Okay, tried the higher cadence on a 15 mile trip round Oxford @ 60~65rpm but find it difficult to sustain above 65, my legs tire out! This is a bit of a surprise to me :-(
You're doing something you're not used to yet: you won't just change overnight with a flick of a switch, it will take a bit of time and persistence. Took me a bit of work, but I'm very glad I did it.
Pete.
I've just gone back to using high gears after twiddling for about 2 years. I'm going a lot faster, I'm not as tired, and I'm getting maximum breeze for minimum movement. The down side is that my fellow cyclists are complaining that they can't keep up. --
3 Cadence can be markedly increased by 'scientifically' using all the muscles in the leg. In practical terms this is down to two completely different things: (a) Using the ankle action [which may affect tendons in the knee - it appears to do so with mine if I over do it] to push down from [ish] 2 o'clock to 7 o'clock. This is often called spinning.[2] (b) As a result of (a), or perhaps preventing (a), getting a good leg stretch, allowing the use of the foot as well as the leg to push. That is enough saddle height[3] (or more accurately downtube distance) to facilitate the 'ankle' action.
Sh*ldon has this to say about it, doesn't seem like it's a good idea (tho I sometimes do it for short distances when doing er, long distances, to relieve the tedium:
Den 2006-07-03 01:00:02 skrev Martin Bulmer <[email hidden]>:
Quoted message said:
I've just gone back to using high gears after twiddling for about 2 years. I'm going a lot faster, I'm not as tired, and I'm getting maximum breeze for minimum movement. The down side is that my fellow cyclists are complaining that they can't keep up.
That used to be me! And now my knees are ruined. Luckily I can de-ruin them by raising the saddle to the right height, spinning and not pressing too hard. And keeping my knees warm.
I've just gone back to using high gears after twiddling for about 2 years. I'm going a lot faster, I'm not as tired, and I'm getting maximum breeze for minimum movement. The down side is that my fellow cyclists are complaining that they can't keep up.
But what's your actual cadence, before and after? If you spin the lower gears proportionately faster you go just as fast and can go on for longer because it stays in the aerobic zone. You might get "minimum movement" but you have to press that much harder so you're not doing any less work.
Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
[5] If you know what "ffrr" is then you're older than I thought!
lots of the young'uns *do...*
That brand was revived in the late 80s/early 90s by Pete Tong to release various dance music tunes, Orbital being one of their best known artists from that time.
Not forgetting Asian Dub Foundation. But who is Peter Tong? http://www.markovich-amp.com/audio/MARKOVICHAMP-Who_is_Peter.mp3 (sorry about the shameless self-promotion, but there ain't often threads that mix what I like doing, oh and the track "Insane" is about riding bikes around in traffic)
Quoted message said:
Coming back (slightly) on topic that may explain why (on the rare occasions I listen to music whilst riding [1]) I tend to prefer drum and bass and hardcore breaks, which have a BPM range of 150-170..
Bit down-tempo & chilled-out, then: I just calculated than when I max out at 62kph downhill on the fixer, that's 200bpm. Now where's my Moby Voodoo Child album - that'll be me doing 192mph...
