Gearing

[FitnessPhotos]

Does anyone know of a good resource that talks about gearing - knowing when you should be running in a higher or lower gear?

This Sunday I was doing a metric century and a friend commented that I wasn't letting my gears do the work. I'm not really sure what she meant, except that she was implying I was working too hard.

[pigperson]

I found this site to be pretty informative about bicycle cadence, has some nice analytical features to figure out your own pace/ride:

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm

another site that had some decent info about cycling in general:

http://www.guidetohealth.com/Library...ooks/43/37.cfm

hope this is at least remotely helpful.

[kingkirby]

I'm just going from experience here FP, but it's worked for me. Let me preface this by saying I am in no way a professional resource (I don't even know the terminology), just an everyday biker (until I hurt my ankle-argh!) pretty much since childhood (minus "the party years"). Anyhow, I've traditionally had one particular gear positioning for each section on the front sprocket (gears) that I favor for it's versatility, which means that on the back sprocket (gears) I don't change the gearing that much. I opt to shift gears on the front sproket and shift as sparingly as possible. This is in part because upon getting back on the bike in my adult years I developed a bad habit of "over shifting". So in the lowest gears this holds almost always true, but there's a cosiderable amount more variability in the highest gears. I'm not sure why I do this, I've just found it to work. My biggest problem with gearing has been momentum and/or pedal control loss. There's nothing that affects my bioke rides more than going up a hill and shifting late or starting up in the wrong gear. Likewise, I try to avoid going downhill and shifting into a gear that makes my pedalling unbalanced or out of control like cheating when lifting weights. Sometimes I do shift into a light gear going downhill just to keep my legs moving.

That may have been a confusing glimpse into my thoughts and practices on gearing, so I'm going to put some links to sites that touch on the subject (that's within the rules right?). Hopefully they'll be of some help. At any rate a really good and underdiscussed topic in biking. I think I'll research this more.

Here are some links:

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall...ars/Gears.html

http://www.panix.com/~jbarrm/cycal/cycal.30f.html

http://www.i1.net/~dwolfe/gerz/howto1.html

http://members.atlantic.net/~tavaresv/TIPTRICKS.htm (this is about mountain biking for cosecutive days)

[FitnessPhotos]

Wow, alot of very technical details in those articles about gears.

I'm not a good hill climber - it's my weight that works against me. I only have two front gears - not a triple - and on the big hills I'm standing and it takes all my energy to get up the big ones. When I get to the top, I'm spent. And that's in the lowest gear. Maybe I need a triple if I am going to deal with hills correctly.

On the other side, I also tend to use my power probably more than I need to, meaning I could downshift a little and let the gears work for me without having to expend so much energy for the same distance.

I think that's more what I am trying to figure out - at what point should I be shifting to make the most effective use of the power that I am expending? Make sense?

I'll be motoring along at 18 mph and really working my legs and some guy will whip past me and looks like he is working half as much as I am - I look and it seems he is in a lower gear but using a faster cadance than I am. So, the question I am asking myself is - should I be trying to keep my revolutions at a certain "sweet spot"?

[Dial_tone]

I think what she was trying to say was you're not shifting enough. One of the main benefits of STI shifters is the ease of shifting without taking your hands off the bars/brakes in tricky situations. My guess is you're tooling along the flats in a certain gear and trying to stay in that same gear when you hit an incline or decline. It's okay to power over small rises but if your cadence drops more than 10rpm you should probably shift down.

I am in the same boat as you with regard to weight. The optimal rpm for most situations is 80-90rpm, but when big guys go uphill cadence is an uncontrollable issue. All those people that say you should be climbing big hills at 80-90rpm, they're all about 165 lbs with a couple bananas in their pockets. Tell them to try that with a german shepherd strapped on their back.

For me at 240 lbs, on any hill steeper than say 8% I'm usually in my 34x23 doing 50-60rpm at 8mph. Sure, I can shift down to my 34x25 but my cadence only goes up 2-3rpm if at all. I usually just slow down. Even on climbs where I can spin 80-90rpm I routinely get passed by much lighter guys using a much lower rpm. Conversely, Lance rides 39x21 up Alpe D'Huez and I have heard of tiny guys like Richard Virenque using a 44-tooth small ring.

Shift a lot if you can. I ride on the brake hoods 90% of the time so it's easy for me. I almost always climb seated because I seem to use less oxygen that way.

[kingkirby]

Yeah, I'm 210lbs and hills can be a pain. In the last year I've almost exclusively stayed seated during hills and it's really helped to maintain a constant cadence, keep my breath and just overall make the rides more enjoyable and seemingly effective because I don't putter out either in the middle or top of the hill or even worse at a shorter distance that I know I'm capable. This was a tough adjustment for me and it started out with me ascending hills at a MUCH slower pace. Over time, I just began to maintain a relatively constant speed.

When I stood up to get up hills, I think I was just trying to press to get the hill over with and would pump like hell until I couldn't anymore, take a quick rest and pump with a little less intensity... BUT ANYWAY---

FP, I think on the gearing end with making them work for you, I can say in my simplisitc way that it's all about timely shifting, knowing your bike and gears and momentum. I've been on my bike I have long enough to know (probably not, but I think I do!) how to get the most out of my gears and when it's time to shift. As we all know it's a much smoother transition going into a different gear at the correct speed for that gear...not that I even remotely understand the science of it...yet. For me it's like a feel thing. Almost like feeling the chain lock into that perfect synch with my shifting --ca-chink--then feeling in my legs that comfortable groove and resistance.

Do you guys ever get sore traps and/or neck from biking?? I think it's a postural and bar/seat height thing. I still stuggle with that from time to time.

