Some people are supremely good at it, reducing complex situations into matters of simple black and white. This isn’t my particular area of expertise; I enjoy wading through the pools of ambiguity a bit too much to go about bludgeoning this beautiful world into absolutes. In fact, I would venture that delighting in nuance is part of what distinguishes La Vie Velominatus from the simple act of riding a bicycle.
I’ve spent the summer wrapping myself in the Rules handed down by the Apostle Museeuw during Keepers Tour 2012, with particular emphasis on Rule #90. Climbing Sur la Plaque is a cruel business, rising upwards under the crushing weight of physics as you fight to maintain your rhythm and momentum. At first, it’s a struggle to maintain speed on the smaller climbs as you learn how to change your pedaling action to compensate for changes in gradient. You focus on loading the pedals and forcing them around; the moment you lose the rhythm, gravity sinks her claws into your tires and tries to drag you back down the hill. On the other hand, if you maintain your cadence and power through the ramps, what is usually an intimidating slope will disappear under your wheels, making molehills of mountains.
If the Big Ring is a hammer, then not every climb is a nail. (I realize too late that referring to the road as a nail is sure to bring the Puncture Apocalypse on today’s ride.) The guns get more massive from the practice of Rule #90, but it comes at a hefty price: souplesse withers like a delicate flower as one seeks to conquer the art of mashing a huge gear. Indeed, one of the great pleasures in Cycling is to sense a certain fluidity of your stroke which belies the feeling of strength in your muscles as you continue to heap coals on the fire.
This requires an art altogether different from moving Sur la Plaque; it relies on turning the pedals at a higher cadence and shifting gear whenever the gradient changes. Rhythm holds court over everything else and is maintained at all costs. As the gradient steepens, the chain is slipped into the next smaller gear; as the gradient eases, it is droped back down. Not every climb suits this style of riding; the rear cluster must be matched perfectly to accomodate the changes in pitch such that maximum speed is maintained and the legs allowed to continue their relentless churn. When synchronized perfectly, it is the gateway to La Volupté; when not: disaster.
Such is the nuance of shifting gear, such is the nature of Cycling.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@mcsqueak I think there have been massive advancements in frame stiffness such that most current bikes are pretty stiff.
My 1997 LeMond was so floppy that the brakes would almost always rub against the rim when I stood on the pedals. It was probably partly the wheels and partly the frame, but the effect was the same. I didn't know that there was anything better out there.
I don't experience anything like that on my current bikes, no matter the frame material.
@frank
Fixed your fix.
@Ken Ho
Aside from a resized/new chain, would the crankset be the only thing I'd have to swap out? I'm sure there would be some derailleur adjustment required, but just curious if there would be more to swap/alter/adjust. It's a 2005 Centaur UT gruppo. I'd prefer to get ride of the compact, as it's the only bike I have with that set-up and it's never felt quite right to me; I always feel as if I'm in the wrong gear.
@itburns
All this fixing! Yeah, I'd been at the LBS and some dudes were discussing the benefits of the small ring. Next ride it creeps into my mind & on a tiny goddamn roller I went to the small ring. Jammed chain, ripped off RD, gouged chainstay, had to call the broom wagon.
Thus, I hate that ring just a bit more.
You bitches go big ring some hills on these and get back to me. I'm training on these right now, and mashing is the only thing you can do on them.
@scaler911
I'd be having trouble getting used to the pedals being only 90 degrees apart (or 270 degrees, depending on your perspective).
To the article, I've been gearing down more on recent rides (in part due to a lack of fitness) for precisely what Frank is describing. I'm built to mash, but I have been deliberately working on trying to find a higher cadence. Not because I prefer it, but in order to be able to spin better. Finding that rhythm.
Also, too: Frank complained about my sprinting up hills: Wiggins talks about always being one minute from bonking, so all you have to do is ride one minute more (does anybody remember where he said that?). It's a nice play on peaking in two months, which I always imagine as being a shifting target. My problem is that that minute before bonking doesn't move. I have 60 seconds. Period. And it doesn't seem to matter whether I'm going up in a big gear or a little gear: I'm going to be gassed in 60 seconds. So go up fast.
@frank I'm taking a class on composites right now. Learning about fiberglass, Carbon and other such materials. I have no doubt on Carbons ability. Can't wait to start laying up some carbon on the schools dime.
@Steampunk
http://youtu.be/GuymdFETyTk
@scaler911 Wow that's some weird wild stuff! Judging by the guns of the demo rider, I don't think it would much matter what drivetrain bits he employed. He could still lay down plenty of the V.
@frank Can you explain the science behind this again, and why you're 100% certain you're right? I'm not trolling here, I genuinely want to understand.
As to cross-chaining, the greater the angle the chain is on relative to a given cog the greater the friction, hence less efficiency. It's best avoided if possible, as is the fatigue to your legs, hence the reason double chainrings were invented.