doesn't seem to give ave cad for individual segments, but the cadence performance graph shows I was mainly in the mid-90s. Ave speed was 20.8mph. All in all pretty pleased. www.strava.com/activities/84998115
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 10:04:45 GMT
Seems a bit of an oversight of strava to not show average cadence, like average speed it can be useful to know.
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Sept 26, 2013 10:11:03 GMT
...and equally who gives a flying, lots of talk of riding on feel at the mo' amongst Wiggo, Spartacus etc yesterday and they have reason to worry about it, at leisure rider level, if you can't tell when you're spinning or churning then no wonder we can add 2 to 3 mph on to people's averages with just a little advice and raised awareness.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 10:30:04 GMT
Very true, but I quite like being able to look back through all the data after a ride - average cadence seems like another simple statistic that could be made available. You get average speed, average heart rate and average power so why not cadence? Whether it would actually be useful to you or help improve your riding is a different matter, I just like the numbers Got no idea what my cadence is like at the moment, or heart rate for that matter. Hopefully Christmas might help one or both of those.
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Sept 26, 2013 10:43:31 GMT
You need a Garmin 500 or above then - you can bore yourself senseless with figures then !
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Sept 26, 2013 10:47:40 GMT
Cadence test on the flat, look at your computer for 15 secs and count the revolutions x 4, job done; then just aim to catch a gear one under what feels like churning, unless moving the big dawg on faster is your aim (as is the aim of the thread) push it harder until it's spinning or climb up the gears, if it hurts too much drop a cog on the rear, if it feels easy pop up one. Not rocket science this stuff.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 11:09:56 GMT
Garmin 500 is what I am after Have pretty much just been doing as you said. Back to using big dawg, I found I can push 18-20mph on the flat quite comfortably (or at least in the short section until the next road crossing or incline) but as soon as there is any sort of incline that quickly drops to <10mph. Definitely need to drop some weight to help with the hills and do some hill training in the future.
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Sept 26, 2013 11:44:29 GMT
Don't worry about the finessing yet, just aim to ride 500 base miles with little further pressure on yourself; pressure only on making sure you get out 2 or 3 sessions a week minimum; it'll all take care of itself from there on - it's getting out that's the challenge now for all of us; the rain here is putting me off today, I'm sat here in kit and I don't mind targeting a dry patch on the chart but it's down as wet all day and if the roads stay wet through it'll probably be postponed until tomorrow and Sunday afternoon (sunny then) as the focus; I've managed 1 solid ride earlier in the week. Regular riding will work more magic than any data analysis. You can look at all the data in the world but put an hour on the bike instead and it will be time better spent.
|
|
|
Post by scarborian on Sept 26, 2013 13:59:10 GMT
Glad I found this as was thinking of starting a thread asking advice about front cog use! Historically I used the big cog on my hybrid for pretty much everything other than really challenging inclines, but since getting the T5a have been using the middle cog as default which seems to improve consistency of cadence (no meter, but just feels better)for me? That said, it has created a problem for me switching up and down between middle and big front cogs when hitting slopes (up and down) as I find the resistance change really breaks my rhythm and I'm either struggling to keep pace or spinning wildly to no effect!! Is it bad practice to attempt simultaneous changes on front and rear, (as in the one up/one down Rad describes) and I am likely to cause any damage to the gearing / chain by trying this. Or, am I missing a simple gear-changing technique that you can enlighten me on? Will definitely be trying the tips above from Radchenister on next outing, so cheers for them! As an aside, this is a lovely run out (which I did last night) kindly put online by a guy named Matt if anyone is ever up in this neck of the woods - a perfect couple of early evening hours in the countryside... www.cycle-route.com/routes/Pershore_Loop-Cycle-Route-1294.html (not sure how to hyperlink it, sorry)
|
|