Today I went 'Spinning', as opposed to 'Pushing'

Thanks SB!!


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Normally, when I'm out riding I find myself in @ 10-13. (generally)
Today, after reading the suggestions of 'Shifty' Brown, I decided to
spin....

I tried to keep the resistance down significantly more than I normally
do. I (basically) shifted 'earlier'. Normally I'd crank it out longer
in 13, before I bail and shift to 12/11/10...


So at the end of the ride, I thought about it, and realized that I was
generally in 8-11 for the majority of the time. (I did hit 1st on a
couple hills, and 14, coming home...)


So here were the differences:

1. NOT MUCH!!

2. My 'average' speed over the 17 miles was just slightly under the
typical.

3. Not much difference in either my leg-tiredness, nor in my
heart/breathing/etc.

4. I felt like I could've gotten just a slight cramp in my right calf.
Something I don't usually feel. (Didn't cramp at all, just had a bit of
a feeling there.)

5. I went out a bit later than usual, 7:30-8:30, as opposed to my usual
6:30-7:30. That being said, I did feel like I was much more hot and
sweaty. I'm thinking that most if not all of that was due to the higher
temps.



so....

I'm trying to get my overall average speed up. Any
thoughts/suggestions/bashing???


TIA,

-Bob

Bill wrote:
gds wrote:

Bill wrote:

Hell and High Water wrote:

Thanks SB!!


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Normally, when I'm out riding I find myself in @ 10-13. (generally)
Today, after reading the suggestions of 'Shifty' Brown, I decided to
spin....

I tried to keep the resistance down significantly more than I normally
do. I (basically) shifted 'earlier'. Normally I'd crank it out longer
in 13, before I bail and shift to 12/11/10...


So at the end of the ride, I thought about it, and realized that I was
generally in 8-11 for the majority of the time. (I did hit 1st on a
couple hills, and 14, coming home...)


So here were the differences:

1. NOT MUCH!!

2. My 'average' speed over the 17 miles was just slightly under the
typical.

3. Not much difference in either my leg-tiredness, nor in my
heart/breathing/etc.

4. I felt like I could've gotten just a slight cramp in my right calf.
Something I don't usually feel. (Didn't cramp at all, just had a
bit of
a feeling there.)

5. I went out a bit later than usual, 7:30-8:30, as opposed to my
usual
6:30-7:30. That being said, I did feel like I was much more hot and
sweaty. I'm thinking that most if not all of that was due to the
higher
temps.



so....

I'm trying to get my overall average speed up. Any
thoughts/suggestions/bashing???


TIA,

-Bob


Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka



I'd guess he is refering to 8th gear, 9th gear, 10th gear etc like
numbering in an automobile. He certainly is not running an 8 cog. And
for sure is not spinning in a 10 cog.

If he can remember all 21,24,27 ratios then more power to him.
I have a 3 ring front and a 7 gear rear and even with that there are
gear splits I wish were smaller. I ran them in an Excel spreadsheet and
found that some gear combos were only about 2% and others jumped you by
10% or more.

Yes, it's common for there to be larger % jumps from one low gear to
another, and shorter jumps between higher gears.

Now if only some genius could figure out how to put in one
of those 7 or 9 speed super high tech rear hubs some people might be in
gear head heaven.
Bill Baka

You mean like this? - http://www.sheldonbrown.org/otb.html
63 Gears!

Hell and High Water wrote:
Thanks SB!!


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Normally, when I'm out riding I find myself in @ 10-13. (generally)
Today, after reading the suggestions of 'Shifty' Brown, I decided to
spin....

I tried to keep the resistance down significantly more than I normally
do. I (basically) shifted 'earlier'. Normally I'd crank it out longer
in 13, before I bail and shift to 12/11/10...


So at the end of the ride, I thought about it, and realized that I was
generally in 8-11 for the majority of the time. (I did hit 1st on a
couple hills, and 14, coming home...)


