Watching Tour de France

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Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Can you imagine a professional twiddling a granny gear up Alp D'Huez? Cue sound of peloton laughing...
Well .. depends on your definition of "granny gear". A lot of the pros ride with 34/32 bottom on the big steep climbs, which is pretty standard for an ordinary joe road bike. Of course thats not the super low that you can get wth a touring triple, so Im not sure if it qualifies as a "granny gear"

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/...-giro-riders-use-tackle-monte-zoncolan-380550
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Amazing the speeds these guys get up to and it looks so casual and easy for them..
I’ve been watching the speed of pedal rotation they going at and l’m sure l go at a similar pedal speed but no way do l reach the speeds they do ..
Can someone explain why these cyclist go so much faster at what seems a similar pedal speed to us ..
As well as supreme fitness and higher gearing there's also the big drafting effect of a large and very tightly packed peloton. Often you see riders cruising along happily relaxed and chatting and freewheeling at 40+ kmh in the shelter of the peloton.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
I'm the opposite.......my CV system seems to be good but the old legs just don't want to work these days. Too many lower back/herniated disc/sciatic issues seem to have wrecked my leg strength.

My cardio is ok i spose resting heart rate is around 70, with a bp of 105/67 at 53 with a abusive younger lifestyle.
Son in law, age 47, resting is 54.. His fitness is excellent.

Im usually exhausted after 20 mile chasing him.. To the point i struggle to lift my super light xc bike over gates!!
Bloody kids:laugh:

As for your back, i think you do well, cant be much fun with constant back trouble.
 

Mo1959

Legendary Member
My cardio is ok i spose resting heart rate is around 70, with a bp of 105/67 at 53 with a abusive younger lifestyle.
Son in law, age 47, resting is 54.. His fitness is excellent.

Im usually exhausted after 20 mile chasing him.. To the point i struggle to lift my super light xc bike over gates!!
Bloody kids:laugh:

As for your back, i think you do well, cant be much fun with constant back trouble.
Lovely low resting heart rate and it doesn't rise too much when exercising and I seem to recover quickly but legs just feel dead and heavy. Horrible.

upload_2019-7-7_10-4-12.png
 

huwsparky

Über Member
Location
Llangrannog
I don't mind the "spinners are winners" gearing of them.But trying ot turn this at speed...nah.

View: https://twitter.com/inrng/status/1147804817118679040?s=19

The reason for such big chainrings isn't necessarily for the ultimate high gear it offers. There are other benefits but most notably spending more of the time in the middle of the block improving chainline efficiency which saves a considerable amount of watts i.e free time in a TT'ing capacity.
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
I'm 190cm (just under 6'3) and with long legs, which means I always have to use larger bikes, and so of course they weigh more! It makes climbing so much more work, which I'm noticing in the French Alps right now. :cry:
I have also noticed, though, that my weight keeps dropping... :becool:
 

stalagmike

Enormous member
Location
Milton Keynes
Not really as they have to be at least 6.8kg

Some of the riders weigh about 8st though which helps!

Well that may have been exaggeration on my part (and ignorance of the regulations), but still, that's almost half the weight of my bike.
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
I have a 56t chainring on my TT bike for chainline benefits. I have used it a couple of times on long sloping descents and my goodness its fun and fast well over 30mph without a ridiculous cadence
 

AuroraSaab

Veteran
I think the heart rate thing is genetic as much as anything. I am at least 2 st overweight, and although I do some weight training, I would not describe myself as fit. I have had issues with minor heart arrhythmias in the past and whenever I have had a 24hr monitor my average heart rate is around 60 bpm. Sitting on the sofa it is often 50 ish, and overnight it can be as low as 40.
 

KneesUp

Guru
What is the advantage of a low resting heart rate? Or is it just indicative of a large/efficient heart? When I was 21 I had a summer job 5 miles from my parents and I used to ride hard there and as hard as I could on the way back - the end of a run home would be me sat on the bike leaning on the side of the house too tired to climb off. My mum (a nurse) measured my resting heart rate then as mid 20s. I don’t think I’ll be seeing that again!
 

Milzy

Guru
Can you imagine a professional twiddling a granny gear up Alp D'Huez? Cue sound of peloton laughing...
Pro’s often use compacts but only for certain stages. If you see a pro with a 34/50 28T .........“then you know it’s on like Monte Zoncolan!”
 
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