Axel Merckx Blows it with wrong gears?

(remove the polite word to reply) said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped him.
OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Yeah. Isn't it surprizing how a 39 X 28 becomes a 39 X 21 in the
clubhouse/bar later..............?

[email hidden] (remove the polite word to
reply) wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped

him.

Quoted message said:

OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Like Axel could have followed Virenque up a 12% climb no
matter what gearing he was using.

"remove the polite word to reply" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped him.
OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Maybe.

Quoted message said:

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Yeah, a lot of them calculate the bottom gear with the help of the race
guide or they look at the steepest section and plan on going well through
there. When you are off the front for that long, the legs are not always as
good as you thought (or hoped) they would be so it really is merely a case
of not factoring in every variable. In this case, my guess is he has the
right gears for the stage but just did not plan to be off the front and
alone for so long. Once he was committed, all he could do was struggle
through the bad sections. Don't forget though, he got fried *first* and then
struggled with the gear and not the other way around. This is why so many
people react to Armstrong's attacks with the high cadence in comparison to
those he leaves behind. The low cadence is a symptom of getting blown away,
and not necessarily the cause of it.

Chris said:

"remove the polite word to reply" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped him.
OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Maybe.

Quoted message said:

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Yeah, a lot of them calculate the bottom gear with the help of the race
guide or they look at the steepest section and plan on going well through
there. When you are off the front for that long, the legs are not always as
good as you thought (or hoped) they would be so it really is merely a case
of not factoring in every variable. In this case, my guess is he has the
right gears for the stage but just did not plan to be off the front and
alone for so long. Once he was committed, all he could do was struggle
through the bad sections. Don't forget though, he got fried *first* and then
struggled with the gear and not the other way around. This is why so many
people react to Armstrong's attacks with the high cadence in comparison to
those he leaves behind. The low cadence is a symptom of getting blown away,
and not necessarily the cause of it.

Davey nudges Jim Bowie, "How long does a rear wheel change take
these days, Jim?"

<Davey [email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]
gers.com...

Quoted message said:

Chris said:

"remove the polite word to reply" <[email hidden]> wrote

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped him.
OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Maybe.

Quoted message said:

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Yeah, a lot of them calculate the bottom gear with the help of the race
guide or they look at the steepest section and plan on going well

through

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

there. When you are off the front for that long, the legs are not always

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

good as you thought (or hoped) they would be so it really is merely a

case

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of not factoring in every variable. In this case, my guess is he has the
right gears for the stage but just did not plan to be off the front and
alone for so long. Once he was committed, all he could do was struggle
through the bad sections. Don't forget though, he got fried *first* and

then

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

struggled with the gear and not the other way around. This is why so

many

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

people react to Armstrong's attacks with the high cadence in comparison

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

those he leaves behind. The low cadence is a symptom of getting blown

away,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and not necessarily the cause of it.

Davey nudges Jim Bowie, "How long does a rear wheel change take
these days, Jim?"

That depends on where the car is, and where the *right* wheel (with the
desired gears) is. Probably too far in this case...

This is why so many

Quoted message said:

people react to Armstrong's attacks with the high cadence in comparison to
those he leaves behind. The low cadence is a symptom of getting blown away,
and not necessarily the cause of it.

To some degree I'm sure this is right; but it's a bit of a "chicken
and egg" thing too.
If you're starting to get tired and you bog down, the high peak loads
might help finish you off ( lactate buildup, anyone?)
whereas if you had more realistic gears you maybe could die more
slowly.

Quoted message said:

Yeah. Isn't it surprizing how a 39 X 28 becomes a 39 X 21 in the
clubhouse/bar later..............?

I see it different- I think many DO ride a 21,
it's just no one talks about the 30 RPMs they can drive it at!

As I pontificate over and over, if LA needs a 39-24 for mountainous
races
to have optimal cadence available ,
that means the local macho cat 1-2-3 ( WITH WHOM I COULD NEVER KEEP
UP) need a ___?

I remember when the 32 tooth MTB cassettes for an 8sp compact drivetrain came
out. I got one immediately and got ribbed constantly by my buddies...until I
was able to beat them on the climbs because I could maintain a spin.
Within a few races...they were all riding 32 tooth cassettes! (and kicking my
butt again)
Wes

[email hidden] (Wesley Best) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I remember when the 32 tooth MTB cassettes for an 8sp compact drivetrain came
out. I got one immediately and got ribbed constantly by my buddies...until I
was able to beat them on the climbs because I could maintain a spin.
Within a few races...they were all riding 32 tooth cassettes! (and kicking my
butt again)
Wes

32 !?!? Jeebus! What kind of grade are you climbing? Or are you a
bit long of tooth yourself?

I'm 44 and will resort to a 25 when I have to, but I'm able to do the
most of the steepest stuff with 39/23. I put a 34 on my MTB a couple
years ago but found I kept flipping on the steep climbs, too much
torque my body mass and gravity couldn't counter, I went back to a 32
so I wouldn't have that problem again.

Boyd Speerschneider <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (remove the polite word to
reply) wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Merckx was down to about 50-60 RPM as Virenque dropped

him.

Quoted message said:

OLN guys said it was 12% +.

I wonder what was his lowest was- maybe only a 23?

Even the pros suffer from the Fantasy Gears effect.
("Me? Ride a 27? Ha!)

Like Axel could have followed Virenque up a 12% climb no
matter what gearing he was using.

From the look of it it wasn't just the gearing, but Axel looked to be
laboring while Richard was just ticking the pedals over smoothly. An
all-arounder vs a pure climber on a steep grade? Not much of a
contest, really.