So here were the differences:

1. NOT MUCH!!

2. My 'average' speed over the 17 miles was just slightly under the
typical.

3. Not much difference in either my leg-tiredness, nor in my
heart/breathing/etc.

4. I felt like I could've gotten just a slight cramp in my right calf.
Something I don't usually feel. (Didn't cramp at all, just had a bit of
a feeling there.)

5. I went out a bit later than usual, 7:30-8:30, as opposed to my usual
6:30-7:30. That being said, I did feel like I was much more hot and
sweaty. I'm thinking that most if not all of that was due to the higher
temps.



so....

I'm trying to get my overall average speed up. Any
thoughts/suggestions/bashing???


TIA,

-Bob

Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka

Bill wrote:
Hell and High Water wrote:
Thanks SB!!


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Normally, when I'm out riding I find myself in @ 10-13. (generally)
Today, after reading the suggestions of 'Shifty' Brown, I decided to
spin....

I tried to keep the resistance down significantly more than I normally
do. I (basically) shifted 'earlier'. Normally I'd crank it out longer
in 13, before I bail and shift to 12/11/10...


So at the end of the ride, I thought about it, and realized that I was
generally in 8-11 for the majority of the time. (I did hit 1st on a
couple hills, and 14, coming home...)


So here were the differences:

1. NOT MUCH!!

2. My 'average' speed over the 17 miles was just slightly under the
typical.

3. Not much difference in either my leg-tiredness, nor in my
heart/breathing/etc.

4. I felt like I could've gotten just a slight cramp in my right calf.
Something I don't usually feel. (Didn't cramp at all, just had a bit of
a feeling there.)

5. I went out a bit later than usual, 7:30-8:30, as opposed to my usual
6:30-7:30. That being said, I did feel like I was much more hot and
sweaty. I'm thinking that most if not all of that was due to the higher
temps.



so....

I'm trying to get my overall average speed up. Any
thoughts/suggestions/bashing???


TIA,

-Bob

Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka

I'd guess he is refering to 8th gear, 9th gear, 10th gear etc like
numbering in an automobile. He certainly is not running an 8 cog. And
for sure is not spinning in a 10 cog.

Hell and High Water wrote:
In article , says...

Hell and High Water wrote:



I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.


Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka




I have two sprockets in the front, and seven sprockets in the back for a
total of 14 'gears'....


I'm not saying this correctly, I guess. Forgive my un-familiarity with
the termenology.

When the chain is on the smaller of the two front sprockets, I'm
assuming that the rear seven sprockets are the following 'gears':
1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7...

When the chain is on the larger of the two front sprockets, I'm assuming
that the rear seven sprockets are then the following 'gears':

8,9,10,11,12,13, and 14...



Am I correct?

You likely have some overlap so that "8" may actually be smaller than
"7". It's that issue that makes the gear numbering system tricky.
Also, not all bikes have as many useful gears as are theoretically
possible. There's usually some overlap and some people don't like to
use the "forbidden" gears of having the big chainwheel with the big rear
cog, and the small chainwheel with the smallest cog because the chain
angle is so extreme.

It's generally more useful to speak in terms of gear combos. Say you
have two chainwheels on the front: One with 52 teeth and the other with
38. On the back you have cassette cogs with 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, and
28 teeth. You could then say "52/14" gear, and everyone will know
what you're talking about. Not everyone knows how many teeth their
chainwheels and cassette sprockets have, though, but it's usually
stamped on the individual sprockets somewhere.

gds wrote:
Bill wrote:

Hell and High Water wrote:

Thanks SB!!


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Normally, when I'm out riding I find myself in @ 10-13. (generally)
Today, after reading the suggestions of 'Shifty' Brown, I decided to
spin....

I tried to keep the resistance down significantly more than I normally
do. I (basically) shifted 'earlier'. Normally I'd crank it out longer
in 13, before I bail and shift to 12/11/10...


So at the end of the ride, I thought about it, and realized that I was
generally in 8-11 for the majority of the time. (I did hit 1st on a
couple hills, and 14, coming home...)


