Cycling Workouts: Discussion/Encouragement/Sharing/Banter

[Legs]

I’m new to cycling & injury free.

I tend to ride in the 2x10 gear (hills or flat) 99.9% of the time. Like I said above, my thought was that riding in that gear would make me quicker.

View attachment 815692

As in, the very biggest gear? Biggest on the front and smallest on the back?

If I’m riding on the flat on a windless day, I can ride most of the time in 50x17. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I used an 11T sprocket.

This was a recent 55km ride:

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

I’m new to cycling & injury free.

I tend to ride in the 2x10 gear (hills or flat) 99.9% of the time. Like I said above, my thought was that riding in that gear would make me quicker.

View attachment 815692

Okay, sounds like you are just riding in far too big a gear. If, as Legs suggested in his reply, you are riding in a 48 x 11/12, that is a massive gear.

If your aim is to get fitter pick easier gears that enable you to ride with a cadence of at least 75 on all terrains. Just ride consistently for a few months to build some basic fitness and then start to look at developing your training/riding.

 

[spokeweasel]

As in, the very biggest gear? Biggest on the front and smallest on the back?

If I’m riding on the flat on a windless day, I can ride most of the time in 50x17. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I used an 11T sprocket.

Yes, the chain is on the outer ring in the front & on the lowest sprocket in the rear. I hope I made sense. I don’t understand the drive trains terminology in detail, but it’s a van rysel from Decathlon.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-edr-af-microshift-sword-2x10v-dark-grey/361200/c71m8930227

My chain stays exactly as shown in the picture in the link above albeit on the lowest cog.

Thank you both. Will try it this week & report back.

 

[HLaB]

I’m new to cycling & injury free.

I tend to ride in the 2x10 gear (hills or flat) 99.9% of the time. Like I said above, my thought was that riding in that gear would make me quicker.

View attachment 815692

Play about with your gears and find your sweetspot where you are spinning optimally for the gear your in and somewhere in the middle will be your fastest. Too high a gear and its a grind forcing you to be slow, too low and your spin takes up too much energy; somewhere in the middle will be best. I run a 52/36 with a 11-28cassette (bigger gears than you) and on a very relaxed group ride and I'm just softly turning the pedals I'll average 60rpm but my sweet spot tends to be within 70-80rpm if I'm actually pushing. I don't pedal downhills etc so I could be a little higher. My mate TT's with a 60tooth chainring with a 10-32 cassette (a really big gear) but his sweetspot is an amazing 90rpm (even on a sporting course) and he's faster than anyone I know and wins a lot.

 

[spokeweasel]

Play about with your gears and find your sweetspot where you are spinning optimally for the gear your in and somewhere in the middle will be your fastest. Too high a gear and its a grind forcing you to be slow, too low and your spin takes up too much energy; somewhere in the middle will be best. I run a 52/36 with a 11-28cassette (bigger gears than you) and on a very relaxed group ride and I'm just softly turning the pedals I'll average 60rpm but my sweet spot tends to be within 70-80rpm if I'm actually pushing. I don't pedal downhills etc so I could be a little higher. My mate TT's with a 60tooth chainring with a 10-32 cassette (a really big gear) but his sweetspot is an amazing 90rpm (even on a sporting course) and he's faster than anyone I know and wins a lot.

Yes sir, duly noted.