Do you climb on your big ring?

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Zakalwe
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by Zakalwe

Do you sprint on your small ring?

xena
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by xena

Zakalwe wrote:Do you sprint on your small ring?


:lol: I Actually switch my electric motor on I have hidden in the BB. :lol:
I never feel safe going that fast in the drops . I can do it OK, but I don't like it.
I had some zipp bars just snap out on me once so I l have lost a bit of faith/ confidence riding in the drops. I stay topside .
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xena
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by xena

Top of the madone and the top of the eze

Image


Image
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racingcondor
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by racingcondor

xena wrote:
racingcondor wrote:
xena wrote:Just like the points made in the article I linked. For "me" riding in the big ring is easier . Its that simple.
I have tried the same gears using the small ring and its just not as effective for "me"
If it was I would not climb in the big ring.
Of course its not the best possible chain line but for me it works and it worked pretty well for Valverde this year and Pantani " known for climbing on his big ring"


Unfortunately Xena you are missing the point. As said above gear inches is gear inches and your 53x24 is almost exactly the same as 36x16. The only measurable difference is that the chain line is better on the 36x16. At a given speed, cadence and effort will be almost identical and any 'it works for me' feeling is purely psychological.

The pro's who climb on the big ring are doing something completely different, they are riding at a lower cadence but pulling more gear inches to compensate. This is (from my amateur knowledge) harder on the legs but easier on the lungs and therefore may suit some riders. I personally do the opposite because I find that grinding a huge gear in a race means I can't respond to changes in speed (and I'd argue that this summer at times nor could Valverde and it clearly works for him).



I can respond to changes in pace on my big ring . I practice it 3 times a week 1-2 hours each session.
You ride the way that suits you best and I ride the way that suits me best.
We are all different and ride differently. There is no right way. Look at the comments the Froome gets about his riding style or Bertie always out of his saddle. We do what suits us, there is no right or wrong if it gets great results and your happy.
I don't ride for 6 hours a day. I just train so that when I go to Scotland or France etc I can climb nice and comfortably sometimes slow sometimes fast. I'm not trying to win a race or beat anyone I just enjoying riding my bikes.


Please reread my post as you missed the point again. In my example, you riding in the 53x24 the 36x16 is almost identical for cadence, effort, leg speed, speed over the ground, force and any other measure you want to throw at it (as has been said, read up on gear inches). The only differences in the 53x24 are marginal increases in chain wear and chain ring damage due to the cross chain and a (likely insignificant) loss in power caused by the additional friction. The only benefit is that you didn't have to shift the front.

I'm not criticising the way you ride, I know plenty of people who hog the big ring, it's not uncommon (not great form but the impact is pretty tiny so who really cares). That said, I'm out. Everything you need to understand the subject is here so you're either going to get it or not.

xena
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by xena

racingcondor I appreciate your input to the thread and I'm not disagreeing with you view.

I am riding/climbing in a way that is not the most efficient way i.e. the points etc you have made.

Its just easier for "me" to ride that way.
:beerchug:
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ergott
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by ergott

xena wrote:
Its just easier for "me" to ride that way.
:beerchug:


That's just it. It's not easier for you or anyone else for that matter. Physics doesn't select you out of the lot and change the rules. Looking at the whole system, you are throwing away watts via increased friction due to crossing your chain. You are also prematurely wearing out your drivetrain. It's actually harder.

But don't let the facts get in the way of anything.

:beerchug:

xena
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by xena

ergott wrote:
xena wrote:
Its just easier for "me" to ride that way.
:beerchug:


That's just it. It's not easier for you or anyone else for that matter. Physics doesn't select you out of the lot and change the rules. Looking at the whole system, you are throwing away watts via increased friction due to crossing your chain. You are also prematurely wearing out your drivetrain. It's actually harder.

But don't let the facts get in the way of anything.

:beerchug:



1 I can spin the big ring way easier on a climb than the small ring.
2 I can accelerate on climbs a lot quicker in the big ring
3 I have tried the smaller ring and from my own personal experience I find it more difficult
Those are my facts .
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ergott
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by ergott

They are not facts because the don't follow the rules of physics. You are in placebo mode and only think it's better.

Notice, I'm not telling you to stop doing what you do. I'm simply telling you there is a difference between fact and perception. "For me" doesn't give you a pass with physics.

Multebear
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by Multebear

ergott wrote:
It's not easier for you or anyone else for that matter. Physics doesn't select you out of the lot and change the rules.

But don't let the facts get in the way



Well spoken...

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cyclespeed
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by cyclespeed

xena wrote:
1 I can spin the big ring way easier on a climb than the small ring.
2 I can accelerate on climbs a lot quicker in the big ring
3 I have tried the smaller ring and from my own personal experience I find it more difficult
Those are my facts .


You are psychologically deluding yourself that there is a difference (between 53x24 and 36x16) when there is none.

They are 99.9% the exact same thing.

It's all in your head.

wingguy
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by wingguy

xena wrote:I have blown up loads of times but that's how I manage a good time. Also if you have riders ahead use them as a target, chase them down. It can take your mind off the suffering a bit, it becomes a lot easier. if you have a target to chase but again don't go to fast because its happened to me I end up blowing up and the person you passed 3 ks earlier goes flying past you " ride over "


Ok, this bit I'm curious about - so you blow up, you fall off the top of the gear, your cadence drops, basically all of your reasoning about why the big ring works for you when you're strong doesn't apply any more... and you still don't use the small ring? You dn't give yourself a chance to recover and get back into the ride, you just sit there in the 53/27 grinding away a 40 cadence until you get to the top?

1 I can spin the big ring way easier on a climb than the small ring.
2 I can accelerate on climbs a lot quicker in the big ring
3 I have tried the smaller ring and from my own personal experience I find it more difficult
Those are my facts .

Remember that since you don't ride with any sort of data whatsoever you don't actually know what the differences are in how you ride or what happens when you change from big ring to small ring. All you have to go on is your subjective perception, which is extremely vulnerable to confirmation bias.

Your facts are not facts...

xena
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by xena

I'm OK with that " placebo". It works for me. It worked for Valverde earlier in the year, it worked for Pantani , it worked for Bertie in 2014.

You don't have to keep making the same point over and over again . I understand.
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ergott
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by ergott

xena wrote:I'm OK with that " placebo". It works for me. It worked for Valverde earlier in the year, it worked for Pantani , it worked for Bertie in 2014.

You don't have to keep making the same point over and over again . I understand.


...and it only took 7 pages to come to that conclusion.

:thumbup:

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by mattr

This is a prime example of why the Sky Marginal Gains should really be called Really Massive Gains.
Far too many people rely on gut feel and common sense.

Which is really another way of saying outdated and woefully inaccurate garbage that completely ignores the facts and science of what's going on.

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cyclespeed
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by cyclespeed

xena wrote:I'm OK with that " placebo". It works for me. It worked for Valverde earlier in the year, it worked for Pantani , it worked for Bertie in 2014.

You don't have to keep making the same point over and over again . I understand.


As already mentioned, the reason why it might occasionally work for those you mention above, is that they have the power to turn the big ring at a decent cadence. You don't, or if you do, why aren't you riding in their teams?

Pantani's before my time, but I can guarantee you that both Valverde and Contador both make significant use of their small rings, and sometimes a 36-27 at that.

(That's me out of this one, by the way, this is totally nuts!)
Last edited by cyclespeed on Fri Sep 30, 2016 5:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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