DrIsotope

I might have missed it mentioned, but what do folks generally consider the RPM at which anything below is "mashing?"

I've always thought perhaps... below 60? Because I'm like an 84-85rpm guy. That is, in terms of whole-ride averages. Sure, slugging up a 14% grade I'm lucky to break 40rpm, but I'm not doing that all day.

I guess I wanna see the rides from folks who average 50-60rpm for whole rides. Real mashers.

Flip Flop Rider

would it be possible to measure cadence with a stop watch? not sure my small Garmin 200 has cadence
thanks

livedarklions

I actually never measure my cadence, so it's possible that what I'm doing really isn't mashing. If I had to guess, I think I'm doing abut 75 rpm on the FX3 and 80 on the Allez. I have the higher ratio on the Allez, but something about the posture makes me pedal faster--less air resistance? It's a 1993 Allez, so the posture isn't super aggressive, and the FX3 has a pretty good lean for a hybrid.

My quads can recover really fast, and rarely do I get to the point where they're really tired--usually in the last 25 miles or so of the second century of the weekend. Getting off the bike for 5 minutes or so usually clears that right up. At 57, I kind of feel like I'm getting away with something, and wonder when that ability might disappear. Like somebody said before, I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Flip Flop Rider

rpm = revolutions per minute?

WizardOfBoz

Yes, but your cadence starts to increase near the top of the hill, correct? You end up at 70 rpm vs 49.

BlazingPedals

Didn't I read that you averaged 15 mph on the flats, and always used your big (48/13) gear? Or did I mis-read something? That's not 75-80 rpm.

livedarklions

No, that wasn't me. That's not my gears or my speed. My cruising speed is in the 20s. My cruising gear on the Allez is 53x12 and 48x11 on the FX. I start in lower gears and then rapidly shift up to the highest, and I definitely use lower gears on hills.

caloso

Yes, it flattens out at the top. 49 rpm is the avg.

caloso

Yes. Pick a knee and count every time it comes up for 15 seconds, multiply by 4. Or if your math skills are like mine, count for 60 seconds and multiply by 1.

Flip Flop Rider

Thanks, interested in this

livedarklions

I'm not loving the idea of watching the stopwatch, counting my knee and watching the road at the same time. My cadence tends to zero when I wipe out.

washed up

You bunch of sissies...nothing beats me in my 53 x 1.

livedarklions

You totally win the internets.

caloso

Find a flat, straight road without traffic. At 20mph, 15secs is 440 feet. You don't have to watch the watch the entire time. Just glance down when you get close. It that doesn't work for you, you can do it on a trainer.

Colnago Mixte

"Say hello to my 'leedle' 55 x 1."

And so on. You can never win these pissing contests.

Supposedly ther's a guy in France I heard about who uses gigantic cogs and sprockets, gonna look that up and try to find some pics.

livedarklions

Around here, I'd have to pick two of those. Flat and straight is a state highway.

SylvainG

One one bike, I have a cadence sensor connected to my Garmin watch so it displays right on the watch but on the other, I simply count the number of revolutions for 10 seconds and multiply by 6, just like counting heart beats per minutes.

Paul Barnard

Mashing was quite a few knee surgeries ago for me.

subgrade

I know at which speeds I usually upshift, and use Bicycle Gear Calculator to find the corresponding cadence.

caloso

livedarklions

Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a GPS!

Definitely didn't expect you to fix it for me, but thanks.

WizardOfBoz

30 years ago I probably could have mashed with the best of them. Today, I keep my cadence at about 80 on flat ground and struggle to get over hills. Sigh.

A review paper (here) from Australia reviewed cadence. Found that max power output was about 120. If you mash along at 50, but then climb a hill, you may have to up your cadence to get enough power to go over the hill.

They also found that higher cadences, while delivering higher power, also incurred a higher metabolic cost. So for long distances a lower cadence may be more efficient. I have yet to review the paper in detail, but thought folks would like to see it.

Colnago Mixte

This mirror the way I used to see Armstrong ride in the Tour de France. During the early part of stages, his cadence and speed were identical to the rest of the peloton.

But when he needed to make a move or chase someone down, at that point his cadence would get very high, and he would take care of the situation.

This made me suspect he and his coaches had figured out that a normal cadence really is the most efficient, but for higher intensity efforts, high cadence is the way to go, just save it for for the end of the stage so you don't bonk.

WizardOfBoz

Yes, but alas, it turns out Lance was using nitromethane where everyone else was using gasoline from the local service station.

I was a grad student at Texas when Lance was coming up through the ranks. One of my classmates, Patti, rode in a club and occasionally interacted with him. She pegged him as a first class jerk, which is consistent with other reports I've heard. And of course, Greg LeMond accurately analyzed the root of some of his performance.

So Lance was a lying, cheating jerk who actively worked to tear down (both financially and from a reputation standpoint) a true bicycling giant, Greg LeMond. And Trek was a co-conspirator. LeMond's excellent bikes were a casualty.

I have a Zurich, and as all LeMond bikes do, it has his signature reproduced on the top tube. One of the funnier things I've seen is someone taking his Zurich, and writing with a Sharpie above the signature "I told you so!" [ss/ Greg LeMond]. Lance and Trek still owe Greg an apology. Not holding my breath.

Sorry to go so OT, but yeah, this is a hot button issue for me.

skillasw

I always ride as fast as i can in the hardest gear. The goal is always cruising around inthe 53x12! What?! people think this is wrong? Do they not like going fast and getting fit? i have lots of extra 12t and 13t cogs, so not so worried about wear. Unfortunately, I cant do this as often as I like as i live 100m above everything around me.