So here were the differences:

1. NOT MUCH!!

2. My 'average' speed over the 17 miles was just slightly under the
typical.

3. Not much difference in either my leg-tiredness, nor in my
heart/breathing/etc.

4. I felt like I could've gotten just a slight cramp in my right calf.
Something I don't usually feel. (Didn't cramp at all, just had a bit of
a feeling there.)

5. I went out a bit later than usual, 7:30-8:30, as opposed to my usual
6:30-7:30. That being said, I did feel like I was much more hot and
sweaty. I'm thinking that most if not all of that was due to the higher
temps.



so....

I'm trying to get my overall average speed up. Any
thoughts/suggestions/bashing???


TIA,

-Bob

Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka


I'd guess he is refering to 8th gear, 9th gear, 10th gear etc like
numbering in an automobile. He certainly is not running an 8 cog. And
for sure is not spinning in a 10 cog.

If he can remember all 21,24,27 ratios then more power to him.
I have a 3 ring front and a 7 gear rear and even with that there are
gear splits I wish were smaller. I ran them in an Excel spreadsheet and
found that some gear combos were only about 2% and others jumped you by
10% or more. Now if only some genius could figure out how to put in one
of those 7 or 9 speed super high tech rear hubs some people might be in
gear head heaven.
Bill Baka

In article , says...
Hell and High Water wrote:


I've got an old Bianchi with two up front and seven in the back.

Say what?
You have a rear gear that goes 8,9,10,11,12 and what? I have never seen
one below 11 and I don't think it cn be done on a standard hub.
What are you talking about? What are your chain rings and what are your
rear gears, really?
Bill Baka




I have two sprockets in the front, and seven sprockets in the back for a
total of 14 'gears'....


I'm not saying this correctly, I guess. Forgive my un-familiarity with
the termenology.

When the chain is on the smaller of the two front sprockets, I'm
assuming that the rear seven sprockets are the following 'gears':
1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7...

When the chain is on the larger of the two front sprockets, I'm assuming
that the rear seven sprockets are then the following 'gears':

8,9,10,11,12,13, and 14...




Am I correct?


-Bob

In article ,
says...


I have two sprockets in the front, and seven sprockets in the back for a
total of 14 'gears'....


....or should I refer to them as 'speeds'??

smaller of the front two sprockets, largest of the seven rear sprockets
would be 1st 'speed'??


Again, thanks for any help with the terminology.

-Bob

In article ,
says...


You likely have some overlap so that "8" may actually be smaller than
"7". It's that issue that makes the gear numbering system tricky.
Also, not all bikes have as many useful gears as are theoretically
possible. There's usually some overlap and some people don't like to
use the "forbidden" gears of having the big chainwheel with the big rear
cog, and the small chainwheel with the smallest cog because the chain
angle is so extreme.

Yes, definitely! I'm never in (for example) the smaller 'chainwheel' in
the front, and the smallest 'cog' in the back....

And I agree, there is lots of overlap.

I tend to stick with the front chainwheel, then move the rear cogs from
about the third to the fifth. Once I'm there, I go ahead and move the
front chainwheel, and again, utilize the 'center' of the rear cog
grouping.


Thanks for the clarification...


-Bob

All confusion with the gears aside, I would expect that if you start
using easier gears and spinning faster, you'll find your overall speed
will stay about the same, but after 1-2 hours of riding your legs
should feel a bit fresher. As a rule of thumb, you can think of it as
using your heart vs. using your muscles. At a low cadence, your legs
do more work; at a higher cadence, your heart does more work. It's not
quite as simple as that, but you get the idea.

Just for reference, experienced road cyclists normally maintain a
cadence of around 90-100 rpm on flat roads. On hills it's a more
personal choice - I like to downshift to maintain at least 80-90 rpm
unless the road's steep enough that I can't maintain my cadence even in
my lowest gear. (That's when I start cursing and whimpering.) :-)


-JR