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 I used the same "truth" with leverage when I rode 177.5 cranks. Great for chasing down after a climb, but not so good for climbing. The rotations (cadence) is longer and tough to maintain. 172.5 cranks would do better in climbing. Oh please tell me that I'm "getting it" -- oh well shit!
@frank
If the gear inches are the same any increase in "leverage" between the big ring and small ring is compensated for by stepping the leverage back down with a different gear in the back. E.g.,53x23 and 39x17 both develop 4.8 meters on a standard road bike for one crack rev.
There is research out there. It has little to do with keeping the Low Countries dry but it suggests there ranges of efficiency and these depend largely on chain tension and sprocket size; larger sprockets seem to have less friction so you may be right that you are better off in the big ring and bigger cog than in the smaller ring and smaller cog. Interestingly, this means that a bicycle drivetrain is more mechanically efficient if you are spinning rather than mashing. It's not a function of leverage, however.
@frank
Also: Apologies in advance for exposing you to research -- I momentarily forgot your aversion to it.
@Nate
You're missing the point completely. We'll sort this out when we finally get around to having a ride together.
And I have no aversion to research, smart arse, but the trouble with you lawyers is you always believe everything your read. Didn't your mamma tell you something about that?
@frank
Missing the point of the article, or your theories on chainrings and Newtonian physics? The general point of your article is one I understand well. If it's the latter, I don't think you've formulated them yet, and I thought you'd find Springer, et al. interesting food for thought, my gratuitous dig notwithstanding. I think it supports your assertions, but comes to a different conclusion about why. Curious about your reaction to it.
Once your mechanical theories are in a more developed state I look forward to testing them out on a ride together, although I suspect they will only reach their fullest development with ample marination in ales. And if you think lawyers believe everything they read, you probably need a new lawyer.
@Nate Thanx for digging up that research. I needed it.
And ordering a new chain for Winter.
@Oli
I agree. I spent last year mashing the big ring in hopes that it would make me stronger. Perhaps it did in a minor way, but I have learned that judicious use of the appropriate small ring/cog combination allows you to keep momentum and still save the legs. I was able to put this in practice on a century ride a couple weeks back where I closed a large gap between myself and a young (20 something rider), and then maintained a gap all the way to the end. I knew he was mashing the big ring all day long and could see the overall fatigue of the miles and time on the bike taking its toll. I know it was a matter of time and he would not be able to stay up with me once I made the effort to gap him.
I have commented elsewhere that to me the biggest advantage to STI shifting has been the ability to drop the big ring and simultaneously grab a handfull of cogs to maintain momentum to climb and stay on the wheel . I was never a smooth shifter back in the day of DT shifting so I basically found a suitable gear and rode my bike like it was a single speed with only major adjustments being dictated by the terrain. Needless to say some of the same rides I do today with signficant souplesse, are the rides that kicked my ass back in the 70's . Notwithstanding the fact that I engaged in social behaviors that were counterintuitive to VO2 max and rode a 30 lb steel bike, the ability to always be in a gear that facilitates easy spinning is likely a factor for the difference in performance.
All things being equal, I will say that dropping the 28 cog on an 11-28 cassette in favor of 12-27 has been a good move for me. I feel like I was getting weaker by depending on the 28 to bail me out on climbs I could do with the 27 and only slight increase in heart rate. The most noticable drawback has been the loss of top end without the 11T. However its only on the descents and I am arguably fast enough downhill in the drops, perhaps too fast given the potential to have a deer jump out of the woods and cross the road in front of me. As others here have said, it is not a lack of ratios that hold me back as much as it is the limitations of plane of fittness and conditioning mediated by physiology. At 58, there is not much I am able to do to improve those parameters as much as I can with smart shifting to preserve my legs over the distance.
@GottaRideTodat Good post, I have been wanting to check and make sure that people know the little ring is good for training the aerobic system, and that it's no good being able to mash a big gear for 20 minutes if you're going slower than everyone else and can't respond to changes in pace.
Interesting indeed.
I played with the 100+ cadence after switching to road from mountain right around 2002-3. Of course, the big expert was Chris Carmichel, I mean he was coach to the world's best! Or so I thought at the time. After struggling with a nice fast spin, I realized that I needed to do what was right for me. And I slowed down to 80-95. That and some better understanding of how a cat 5 peloton works (it doesn't) made me a better rider. Then I started riding the track....