Originally Posted by
wobrien
63Rickert, your post was very interesting. I am no where near the level of performance that you described, which is very impressive. I am figuring out what the best way for me to ride is, and I am seeking to find it in a way that maintains my enjoyment of riding. I am not yet convinced that I have to change anything but since it looks like I am "abnormal" compared to most experienced riders I am interested in giving a higher rpm a try. It is definitely a different workout. If I like it over time I will keep it. We shall see...
A quick question about your experience from the '60s: How was cadence monitored then. Today our bike computers with electronic devices record and display it throughout the ride. Did you have something similar back then? As a kid back then I had a clunky speed-o-meter on my banana seat bike, also had a generator that was spun by the wheel in order to fuel a light at night time. Would love to know what you started with in terms of equipment and performance monitoring.
The only way to monitor cadence was with a watch. Analog watch on handlebars worked fine. Focus on sweep second hand and start counting. Only reliable speedometer was to know how to convert gear ratios and rpm to speed.
When I started top gear on any race bike was 52x14. Many riders thought Jacques Anquetil was leading us all astray by using gears that big. There were still fast guys using a top of 49x14 or even 48x14. This did not make anyone slow. If you make allowance for the fact that the mountains were gravel and all the roads were rougher there is basically no difference between race speeds then and now. Aero makes some difference in the TT, gears do not make anyone fast. Legs make you fast.
big chainring above is completely correct that getting older usually means bigger gears. There are lots of reasons some might want bigger gears. Not always wrong and maybe not wrong at all. I will continue to believe that breaking up the work into smaller pieces makes riding easier and makes long rides a lot easier. And I still remember trying to hold big chainring's wheel as he cruised along at a comfortable 30mph in a gear of 42x16. When he put it in the big chainring....