Having fun with my new bike



Resound said:
So standing on the pedals, in the lowest gear you have, your weight wasn't enough to get the bike moving? What sort of incline are we talking about here?! I lose traction and spin the back wheel before the bike stops and while I'm a good bit younger and male (35y/o) that happens at a very low level of effort indeed in the lowest gear. And when I say lowest gear, that's actually middle chainring of the triple, not the smallest. Is this a torque thing or a balance at low speed thing? You say you used to ride track so I'm guessing that you're an experienced rider and I'd be surprised if balance was the issue, but I'm equally surprised at the notion that you can't muster enough power standing on the pedals to get the bike moving. I'm honestly not trying to troll or be confrontational, I just don't quite understand what happened.
Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and a bit, instead of two legs).

Hell, not having breakfast would have been enough to do me in. I strongly recommend at least two breakfasts a day :D

ali
 
alison_b wrote:
> Resound Wrote:
> Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is
> clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip
> and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat
> clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and a
> bit, instead of two legs).
>


You've got it, that is _exactly_ what happened. I'd expected a lot more
speed production than I got, so applied more power, unclipped foot skated
off and I hit the deck :(

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast
 
Karen Gallagher said:
alison_b wrote:
> Resound Wrote:
> Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is
> clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip
> and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat
> clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and a
> bit, instead of two legs).
>


You've got it, that is _exactly_ what happened. I'd expected a lot more
speed production than I got, so applied more power, unclipped foot skated
off and I hit the deck :(

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast

Ah, see, I've got MTB SPD cleats and I can quite happily stand on those even when they don't click in so once I've done that a few times I can clip in at my leisure.
 
Karen Gallagher said:
alison_b wrote:
> Resound Wrote:
> Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is
> clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip
> and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat
> clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and a
> bit, instead of two legs).
>


You've got it, that is _exactly_ what happened. I'd expected a lot more
speed production than I got, so applied more power, unclipped foot skated
off and I hit the deck :(

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast
*ouch ouch ouch*

I saw the aftermath of a similar incident last weekend... the Bloke's cleat broke off as he was standing to take off at an intersection. He then went on to stop the front wheel with his knee on the way down (this isn't recommended... it really puts the wheel out of whack :rolleyes: )

I pointed out that he wasn't going to catch me anyway :D Well, it certainly slowed him down for a few days, and he's put new cleats on...

I hope the grazing and bruising are healing and fading and you're able to enjoy the new bike again soon.

ali
 
Resound wrote:
> Karen Gallagher Wrote:
>> alison_b wrote:
>>> Resound Wrote:
>>> Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is
>>> clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip
>>> and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat
>>> clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and
>>> a bit, instead of two legs).
>>>

>>
>> You've got it, that is _exactly_ what happened. I'd expected a lot
>> more
>> speed production than I got, so applied more power, unclipped foot
>> skated
>> off and I hit the deck :(
>>
>> Karen
>>
>> --
>> "I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
>> - Slartibartfast

>
> Ah, see, I've got MTB SPD cleats and I can quite happily stand on
> those even when they don't click in so once I've done that a few
> times I can clip in at my leisure.


Mine are Look Keo's, and the shoes have a nice, shiny slippery plastic
soleplate, well matched for a sideways slide if you miss.

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast
 
alison_b <[email protected]> wrote:
> I saw the aftermath of a similar incident last weekend... the Bloke's
> cleat broke off as he was standing to take off at an intersection. He


Hmm, thanks for that. I've been ignoring the white indicators on my
8 month old Look cleats for a couple of months now. Think I'll put
some new ones on this weekend. :)

--
..dt
 
Resound wrote:
> Karen Gallagher Wrote:
>>
>> I did try that, but as it was uphill, all of my weight was not enough
>> to get
>> going - a second foot pulling up was an absolute requirement.
>>
>> In hindsight, better fitness will help (though I am very fit for a 58
>> yo),
>> plus more experience at clipping in quickly (my top field has a nice
>> slope
>> to practice on), and also maybe going PAST the turn off, turn round
>> then
>> getting up speed downhill as I clip in (against the flow of traffic,
>> I know,
>> but I had waited patiently for a decent gap in traffic so no real
>> risk) -
>> this was a dual carriageway I was crossing, btw.
>>
>> And also the fact I'd not eaten since breakfast, a 60 km ride had
>> left my
>> energy levels somewhat depleted.
>>
>>
>> --
>> "I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
>> - Slartibartfast

>
> So standing on the pedals, in the lowest gear you have, your weight
> wasn't enough to get the bike moving? What sort of incline are we
> talking about here?! I lose traction and spin the back wheel before
> the bike stops and while I'm a good bit younger and male (35y/o) that
> happens at a very low level of effort indeed in the lowest gear. And
> when I say lowest gear, that's actually middle chainring of the
> triple, not the smallest. Is this a torque thing or a balance at low
> speed thing? You say you used to ride track so I'm guessing that
> you're an experienced rider and I'd be surprised if balance was the
> issue, but I'm equally surprised at the notion that you can't muster
> enough power standing on the pedals to get the bike moving. I'm
> honestly not trying to troll or be confrontational, I just don't
> quite understand what happened.


Steep enough to ascend in the lowest gear the bike has, even before pulling
over to wait for the traffic. I also have had a lifelong habit of _always_
leaving a bike in a good starting gear (on a road bike, the bottom gear, on
the hybrid, a reasonable gear) before dismounting or stopping - after all,
I've been cycling since the late '50's :)
This bike only has two chainrings - I've yet to decide whether to change the
two chainrings or add a third - the concept of three chainrings on a road
bike does not sit well with me! But clearly I must address the gearing of
this bike.

The balance problem was caused by two errors on my part - not clipping in
smart enough (& hence the foot sliding wildly off the pedal), and not
anticipating the result of a hill start producing less than adequate forward
propulsion to keep going.

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast
 
"Karen Gallagher" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Resound wrote:
>> Karen Gallagher Wrote:
>>> alison_b wrote:
>>>> Resound Wrote:
>>>> Would it be possible to stand on the pedals if only one foot is
>>>> clipped in? I wouldn't be able to - the unclipped cleat would slip
>>>> and I'd end up on my butt. I'd have thought only having one cleat
>>>> clipped would reduce the amount of oomph available (eg. one leg and
>>>> a bit, instead of two legs).
>>>>
>>>
>>> You've got it, that is _exactly_ what happened. I'd expected a lot
>>> more
>>> speed production than I got, so applied more power, unclipped foot
>>> skated
>>> off and I hit the deck :(
>>>
>>> Karen
>>>
>>> --
>>> "I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
>>> - Slartibartfast

>>
>> Ah, see, I've got MTB SPD cleats and I can quite happily stand on
>> those even when they don't click in so once I've done that a few
>> times I can clip in at my leisure.

>
> Mine are Look Keo's, and the shoes have a nice, shiny slippery plastic
> soleplate, well matched for a sideways slide if you miss.
>
> Karen
>

Gah. Doesn't sound user friendly.