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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@mouse
Or to summarise, you don't want your testicles to hang so low that they get caught up in your chainring.
@scaler911 Keep your pretty words to yourself cassanova I"M A BLOKE.
Fair enough then, suppose that gets you off the hook this time.
@Marcus
I know, now I'm just like the rest of you climatically spoiled fucktards. On the upside, I might be working in your Parliament soon (for realsies!) I'll introduce you to Peter Slipper when you come visit, you;ll get on like houses on fire.
@Ken Ho
You do get more clearance with a compact...
Nah, I'm not really having a go at @niksch. Horses for courses. He's got a system that works for him. That's awesome.
If I had the funds to get a second bike, I'd probably go with a standard 52/42 just so I could have the choice.
@minion
Jaysus. Parliamentary democracy will never be the same.
You gonna be Christopher Pynes' (weasly little cunt) scriptwriter?
@mouse
I'm just happy I can get my fat ass up some of these mountains. The flat terrain in Illinois felt like cheating.
@Nate Ah, lawyers and physics; like oil and water.
@frank
Fixed your post for you -- the point being, if the gear ratio is the same, the effort to do a certain amount of work is the same, no?
@Oli
And I know you know. I often await your superb logic with other threads. The vector diagram only provides an understanding (realization) that some forces (most) are acting in the direction of the chain. And some component forces (slight) are acting perpendicular to the chain. The greater the angle of cross-chaining, then there is a greater component (force) that is acting to kill your chain and cassette. Your logic was 100 percent. Frank is possibly working out some other theory.
@Nate
No, in fact. If the gear size is the same, depending on where your points of leverage are in the system, you will have a better mechanical advantage.
As for the quip about the Dutch and physics, go get an education, you cretin! Most of the country is below sea level; takes some serious engineering to keep the country from drowning.
(Business Time just came up on a Genius for Audioslave's Original Fire. WTF?)