Man I can wait 'till Sept. 15th when I can move again! Thanks for this thread FP, it's got me stoked to get back on my bike!

[pigperson]

On hills it's good to sit and stand on different sections. Standing will allow your body weight to help push the pedals down, but it'll take more energy to support your weight too. Also when your standing you should switch to a harder gear to pedal. Then when you reseat shift back to an easier gear to increase your cadence. It's good to vary between standing and sitting, this will allow you to work different muscles and give some muscles a break.

As for getting a triple, you may also consider getting a compact drive crank. Still a double but smaller gears in the front. This way you don't have to buy new front sti shifters and front derailleur.

[Dial_tone]

I think the sore neck/traps would come from riding in the drops which I don't do often since I usually ride alone. I breathe better on the hoods. Triceps get sore if they're not used to supporting your weight. I lift a lot so I don't get that much.

[Old_Fart2]

I tried to read the first article but it got a little too technical for me. And then Dial_tone starts talking about 34x23 and such. WTF?

What I have been doing is leaving my front gear the same and just using my back gear. So Sunday, I decided to experiment with my front gear. I tried it on a few smaller hills before I got to "THE HILL" and it seemed to work OK; I just couldn't maintain any speed. On "THE HILL", for the first time, I managed to stay seated all the way to the top and didn't seem to be as winded. Of course, by the top I was only doing about 8.5 mph! Previously, I would be coming off the seat less than a third of the way up but would maintain about 12 mph.

I'm not sure which is best; I generally have more power than endurance. I guess I need a new speedometer that also gives RPM.

[wilber]

Originally Posted by Dial_tone

All those people that say you should be climbing big hills at 80-90rpm, they're all about 165 lbs with a couple bananas in their pockets. Tell them to try that with a german shepherd strapped on their back.

For me at 240 lbs, on any hill steeper than say 8% I'm usually in my 34x23 doing 50-60rpm at 8mph.

Originally Posted by pigperson

As for getting a triple, you may also consider getting a compact drive crank. Still a double but smaller gears in the front. This way you don't have to buy new front sti shifters and front derailleur.

One of my riding buddies used to be in the same boat as Dial_tone -- he'd always have to just power up the hills at a slower cadence and would be spent after about 30 miles. Then he bought a new bike with the newer compact crank that pigperson is talking about and has become a spinning fool. It has definitely helped his climbing. The downside is that he can no longer carry the same speed he used to on the flats.

As far as spinning in general, I always thought that I pedaled in the 80-90rpm range, but I recently bought a new computer for my bike with cadence and I found my average is actually more like 90-100.

[FitnessPhotos]

I'd have to say that getting up the hill without spending all my energy would be the goal; I might not get up as fast, but when I still have alot of miles to go (and maybe more hills), it would seem the ideal would be as fast as you can up the hill expending the least amount of energy so you can keep motoring on.

I weigh far too much to be a good hill climber; so I'm not even trying to set any records going up these hills. My goal would be to be able to go the distance and not wipe myself out in the process.

[dfischer]

I'm a bit of a biking newbie, and am really only doing 30 mile days, but I've learned a little:

The STI flight deck monitor shows cadence, gear, and effective ratio (I think).

From what I understand the body is most efficient at a given cadence (varies from one person to another) and the idea is to understand your "ideal" cadence and shift to maintain it.

While I'm riding a triple (front), I find I use the smallest cog only on the very steepest of hills, and otherwise use the middle cog. I'd have to be running in the 30's to need the tallest cog, and if I was that strong I don't know that I'd need the smallest cog. Maybe if you shuffled your front gearing size around?

btw, I think doubles are the trend. 2x10 seems to be the latest.

[daniella]

Originally Posted by FitnessPhotos

I'd have to say that getting up the hill without spending all my energy would be the goal; I might not get up as fast, but when I still have alot of miles to go (and maybe more hills), it would seem the ideal would be as fast as you can up the hill expending the least amount of energy so you can keep motoring on.

I weigh far too much to be a good hill climber; so I'm not even trying to set any records going up these hills. My goal would be to be able to go the distance and not wipe myself out in the process.

FP, I agree with those who have said the issue is cadence. We tend to expend less energy when we keep our cadence up. It's a bit counter-intuitive, but it's true. The normal rule of thumb for flat terrain is between 90 to 100 rpm. If you can't keep that cadence, shift to a lower gear. I wouldn't worry about speed until you can hold a steady cadence. One easy way to find 90 rpm is to have your riding mate call time for you in 10 second intervals. Counting each down stroke of your right foot, you want to be at 15 strokes in 10 seconds. That's 90 rpm/minute.

On an easy uphill you want to maintain your 90. So, shift to the small chain ring in front and go as big on the rear sprocket as you have to in order to maintain your 90.

On an a steep or long uphill, try to maintain 60 rpm. Go to the small chain ring in front and the biggest sprocket in back and see if you can stay in the saddle. Those who have said it's best to stay in the saddle are right, as far as conserving energy goes. But if you can't hold the rhythm, stand up. You will spend some energy, but it's better than killing your legs by staying seated. Besides, standing will give your lower back a rest. If you feel the lactic acid building in your quads and glutes, don't worry. That's normal. Get to the top, grab some water, and spin easy until you have recovered.

I do triathlons. I have a road bike and a tri bike. One of my riding partners is 7inches shorter than I am, weighs 60 pounds more than I do and a bike that weighs 3X what either of my bikes weigh. She never gets out of the saddle -- period. But, she has 3 chain rings in front. I only have 2, so on long, steep hills I gear as low as I can and stand up when I can't keep my cadence.

BTW, make sure you have a good fit from your local bike pro. A good fit makes a huge difference in comfort and power.

PS -- Thanks for Extreme Fitness!

Daniella