Categories: Look Pro

Look Pro, Part IV: Don’t Look Down

Shifting is perhaps the most pure expression of our art as Velominati. It is the conduit through which we control our cadence; it effects our power, our breathing, our heart rate. When those essential things come together with the rhythm of the road, we are cast in the spell of La Volupte. The more in-tune with our bodies we become, the more we rely on our shifting to keep our legs in perfect harmony with our bodies. Our shifts must be smooth, crisp, and precise, for any disruption to the rhythm may cause the spell to be broken.

The advent of index-shifting and contoured cogs have simplified the mechanics of the perfect shift, but they have not eliminated the artform. A finely-tuned drivetrain is essential, but is only one piece of the whole. Timing is critical: the shift must be delivered at the precise moment in the stroke when the chain is perfectly loaded to jump silently from one cog to the next. Shifting under too much pressure or at the wrong point can result in delayed, noisy, or rough shifts, disrupting our rhythm and ripping us from La Volupte.

We do not mediate on the shift and we do not look down at our gears; the shift is something we must feel. We must not be overly cerebral – instead, we read the signals from our body and the machine and sense the time to shift and react. Over time, we also learn to sense when we are approaching the limits of the block and execute the double-shift to avoid crossing the chain. We do not look down.

These subtleties cannot be taught; they are artifacts of experience – evidence that the disciple has become one with the machine.

Disclaimer: The “Don’t Look Down” principle does not apply to Lando situations where we repeatedly push the right shifter while pedaling squares up some unholy gradient in the stubborn refusal to accept that we are indeed already in the lowest gear. Under these circumstances, it doesn’t hurt to give the gears a stern look in an effort to intimidate them into spawning a few more teeth on those biggest cogs.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Pedale.Forchetta says:

Feb 22 2011 at 2:00 am

@G'phant
I'm late on the matter but I'm sorry to hear that. Get well soon!
Rob says:

Feb 22 2011 at 4:32 am

@G'phant
Trust your healing well and I would bet all have done similar at one time or another - I was just lucky and did not get hurt but the bike was a mess.

Very much second your thoughts on our Christchurch brethren, hoping that the folks from there we know on these pages are safe.
Joe says:

Feb 22 2011 at 4:55 am

@G'phant
Sorry to hear that mate. I prescribe large doses of your favourite sparkling, amber, rehydration beverage. Though it always seems to work better as a preventative medicine, I'm sure there must be healing properties also....
Steampunk says:

Feb 22 2011 at 5:20 am

@G'phant
Hang in there, Noddy. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to the road.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 22 2011 at 6:46 am

Have our Kiwis checked in yet (it's morning in Texas)? I thought about y'all as soon as I heard the news from Christchurch. Good luck, and God bless.
frank says:

Feb 22 2011 at 7:41 am

On behalf of the Keepers and everyone in the community at Velominati, our thoughts are with the people of Christchurch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12540345
Cyclops says:

Feb 22 2011 at 8:54 am

One of the things that I miss about non-indexed shifting is the beauty of the "overshift". When one is truly in sync with their machine they knew the precise amount of overshift needed to have the chain jump smoothly up to the next cog as you deftly push the shift lever back a little to have the chain and derailleur fall into precise noise free alignment.

If there is one thing that drives me nuts is sitting in a paceline behind some yahoo that has some front derailleur rub going on or when they have attempted a shift and don't realize that things are going awry on the cogset and they are making all kinds of noise back there.
G'phant says:

Feb 22 2011 at 11:10 am

Thanks, all, for your thoughts re the shoulder and, far more importantly, the folk in Christchurch.
Cinghiale says:

Feb 22 2011 at 11:29 am

Ah, that photo is sublime. Good one to stare at while on the rollers.
Brett says:

Feb 22 2011 at 12:37 pm

@all

All good here in Wellington (although I can't help but wonder if and when our oft-predicted 'Big One' could hit). Although not directly affected it's funny how these events have a way of connecting you to them; I had an earthquake refugee staying at my place last night, unable to get a flight back at almost the exact time the quake hit. My flatmate's friend's partner was in Wellington for an interview, his partner and 8 day old baby back in ChCh. Both are safe, the new bub slept through it, but narrowly avoided a falling TV and cabinet that landed next to her crib. Understandably he was anxious to get a flight out this morning.