What has four thumbs and loves climbing in big gears? Those guys!
I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!
— Henri Desgrange
I like to think that any time a rider running a compact punctures, Henri’s spirit is brought just that little bit closer to finding peace; I can only imagine what he might have said about the advent of these sorts of chainsets, let alone the wide-range cassettes we see in wide use today.
The thing that bothers me most about wide-range cassettes is the gaps between the gears. Growing up riding in Minnesota, I trained on a 12-23 and raced on an 12-21 because they were basically a straight block until you got to the lowest gears. Going to the mountains I would reluctantly use a 12-27 but I had to stop myself looking at the back wheel too much because I hated the sight of that 27t dinner plate. I’ve gotten used to what my bikes look like with the 12-25 I’m training on these days, but there are definitely times when I simply can’t find the right gear ratio for the terrain.
Growing up, I was considered a spinner for riding at 80-90 rpm; the thinking at the time was that mashing big gears at low cadences was more efficient. We are greatly influenced by what the Pros are doing, and the famous Cyclists at the time like Hinault and LeMond rode at 60 rpm, so that’s what we punters did, too. Today, I’m still riding at the same cadence, but now people consider me to be a bit of a gear pusher in our modern 100+ rpm climate. I like to flatter myself that the size of my climbing gear intimidates the spinners I ride with; my favorite question to ask them is why they are riding in the little ring already. I usually already know the answer (they are sissies) but I like to ask anyway because I enjoy their slightly bewildered expression before looking at my chainset and realizing that I’m still in the 53. I always give them that special look that makes them wonder whether or not I have noticed that the climb is steep already.
Before spinning high cadences became popular and, shortly after, the abominable 11-28 block became the mainstream choice in gearing, climbers would seek to intimidate one another by how tight they could keep their gearing and how few teeth they needed to use to get over a climb. Climbers like Manuel Fuentes would make sure to always ride in a slightly bigger gear than the rest of the group as a show of defiance to the ferocity of the gradient. In The Rider, Tim Krabbé recounts his suffering on the climbs of the Tour de Mont Aigoual in the South of France. His lowest gear was a 19, one which he considered his “bail out” gear. He was confident he could win the race, and throughout he imagines the onlookers admiring the fact that his 19 never saw the chain, “And his 19 was clean as a whistle,” he imagined them saying.
I personally can’t imagine climbing anything steeper than an overpass in a 19, but I do like to challenge myself to stay off my 39 and ride an entire training route in the 53. And his 39 was clean as a whistle.
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Compact and a 28. Its been a while since I told anyone.
I feel so dirty !
#whateverittakes
"zijn 19 was nog helemaal schoon" was exactly what I was thinking when I started to read the article, so was good to see @frank hadn't forgotten about it; and if he had, then I am sure @ErikdR would have reminded him.
The old steel bike has 52/42 and original block when up to 23. When I was still in Netherlands, I replaced that with a straight corncob going up to 19 but since living in Switzerland, it's gone up to 26.
I used to be a masher but now am between 70-90 rpm, I do not like 100 plus, except on the Turbo.
And finally on the knees: running is worse, therefore Rule #42 already protects our knees enough. My knees only hurt when I switched from toeclips to clipless gundecks and I still had to find the right angle for the cleats.
It's no use running a 53/39 with a 12/25 on the back if you're never riding fast enough to turn the 53x12 and you can't get up your local climb in the 39/25. Horses for courses and different strokes for different folks.
I hated riding a compact though - it's what the bike came with. I was used to the standard triple on my commuter (52/42/30), and liked to descend smashing a 52x11 gear. 50x11 just isn't the same.
I love my 52/36 and I've got a 11-28 on my good wheels and 11-25 on the training wheels. There are some local hills where riding them in the 36x25 is bloody purgatory, 36x28 is bearable.
But the aim is to switch to 11-25 cassettes across the board eventually. And I do use the 52x11 a lot, descending, on the flat sometimes and on the track. And I do get accused of being a masher/grinder but I don't care.
I had a conversation with a riding friend about this and I said I didn't like riding a compact because it made me ride like a pussy - I meant having a 34t inner ring as a bail-out.
He took it the wrong way and thought I said that compacts are for pussies - I don't think that at all - but I know if I have a bail out gear I'll use it. And then I'll be going slower. And therefore violating Rules #5 and #10. Not acceptable.
@Dave
GCN (I think) has a video on this: having people ride on a treadmill at different cadences and gearing but at the same speed. Surprisingly they required less power at lower cadences (surprising to the guys doing it).
I'd post it but that would require looking for it, making the link, etc... It's better to leave a small aspect of suspicion that I'm making it up.
I think everyone has a self selected sweet spot for cadence - mine is 93 rpm +/- a couple of spins per minute.
I also think it is a good idea to force yourself to work either side of your sweet spot on a regular basis so that you can adapt to whatever the road may throw at you. When you turn the pedals slower you're leaning on leg muscles and easing the load on your cardiovascular systems. Your heart rate comes down a few beats per minute.
I can sometimes get leg cramps if I spin too fast for too long - bringing my cadence down for a spell can help.
Back in the day, 52-42 and a 12 straight through were about the norm. TA did crazy stuff for cyclotouristes. Now, for me being on the wrong side of 50 and cherishing my healthy knees, it's 50-36 and 11-23. I can get up anything in my neighborhood on that combo. Aesthetically, I'll take the smaller chainring for a smaller cassette.
This climb is one of a few reasons why I wouldn't run a 39...
https://www.strava.com/segments/1026043?filter=overall
@wiscot
Yup, grew up racing with 52/42 and 12-25 all over New England in the mid-to-late '80's. It's all we had (or at least all I knew of). Now I ride the Flemish Compact 53/39 (didn't realize that was a lexicon word until this thread came about) with a 12-27 cassette. Seriously too many 13-18% climbs around here even on my normal route to be running anything less on the rear (Museeuw be fucked!). My knees thank me for it.
And any thread that has a Krabbe' reference is an automatic win for me. It's like posting any photo of Tommeke in a thread; you just cannot go wrong with it! Might be time to reread The Rider, it's been a few years.