On 8/29/2018 12:43 PM, wrote:
On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 4:51:55 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:52:47 PM UTC-4, jbeattie wrote:

Getting into the 50/11 is no big deal in any area with hills. I could live without it, sure, but it does have a function ...

I don't see the attraction or the function. At just 100 rpm, it's 36 mph. Aero
drag is really high at that speed. Non-racers (and even most racers) can't
put out enough power to maintain that for a more than a short while on anything
near a flat road. And on a downhill you're better off tucking in and coasting.

In other words, on a downhill the power lost to air drag of whirling legs
and cranks would be greater than the power put into the pedals. So it's
far more sensible to coast.

Instead of thinking about getting a high gear ratio, I'd think about improving
the aero tuck while maintaining stability.

- Frank Krygowski

Frank, I was riding pretty hard yesterday and I don't believe I could reach 100 rpm. Now I don't have a cadence counter but simply counting strokes and estimating time showed me I was a lot closer to 75 rpm.


Jobst rode low rpm too. Riders vary in what they find
comfortable and that's A-OK IMHO.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971