Originally Posted by
DaveLeeNC
In principle I will be taking on some long and steep climbs in a couple of months. And the question of gearing is still on my mind.
In my case it seems to me that, assuming that I am putting out power somewhere in the range of my ftp, that a cadence down in the 70 to 75 range is where things start to become inefficient. I think that I could pedal at 80 rpm or 95 rpm (at around my ftp) without making a huge change in physiological effort. But somewhere in the 70 to 75 rpm range and (at the same power output) I will find that the time that I can spend at roughly ftp is going to go down. And things go downhill (as in harder to maintain) pretty quickly in a very small rpm range. E.G., there seems to be a huge difference between 67 and 72 rpm.
What have others found about this in their riding. I am just curious. A new RD (or not) for my bike is driving this question.
Thanks.
dave
ps. It is a difficult experiment to run in my case because I just don't have any climbs that are long enough to test this (everything around here is up and down constantly, so constant power/rpm is not something that I can achieve on our roads).
dave
Long climbs are much easier if you vary your climbing style. Spinning at 70 rpm with a low gear and standing with a 60 rpm. I usually go up a gear or two just before standing. The actual speed doesn't change but the cadence does. A lower cadence while sitting can really stress your knees and over time can cause injury. Depending on weight get as low a gear as nesssesary to keep moving without dropping below 65-70 and one that allows you to recover. Walking should never be an option. I carry a lot of weight and find a granny 24 and a 32t freewheel sufficient. Unloaded, obviously that will be unnecessarily low. The old adage of having but not needing is better than needing but not having is very fitting for cycling up steep, long hills.