track racing is all about leg speed. of course you need to be strong and have good fitness, but leg speed is so very important, especially for sprinting on the track.closesupport said:
when you said you did a bunch of these do you do them over a set period of time or the duration of the time, curious to as since i have been on the track once, i have enjoyed it and more to the point i really enjoy the exhileration from going fast not that i didn't go fast on roads or decents, there seems to be more of a fear factor on the track.velomanct said:
i did 3 of these sprints throughout my 90minute ride. i usually like to have at least 10 minutes in between sprints.closesupport said:
okey i have just give that a try and its alot easier to get upto speed rather than grinding out a larger gear, plus it seems to be a little easier to maintain, but still i find that i am compelled to change gears, do you reamain at that ratio or increase as you increase in speed, also i have noticed that if i am spinning to fast i have a tendancy to bounce in the seat. i have read that at this point your spinning to fast for that ratio, is that correct would you change or stick to the ratio but slow the spinning down a little.velomanct said:
when i do these high cadence seated sprints, i stay in one gear, usually 39x19 or 17 if it's slightly downhill. i definitely bounce in the saddle when i get up near 30mph during this drill. that's okay, it's only a sprint, and your body should adapt. don't worry about bouncing. the whole point of this drill is to condition your fast twitch muscles to fire at very high rpm(fastest possible), with medium resistence. (at the end of these sprints, i am at about 600watts. not maximum, but not light resistence.) this drill should improve your top end speed in a 200 meter track sprint, where you are in the saddle pedaling as fast as possible, even though you are likely to be at 140-160rpms, not 180)closesupport said:
I do something similar, but when i jump to standing and stamping (Stomp) on the pedals i usually fiind that i bounce the backend of the bike, if it doesn't bounce i ain't offering enough forward momentum and too much weight on the backend, (if you imagine, just passing the 12o'clock position and stamping as hard as you can on the pedal) i find that when the bike has reached my standing speed the backend doesn't bounce anymore 'this is usually around 36/38mph then i'll sit down and drop through the gears until i can't maintain it anymore. these last for about 1000m, but when i sit, i assume aero position, and shift through 3/4 gears pushing it to a faster speed.velomanct said:
so far its working.
closesupport said:I do something similar, but when i jump to standing and stamping (Stomp) on the pedals i usually fiind that i bounce the backend of the bike, if it doesn't bounce i ain't offering enough forward momentum and too much weight on the backend, (if you imagine, just passing the 12o'clock position and stamping as hard as you can on the pedal) i find that when the bike has reached my standing speed the backend doesn't bounce anymore 'this is usually around 36/38mph then i'll sit down and drop through the gears until i can't maintain it anymore. these last for about 1000m, but when i sit, i assume aero position, and shift through 3/4 gears pushing it to a faster speed.
is that right????
Also i have started adding 1 legged intervals mashing out a top gear, upto about 60 revelutions then exchanging, now this alone for over an hour i have noticed an increase in speed, when i use both legs, plus when they tire i can have a little rest and let one leg take over so they git to recover on the move.
out on the road on a flat stretch i was maintaining 43mph, i could have gone more but i was drafting off some shocked motorcyclist
but when you say seated leg sprints, do ou apply your weight more over the rear of the saddle pushing across the pedals opposed to pushing down.???
most the time when i'm doing starts (accelleration i do them on my mtb) since i have a smaller gear ratio, 32/15 to 25-30mph thats done in around 4 or 5 seconds but only a few seconds more during jump starts on 53/17 but i prefare to ride 39x17 if i want to generate any decent kind of cadence spin.velomanct said:
as a runner/sprinter capable of 20mph or so capable of running down a cycle thief with an 400metre start, i'd say that the 7 seconds that your achieving so far is pretty good, i am however very glad that your aren't the oppertunist thief that decided he liked my bike enough to risk his healthvelomanct said:
closesupport said:what do you do as in training sessions vel (is it just track sessions) do you ride with the nationals or anything?
Ohhh ! vel that gotta hurt, you okey, the frame; what the LBS have to say? god i hope you don't have to splash out for a new power tap.
Is your bike not insured, tell them the wheel and powertap have died, i'll give your old one a good home,
If you are looking for greater explosive sprint power(track racing) or just more strength from bike workouts, I would recomend the overgeared sprints. There is tremendous tension in your muscles during these, a lot more than overgeared climbs, and it activates your fast twitch muscles.closesupport said:
I do find that during times that i have been sprinting, spinning etc, that my leggs seem to weeken and the effort required to mash out the bigger gears becomes somewhat difficult, i have however found that mashing out the larger gears for one or two days on the hills (thats up not down), helps me regain that lost strength, then again i am able to mash out the top gears maintaining 25-30 53x12 where the days previous turning 53x15 had become difficult, maybe its the difference in cadence that allows the muscles to recover, opposed to spinning 53x15 for long periods of time, like this week for instance i'm mashing 53x12 and i was trying to spin 53x17 which i was finding difficult due to tired legs.velomanct said:
what do you do to recover over periods of tired legs? light spinning doesn't seem to help since the following day they feel pretty much little in difference.
If my legs are tired I simply take it easy or don't ride. After a few days they come back. I just took a rest week, only did one ride since sunday. I bet I will be flying tomorrow. And tomorrow is the day I get my powertap wheel back. What a coincidenceclosesupport said:I do find that during times that i have been sprinting, spinning etc, that my leggs seem to weeken and the effort required to mash out the bigger gears becomes somewhat difficult, i have however found that mashing out the larger gears for one or two days on the hills (thats up not down), helps me regain that lost strength, then again i am able to mash out the top gears maintaining 25-30 53x12 where the days previous turning 53x15 had become difficult, maybe its the difference in cadence that allows the muscles to recover, opposed to spinning 53x15 for long periods of time, like this week for instance i'm mashing 53x12 and i was trying to spin 53x17 which i was finding difficult due to tired legs.
they seem to be recovering now since i was hitting 30+ on the flat again in 53x12 my cadence maybe slower but its giving my legs the opertunity to recover
i wish i had the option not to ride at the moment, my only mode of transport is to cycle, so the only choice of not riding is not riding (training) of an evening, but no matter how tired my legs are feeling at the minute i have a tendency to either slow down my speeds to and from work, the last 4 weeks i have been spinning 44x19 at 23mph now i have just opted to use the higher 44x11 and try to mash out the big gears, when i have regained that strength i guess i'll be dropping again to 44x13 and back up to 27mph, I'm a little worried now about sunday since the thought of riding 53x13 which to me seems somewhat enormous. ohh 7/8 seconds or so to accelerate to 31mph maintained over 800mvelomanct said:
