New Year pedolutionists



TimC <[email protected]> writes:

> I don't like glary jerseys for just this reason. I don't like
> advertising, so why would I want to wear many company's logos
> plastered over my clothes?

Depends if you believe in the product or not. I LOVE Irn Bru so am
quite happy to be a mobile bill board for them ;-)
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)
 
On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 20:59:43 +1100, David Trudgett wrote:

>I also know some clipless system shoes can be walked in, for some
>definition of 'walk'.

The "sneaker" style Shimano SPD shoes are quire comfortable to walk in,
and the cleat is reasonably protected. I regularly ride to work in them,
work/walk/shop/etc. then ride home. If I'm walking a few km I'll tend to
pack a pair of joggers, purely for cleat wear reasons.

I don't use the bike every day for transport, mainly because I'm not at
work every day, but it's probably my most frequent commute over the last
12 months.

--
Dave Hughes | [email protected]
"SCSI is *not* magic. There are fundamental technical reasons why it is
necessary to sacrifice a young goat to your SCSI chain now and then."
- Daniel M. Drucker
 
David Trudgett <[email protected]> writes:

> That assumes a certain set of values on their part, which are
> different for people who use bicycles for transport.

FYI the primary use of my bicycle is transport. I don't race, it's rare
I get on the bike for any other reason than to get from a to b. And
yes, I use clip less pedals.

With SPD and Egg Beaters there are plenty shoes out there which are
perfectly adequate for walking as well as cycling. Rare is the
occasion that I need to change shoes at the other end of the journey.
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)
 
Random Data said:
The "sneaker" style Shimano SPD shoes are quire comfortable to walk in,
and the cleat is reasonably protected. I regularly ride to work in them,
work/walk/shop/etc. then ride home. If I'm walking a few km I'll tend to
pack a pair of joggers, purely for cleat wear reasons.
Click to expand...

The topline carbon reinforced ones with blades to walk on have recessed cleats and are bad to walk on. Mine have handy toe spikes for scratching tiles.
 
On 08/01/06 at 18:26:51 James Pearce somehow managed to type:

<snip>

> How 'bout some advice regarding spinning from you guys ... one of my


I'm a spinner - non matching legs will do that to you...:) My normal
cadence is around the 110-120 mark - if I slow it down to about 100 I
feel like I'm really pushing a HUGE gear so I spin...:)

The trick is to be smoooooooth and pedal in circles - you can't do that
if you feel like you're PUSHING down on the pedals. If you feel
yourself 'pushing' the pedals your cadence is too low so either speed
up or change to a lower gear. Try not to worry about what your candence
may be or what your road speed is just try and be smooooooth...:)
It'll come in time if you pedal in circles and keep it nice and easy
and smooth. A very slight uphill in a couple of gears too low is as
good a place to practice as any - just keep at it and it'll happen.


<snip>

--
Humbug
BE A LOOF! (There has been a recent population explosion of lerts.)
 
On 08/01/06 at 17:46:50 Kathy somehow managed to type:

<snip>
>
>
> Hmmm I thought it might be, but surely chips belong somewhere....

Yep. Chips are part of the "C" group of food. Cake, iCe Cream, Coffee,
Chocolate, Coffee sCrolls, the best snakes are rich in gluCose, etc.
Beer IS the "B" group, of course. I believe those two to be the most
important food groups of all...:)



--
Humbug
BE A LOOF! (There has been a recent population explosion of lerts.)
 
"David Trudgett" wrote:
> "Peter Signorini" writes:

>> Have used them for over 12 years now, so I think that
>> counts as some experience. Several friends of mine, who've argued
>> for years that toe clips were the best thing out, have suddenly
>> become SPD advocates, about a month after trying SPDs. They have not
>> gone back to the toe clip.
>
> That assumes a certain set of values on their part, which are
> different for people who use bicycles for transport.

These particular cycling friends _do_ use their bikes for transport - they
do not own cars, so it's bike, hoof it or PT. Good clipless shoes (not the
carbon race shoes) are fine to walk about in. I've been wearing mine all day
today after a nice MTB ride around Lake Mountain. Casual recreational shoes
look pretty much like sneakers and could be used readily for most street
use. Maybe one day someone will come out with a range of SPD dress shoes for
commuter use, but until then, when I commute I carry a change of shoes - not
a change of clothes because there's no change facilities at work. Really not
such a big deal to change shoes on arrival at work, but I would just walk
around the shops/pub/cafe in the SPD shoes if I'd ridden there on the way
home, rather than change shoes.

Don't assume that society is so staight-laced about shoes that you can't
walk about in a pair of SPDs like:
https://host263.ipowerweb.com/~wool...gi?cart_id=3338967.22616*fn5sI0&product=Shoes
(the Shimano MT-30 or MT-40 are very conservative and will have more comfy
walking soles)

Just some ideas :)

Cheers
Peter
 
On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 08:19:11 GMT, TimC wrote:

> I had a natural cadence somewhere around 60 or so. By attempting to
> time my revolutions against the clock, I was able to keep it a fair
> bit higher than that -- you do slip back into old habits occasionally,
> at first. Keep at it, and eventually it becomes natural. Now that I
> have a cadence sensor on my computer, I can force myself to go
> 90+/-5rpm. I do certainly notice that my natural cadence varies by
> +/- 15 or so, depending on leg fatigue, tiredness, time of day, phase
> of moon, and cosmic ray flux energy density.

People I ride with used to tell me that I spin too fast, claiming that
my cadence must be 120+. So I put on a cadence sensor (a good
excuse to get a better computer too!) and found that it never
got over 105, and was normally 90-100. Now I give them the exact
reading, remind them of current thinking on the subject and they
shut up :)

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
 
ritcho said:
Umm if r_nners are lasting >5 yrs, they're not "r_nners"... I'm not sure what they're called, but definately not "r_nners"! :D
Click to expand...

My bad, I kinda had that **** about.

I was arguing that my SPDs lasted heaps longer than my runners. My SPDs are 5 years+ not the r_nners. So, given that the r_nners were more expensive than an SPD "system" and last 1/5th the time.. my money is still with the shoes that go 'click'. :)

hippy
- can still ride
 
Humbug said:
The trick is to be smoooooooth and pedal in circles - you can't do that
if you feel like you're PUSHING down on the pedals. If you feel
yourself 'pushing' the pedals your cadence is too low so either speed
up or change to a lower gear. Try not to worry about what your candence
may be or what your road speed is just try and be smooooooth...:)
It'll come in time if you pedal in circles and keep it nice and easy
and smooth. A very slight uphill in a couple of gears too low is as
good a place to practice as any - just keep at it and it'll happen.
Click to expand...

My trainer tells me try aim for a cadence of 90 and she has me thinking about pedalling in circles and concentrating on sweeping up and over at the bottom and back of the pedal stroke (hope that makes sense). She also tells me to think about pulling my knees loser together as this helps to engage the inner thigh muscles which are strong and will help you pedal faster.

I don't think I explained that very well but give it a go next time you are on the bike. This technique obviously relies on having some form of clipless pedals or toe clips to allow the focus on the pull rather than the push.
 
James Pearce said:
[snip]

How 'bout some advice regarding spinning from you guys ... one of my
mental barriers in increasing my cadence has been that not only am I
powering the bike, I am also shifting my weighy legs less efficiently
compared with pushing a heaview weight at a lower cadence. Do the
benefits of spinning apply regardless, or can leg weight (and associated
power for pushing) be a factor?

Jimmay
Click to expand...

I wouldn't try going from 60rpm to 110rpm in one go... however, think about this: At a faster cadence, you don't have to push as hard on the pedal to produce the same power - you just do more of them.

You'll also find that more balance is required at a higher cadence, which means you'll need to develop a nice, smooth action that balances those weighty legs at the right time. Big legs probably need more balance, so you might want to gradually increase your 'normal' cadence.

Ritch
 
--
Frank
[email protected]
Drop DACKS to reply
"James Pearce" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> Kathy wrote:
> >
> >
> > TimC wrote:
> >
> >>
> <stuff deleted>
> >>
> >> Truly useful things like convincing people to spin at 90rpm (and this
> >> suggestion comes free) are much more useful than telling them they
> >> need to buy $500 of kit just to start out.
> >
> >
> > Oh yeah.. thats so true. I try not to be so critical .. cept of
> > supermarket bikes. Even GV bikes are a light year from total ****.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Dave
> >
> >>
> >
> How 'bout some advice regarding spinning from you guys ... one of my
> mental barriers in increasing my cadence has been that not only am I
> powering the bike, I am also shifting my weighy legs less efficiently
> compared with pushing a heaview weight at a lower cadence. Do the
> benefits of spinning apply regardless, or can leg weight (and associated
> power for pushing) be a factor?
>
> Jimmay

I often tell newbies to always be one gear lower than they think they need.
I find it encourages spinning rather than mashing. As people become more
aware of their stroke they work it out for themselves, but the 'one gear
lower' thing seems to be a good start...

Cheers,

Frank
 
SuzieB said:
My trainer tells me try aim for a cadence of 90 and she has me thinking about pedalling in circles and concentrating on sweeping up and over at the bottom and back of the pedal stroke (hope that makes sense). She also tells me to think about pulling my knees loser together as this helps to engage the inner thigh muscles which are strong and will help you pedal faster.

I don't think I explained that very well but give it a go next time you are on the bike. This technique obviously relies on having some form of clipless pedals or toe clips to allow the focus on the pull rather than the push.
Click to expand...

I was always taught what I think is the same as SuzieB and here is a (possibly better??) description.

Picture your pedal revolution is a clock. Starting at 3 o'clock, pull the pedal back (pretend to be dragging your foot backwards on the ground) to 9 o'clock. From 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock, give your foot almost like a flick. From 12 - 3 do nothing.

Like Suzie said, this encourages you to use bigger, much more capable muscles and creates a far smoother pedal stroke. The whole 'pedalling in circles' action is quite amateur and doesn't really achieve anything.

Lotte
 
James Pearce wrote:


> How 'bout some advice regarding spinning from you guys ... one of my
> mental barriers in increasing my cadence has been that not only am I
> powering the bike, I am also shifting my weighy legs less efficiently
> compared with pushing a heaview weight at a lower cadence. Do the
> benefits of spinning apply regardless, or can leg weight (and associated
> power for pushing) be a factor?


Read Emma Colson's article :

http://www.topbike.com.au/pdfs/colson-bicyc-austjuly_aug2002.pdf

Leg weight cancels out (think about it). Re efficiencies of cadence,
around 80-100 rpm is your best bet, lower end for strong legs, higher
end for stronger aerobic engines, as a gross generalisation.
 
James Pearce wrote:


> How 'bout some advice regarding spinning from you guys ... one of my
> mental barriers in increasing my cadence has been that not only am I
> powering the bike, I am also shifting my weighy legs less efficiently
> compared with pushing a heaview weight at a lower cadence. Do the
> benefits of spinning apply regardless, or can leg weight (and associated
> power for pushing) be a factor?


Read Emma Colson's article :

http://www.topbike.com.au/pdfs/colson-bicyc-austjuly_aug2002.pdf

Leg weight cancels out (think about it). Re efficiencies of cadence,
around 80-100 rpm is your best bet, lower end for strong legs, higher
end for stronger aerobic engines, as a gross generalisation.
 
LotteBum said:
I was always taught what I think is the same as SuzieB and here is a (possibly better??) description.

Picture your pedal revolution is a clock. Starting at 3 o'clock, pull the pedal back (pretend to be dragging your foot backwards on the ground) to 9 o'clock. From 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock, give your foot almost like a flick. From 12 - 3 do nothing.

Like Suzie said, this encourages you to use bigger, much more capable muscles and creates a far smoother pedal stroke. The whole 'pedalling in circles' action is quite amateur and doesn't really achieve anything.

Lotte
Click to expand...
Well said Lotte. I tend to think of the 3 to 9 positions as flat... like moon walking almost. OMG that sounds even more complicated!
 
SuzieB said:
Well said Lotte. I tend to think of the 3 to 9 positions as flat... like moon walking almost. OMG that sounds even more complicated!
Click to expand...
No it doesn't. Spot on.

Lotte
 
Euan wrote:

> Not really, I was about five. That's one of the biggest problems
> Australia has, a lost generation of cycling.
>
> In the UK I didn't get ferried around to the various out of school
> activities, I rode. Everywhere. And that was considered normal That
> doesn't happen here, in fact it doesn't happen much in the UK now.

In Holland I was four. Before that, when I got ferried around it was on the
back of mum's or dad's bike.

Nobody ever drove me to school in 12 years of xchooling. In my schools only
pansies got driven to school. By the time I was ten my, and all my mates,
range of activity was about 15 kms. We wore out tyres faster than shoes.

Theo
 
Bleve wrote:

> We sell toestraps and pedals with them. There's always luddites
> around .. some ride guzzis ... :)

You misspelled 'discerning individuals with exquisite taste'. :)

Theo
 
hippy wrote:

> Clips and straps not available? Are you serious?? I've thrown away
> more sets of toe-straps than I can count!

I've got a couple of nice pairs of stainless steel braid reinforced straps.
Lovely things.

Theo
 
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