livedarklions

Got into a big argument in another thread which I don't want to recapitulate, but what it centered on is that I ride habitually in the very highest gears when I'm riding on the flat. Basically, I love to cruise around in a 53 x 12 combination and will do so for miles at level. I'm faster than hell doing so, and I love the way I can accelerate fast after a stop by shifting into that gear right after I get it rolling.

So, what I want to know is if there is anyone else doing this sort of throw-back style of riding? I knew other people who rode like this when I was a kid back in Bedrock with Fred and Barney, but I don't see anyone else doing it now.

Please note--I am not interested in an argument ere, don't bother telling me I'm doing it wrong. It's usually the last words I hear right beore blowing past someone.

JonathanGennick 

A friend of mine does that. He's always wearing out his 11-tooth cog way early.

TimothyH

Nothing really useful to add except to say that I ride 48x16 fixed gear and so I sort of feel ya, and that this was hilariously well written. Thank you for this.


-Tim-

Colnago Mixte

I used to do this in my teens. On the flats I always rode on my highest or second to highest gears. I recall looking at other people's bikes locked up at the bike racks and laughing at the wimpy gears they rode to school on. I'm assuming this was probably close to a 52 x 14 or 52 x 15. I'm guessing since I no longer have the bike. I considered 60 RPM to be my optimal cadence. I use lower gears these days and spin a lot faster, 80-90 RPM is what I shoot for.

If you have the strength to do it, more power to ya. Enjoy it while it lasts. I still like standing up and mashing big gears on short climbs, especially when I have a good head start. Not many can keep up with me during these short hard efforts, but I would never call myself a good climber.

I have always had a lot of torque in my legs that I keep even when I don't ride for months or years. The downside is that I can't do long climbs worth a damn, too many fast twitch fibers in my legs, and not enough slow twitch fibers. My endurance is not good either, and long group rides kill me with the constant steady pace which I have trouble maintaining, I like to accelerate and slow down more than most other riders.

Lazyass

No, you're not cruising in the 53x12. You're just not.

caloso

My training partner built himself a SS with an insane 54x15 gear. He feels like it's a power builder. I can't argue -- he's a former M40+ state champ and has been on the nationals podium a number of times.

CliffordK

I'm a Masher here. But, not real fast... but still put in the miles.

In the past, I think I was stuck with 13T freewheels. At some point, I upgraded from 52T to 54T, but still rode most of the time in the 54/13 combo.

I think I had a 12T freewheel once, but when the 12T wore out, I never found a replacement.

A couple of years ago I found the DNP Epoch 11-28 freewheel. But, it had unacceptable gearing jumps, so it didn't last long.

But, that led me down a path of path which eventually culminated in a 53/34 front and a 9/23 rear.

I must say, the more I ride, I think my cadence is naturally increasing just a little, without a lot of effort to change on my part. I don't ride a lot in the 53/9 combo, but I can scream down some hills in it. Perhaps a bit more in the 53/10 or 53/11.

Still, for the most part, I can climb walls with the 34/23, so I'm happy using gears somewhere in the middle of the cassette. I would have the "standard" on front, but move to the mixed compact primarily for one very hilly ride.

Trakhak

Once had some guy churn by me in slow motion in his biggest gear, superhero special-effects style, just as we were coming to the bottom of a long hill. It apparently doesn't work too well for climbing.

livedarklions

I can climb some hills on 48x11 on my FX3, but it's usually just because I missed the shift and now it's a very slow challenge. I miss a shift like that on the 53x12, it's either shift down or write a farewell note to my loved ones.

livedarklions

Is the 9/23 a homebrew? I want it!

badger1

+1

CliffordK

I've built up a couple. Working on the next conversion now... if only I had that special 6 sided spoke wrench.

Send me a PM if you want more details.

caloso

I have a hill where I do repeats. I usually will alternate small ring and big ring. I can't remember, but I think this was probably in my 53x18?


49 rpm at 334w. I think that qualifies as mashing, no?

livedarklions

I think so, but that graph makes me too seasick to judge.

Seriously, wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CliffordK

And, how can you judge a person's cruising gears?

I've read lots of topics about spinning one's cranks at 80 to 100 RPM, and I can say that I just am not, unless I'm trying to keep from spinning out at > 50 MPH heading downhill.

livedarklions

Yeah, if I was going to lie about something, I'd pick something a lot less dorky than gear ratios.

rosefarts

I don't anymore but I used to.

When I was like 14-15 the challenge was to ride around town in only the big ring. We'd do that for months. It probably didn't make me strong. I still remember being upset when MTB standard triple went from 46-36-24 to 42-32-22.

Or when I was 18 and my dad's Trek 460 had a broken front derailleur. I just removed it and never thought twice. I rode that thing everywhere.

Or my tri bike with 56x11 gearing on 175mm cranks.

I raced Mt Evans and steeper with 53-39 and 11-23 cassette. Tried a 12-27 once and hated it.

I took a nearly 10 year hiatus from riding and started again last year. I started with my old ideas and quickly discovered I didn't have the legs for it. I'm riding 50-34 on a 12-30 cassette now. I can actually spin uphill. I'm not fast like my racing days but I am no slouch. I look for hills, I enjoy them. Long ones and especially steep ones.

I totally regret that I didn't take the time to learn to spin when my legs were strong and my lungs were huge. I am sure I would have done much better at my peak.

Flip Flop Rider

love to ride on the big ring/small cog combo, but don't think my hybrid's big ring is as toothy as yours, but yeah I get it. Love to stand with it also

Sy Reene

As long as you're tooling along at about 30mph, there's nothing at all wrong with a 53/12 for the flatlands.

rgconner

Eh.

That is about 15 or 16 Mph@45 RPM.
I do that max gear thing once in a while to give my butt a rest on the flats.

SylvainG

When I started riding two years ago after many years being sedentary, my cadence was around 60-70 rpm and averaging 25 km/h was a great ride with wind in my back. Now it's averaging around 85 rpm and I'm unhappy when I'm less than 25 km/h (means I had strong head wind, like today). I'll mash going uphill if the hill isn't too big or long but beside that, nope, I prefer my higher cadence.

I'll do high gear when riding with my wife though. That's because we ain't riding fast and it's a change of pace.

Sy Reene

Hmmm. intrigued. I may try this if I remember to do so just to work other muscle types perhaps. I haven't experienced though butt fatigue from spinning RPMs.

SylvainG

Now that you're mentioning it, when doing century (only did one so singular ) or metric centuries, I do get out of the saddle in high gear when I notice the road is bumpy to give my butt a rest.

rgconner

More "soreness" than "fatigue". By mashing down I put less pressure on the saddle, giving the tissue back there a little break.

I sure it recruits muscles differently too, although perhaps less efficiently.

zze86

Mashing 42x11 on 155 cranks feels like 52x11 on 170 cranks for me.

I love the short cranks but I just don't have the lung capacity/endurance to spin 80+ rpm all day long. Alternating between the two makes for a great training regiment but I'm more of a utilitarian rider so that mindset escapes me most of the time.