Gears

[Lone Wolf]

Hi guys,
When you are out cycling for a training ride, do you pull the highest gear possible to increase strength, deliberately deny yourself gears or do something else ? I'm trying to vary training rides so it's not just trying to get the quickest time continually.

 

[vickster]

No because it's bad for your knees . You should use the gears to maintain the optimum cadence. How fast are you spinning

If you have weak muscles causing you issues cycling, see a physio, don't mash your knees

 

[TheDoctor]

Find a comfortable speed to pedal at - about 90 rpm for me. Change gears as needed so you keep pedalling at about that speed.
Replacement knees are definitely not an upgrade!

 

[cyberknight]

Oddly enough i ride at a higer cadence/lower gear ratio on a training ride compared to my commuter which has the full gamut of lights /panniers etc .

 

[outlash]

Depends what you're training for I guess.

 

[Lone Wolf]

See - I knew I would get great advice here. I am currently going with a cadence of between 60 to 90. Hills I tend to drop the cadence due to being old and decrepit, but. On the flat it's around the 75/80 mark.

 

[Citius]

Pushing higher gears is unlikely to 'increase strength' by the way..

 

[HarryTheDog]

See - I knew I would get great advice here. I am currently going with a cadence of between 60 to 90. Hills I tend to drop the cadence due to being old and decrepit, but. On the flat it's around the 75/80 mark.

Depends what you call old and decrepid, I know people in thier 60's going out and training hard. In the past I have followed traing plans and my daughter had a proffesional coach. Depending on what you are trying to achieve would depend on what you are going to do. You get the bog standard endurance training 90 rpm for miles and miles, 4 hours plus. Then there is strength, standing on the pedals up a long hill at 70 rpm, sitting up a hill at up to 120 rpm. Speed training in chain gangs or interval training in 30 - 60 second all out bursts spinning like a loon. Also various other methods no doubt. Also depends on your physical makeup, 90 rpm is a little to high for me so 85 is more like it on a long ride, but I am not built for endurance more for a bit of sprinting. Remember doing the same thing day in day out usually gives you the same result as your body adapts.

 

[Citius]

See - I knew I would get great advice here. I am currently going with a cadence of between 60 to 90. Hills I tend to drop the cadence due to being old and decrepit, but. On the flat it's around the 75/80 mark.

Forget about cadence - it's a distraction. Training is all about time at intensity. Shorter periods at higher intensity, longer periods at lower intensity. The main issue is stressing your cardiovascular and aerobic systems at the right amount for the right duration.

 

[xxDarkRiderxx]

Depends what you're training for I guess.

So many variations to think about i.e. what cadence your comfortable with when say just cruising (me 90-100) but I used to be able to push a heavy gear for a very short period of time when sprinting (problem muscle fatique etc). Now I have lost all my muscle strength (due to illness) but I can keep a high cadence up hills which I could not before. You want to be careful about pushing a heavy gear which could cause injury.

I don't really want to push a huge gear for the sake of it, but I was triaining years ago and some pro (i think) came past me and within 5-10 pedal strokes he was half a mile up the road! He was pushing an enormous gear, and the view of his calves showed he had muscles on muscles.

When training I try to make the ride as easy as possible so don't deny myself the gears if I need them, I want to save my muscles for a sprint if required. I would probably do some intervals during rides i.e. sprints or hills but that's it.... I very lazy but love the bike.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Overgear on the flat bits, until you feel your quads burn, I wouldn't recommend overgearing on a climb, unless a gear cable lets go or something. Try riding with a load of bricks in a backpack, it's quite effective.

 

[Citius]

Overgear on the flat bits, until you feel your quads burn, I wouldn't recommend overgearing on a climb, unless a gear cable lets go or something. Try riding with a load of bricks in a backpack, it's quite effective.

Two questions:

1 Overgearing - what's the point?
2 Backpack loaded with bricks - what's the point?

The worry is that someone could read what you've written and actually take it seriously.

 

[Drago]

I like to spin a little, easier on the joints and lungs, but I don't do training rides as such. I don't cycle for sport purposes, so riding a bike in order to get better riding a bike seems a bit odd - its easier to just ride the bike and enjoy it.

 

[nickyboy]

Here we go again......

The limiting factor in riding your bike faster is your aerobic capacity (fitness), not your anaerobic capacity (strength). Don't even think about strength, the reality is that the actual force you apply via the pedals is about 200N, about 20kg. Everybody has enough muscle strength for that. The trick is, can your aerobic capacity allow you to keep applying that force for long periods?

Re-read @Citius post, he's got it spot on

 

[kiriyama]

I try to keep my cadance around 90. but found myself being lazy, if my cadance dropped i would drop down gears to get my cadence up to 90. But I'd end up going quite slow especially on climbs. Over the last few weeks instead of dropping gears to get to a high cadence. Iv been pushing slightly higher gears and working my cadence back up to 90. As a result my fitness has improved as I'm pushing myself a bit more which in turn is making me a bit faster . so in a sence I have been denying myself gears. But I wouldn't push a gear that I couldn't get back up to 90. As others have said it knackers your knees!