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.
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@frank Ha! Good one! Your upcoming book must be in the comedy genre, you'd sell copies, I tell ya, copies. To your mum.
Unfortunately I think the sting has been taken out of the Marcus/Minion debacle by my move to Canberra and assimilation to the AusBorg. Like all the great unrequited romances, it was unsustainable and bound to flame out over time; I'e been worn down by awful beer, AFL and riding in sunshine in the middle of winter. It was great while it lasted but now it appears I'll have to hand the role of mocking short, slow, questionably bred three fingered Melbournians to another suitably qualified velominati.
@scaler911
@Souleur Here in South Carolina. Most weekends are riding thru areas that involve off and on climbing -- not awful climbing though. We have climbs referred to as Double-Hump and Little Mountain. There's always a good share of climbing around here. I have been stocking 11-21 (Record, Chorus) and keep riding 11-21. I do keep a 13-26 in the toolbox. And have blended Campy cassettes to make an 11-21 when they became difficult to find.
It was a new 44 Record chainring that prompted me to add the 54. Races are usually won on small differences, so I decided to try 1 extra tooth on the Big Ring (relevant to experience with 53/39). I had been riding 52/42 and found that I prefer the 42 over a 39. And then found myself agreeing to mount a 54/44 setup to try (4 months ago ??) for myself. I feels perfectly natural.
@scaler911
Ah: that makes more sense (I was making light of the idea of having them locked in the position in the pic). How do you like them? I'm not sure I'd want them for climbing, but I could really profit from something like that to strengthen my left side.
@Souleur
I listen for the sound of my isolated shift. I time my moment to shift early back to the front of the cassette (once or twice) when coming over the top of a climb. Well before the crest. Unrelenting, although the Saturday group seems to thrive on this.
@frank
Cog ring, whatever - you knew what i meant you over-sized Dutch cunt.
@minion
Are you saying we should start seeing other people?
@unversio
Huh? Wha? Meaning it, the 54/44 feels perfectly natural. A perfect Holiday (experimental) gift for most any cyclist!
@DerHoggz
The new external bears are possibly the single biggest improvement to bike gear in the last decade. The difference is night and day and for mortals makes a bigger impact than frame material for stiffness.
@Steampunk
That's an awesome saying and I wish I'd remembered that on rattlesnake. But I don't get what you're on about with the minute? Of course a minute doesn't change - when is a minute not a minute? Are you in the flux capacitor?
Or are you saying you have a minute, period, before you blow up? That's the old Rule VV thing there, so you just have to learn to pace yourself to climb at 90% instead of 100%. Its like JPEG compression; 90% and 100% are almost as fast, but you burn through your fuel way more slowerified.
@Ron
Or, as Museeuw says, "I don't like the compact. The outer ring isn't big enough for climbing."
You'll have to post pictures; you could need a front mech, chain, and BB. Or none of those things. It depends.
@Ron
It sounds like you need to add a touch of finesse to your shifting, cowboy.