Originally Posted by
carleton
I just did the math.
gear: 48/15 = 86.4" or 6.72m or 3.20 ratio
rollout: 6.715m
distance: 200m
target time: 12.2"
avg cadence: 146RPM
avg speed: 36.6mph / 58.8kph / 16.3mps
Originally Posted by
carleton
I'm not saying leg speed isn't important. It obviously is being that we cannot shift derailleur gears so in order to function, we have to gear the track bike low enough to get it moving and high enough to have the target max speed that we can achieve against air resistance. Leg speed are our "gears". If we watch some of the talented racers like David Espinoza, you'll see him "shift through gear ranges" as he gets faster and faster during a sprint. These shifts are likely him either switching muscle groups and/or pedaling techniques.
I don't think that extending our maximum cadence helps us apply any more torque at our normal cadence ranges. The goal of max cadence work is to teach our muscles the timing required to function at the highest cadences we'll see on the track. Like figure out which muscles to turn on and for how long per each pedal stroke. This is where fast-twitch muscles do their thing.
But, if I will never hit more than 165RPM when I'm on a velodrome (including full gas, flying warmup jumps on a 81" gear), what good does it do me to push my max cadence well over 170RPM into 200 or 220RPM? I simply would never call on my body to perform that way in any situation other than on the rollers.
Even if we do max cadence "blow outs" with all we got as a way to wake up our legs to be ready to perform. Let them be just that, blow outs. They probably shouldn't be monitored as indicators of progression or regression. As in, "My blow out last week was 200RPM. This week I got to 205RPM...I must be getting better." or vice-versa.
I find it ironic that everybody arguing that cadence doesn't matter is also talking about their high cadences. I also get that sprinters are a feisty bunch and like to argue on or off the bike. If you're a sprinter cadence matters. Please point me to a top shelf sprinter that doesn't have a cadence above 200rpm on the rollers. I'll buy you a 12pack when I do my road trip visiting all the Velodromes in the Nation. Why I train high cadence is because I think that it allows me to have the coordination to recruit more muscle fibers in the sweet spot of power.
Originally Posted by
rickbuddy_72
I don't think leg speed numbers mean a lot outside of maybe Goldsprint races. I think being able to hit high rpm on rollers is more of a parlor trick. They are important to me when training to relax.
I'll trade these numbers for faster times on the track any day:
I'm 64 this year, was off the bike and a couch potato for over 35 years, and took up the sport again 14 months ago.
With 172.5 cranks. I work out on a old wind trainer and can do 230 for 5 seconds in a very low gear. A few weeks ago I recorded 194 @ a peak of 485 watts, and averaged 169 for 30 seconds at 355 watts. Those low-load numbers (230 for 5 seconds) aren't much different than they were when I was a kid. It only took a couple of weeks of drills to do that.
I think relaxation drills help me a lot, and that is why I do the drills. Again, those numbers are meaningless until I can translate them into speed on the track.
Relaxation work is something I picked up years ago as a college track and field sprinter. Here is an article on it:
The Skill of Relaxation
And if you find this interesting, this is an outstanding book on the subject:
Relax and Win
Rick
Like I said above you're arguing cadence doesn't matter but you spend time training a parlor trick? There is nothing relaxing to me about training high cadences. High cadence training is all about neuromuscular activation and as I understand it neuromuscular training is the most taxing training there is and takes the longest time to recover from.
That said relaxation is probably what we called suppleness on the track in the '80's. I'll check out your links, I've been looking for resources on suppleness and have had no luck finding any.
As fate would have it, Yesterdays sprints at the OTC were gear restricted! 90" maximum gear. I rode a 12.47, a time that was in the bottom quartile. My max cadence was 146. Joe Christensen did an experiment and rode a 200 in his race set up (high gears and disks) and rode a 10.4 then he rode a 10.