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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

How much speed can I buy?

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Old 12-20-19, 11:22 AM
  #126  
caloso
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Well, you're not wrong re triathletes. I was one before getting into road racing. I could motor along all day, but couldn't hold a wheel, couldn't handle my bike worth a dang, couldn't go past my redline and recover, couldn't take a drink without wobbling, couldn't rotate without surging. Basically couldn't ride a bike except to pedal it. Not saying all triathletes are like that, but. . . .
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Old 12-20-19, 02:47 PM
  #127  
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Originally Posted by Cypress
'Bents avoid the group rides around here. The hills make it near impossible for them to keep up...contrary to what you've seen. I have NEVER winessed a 'bent climb even half as fast as a normal bike...That's why they almost always have triples and mtb gearing.
I rarely see recumbents climb very fast either, but I also rarely see strong riders on them. In this case I have a point of comparison: a roadie on their Madone, and that same roadie on a recumbent that they've set up for performance.

Besides pure slowness, there's a second reason that 'bent riders often have lower gearing on their 'bents: if you bottom out your gearing, you can't produce extra torque by throwing your weight around in the way that you can on your road bike, so you'd better not bottom out your gearing. It's similar to the situation with loose steep surfaces on gravel bikes and MTBs: the bike needs to allow you to handle the steep stuff without your form going lumpy.
The strong 'bent riders I know use triples, but not MTB triples: more like wide-range classic road triples, since they have use for a high top-end as well.

Originally Posted by caloso
Well, you're not wrong re triathletes.
I wrote carelessly, but it wasn't my intent to say that triathletes can't ride in groups. I ride road with a number of them. What I was meaning to say was that the overwhelming factor in being safe in a spirited group ride is the rider, and it's dangerous when someone who has gotten strong solo riding hops into a fast group without ever getting good group experience, regardless of what bike they're on.

Originally Posted by burnthesheep
So, read what you wrote here with a lot assuming and nice vitriol and you’ll see why I said “I’m out”.

It’s because I knew someone would come out to die on their cross if anyone said anything about it.

All I did was quote it and that was enough to bringing out the pitchforks.

Point proven. That’s why I said “I’m out”.
Some of my word choice in my second post was careless, and I can see how it could read vitriolic.

But it's unclear to me what was vitriolic about my first post, and I'm not sure what hill I've chosen to die on. I thought your "I'm out" was taking a lighthearted jab at 'bents, and now I'm confused.
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Old 12-20-19, 02:51 PM
  #128  
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I wrote carelessly, but it wasn't my intent to say that triathletes can't ride in groups. I ride road with a number of them. What I was meaning to say was that the overwhelming factor in being safe in a spirited group ride is the rider, and it's dangerous when someone who has gotten strong solo riding hops into a fast group without ever getting good group experience, regardless of what bike they're on.
You're good. I totally agree with you.
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Old 12-20-19, 03:54 PM
  #129  
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Originally Posted by asgelle
1.5 - 2 mph.
This is the correct answer.

Not sure what the next 6 pages were going on about.
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Old 12-20-19, 03:58 PM
  #130  
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Originally Posted by HTupolev
I rarely see recumbents climb very fast either, but I also rarely see strong riders on them. In this case I have a point of comparison: a roadie on their Madone, and that same roadie on a recumbent that they've set up for performance.

Besides pure slowness, there's a second reason that 'bent riders often have lower gearing on their 'bents: if you bottom out your gearing, you can't produce extra torque by throwing your weight around in the way that you can on your road bike, so you'd better not bottom out your gearing. It's similar to the situation with loose steep surfaces on gravel bikes and MTBs: the bike needs to allow you to handle the steep stuff without your form going lumpy.
The strong 'bent riders I know use triples, but not MTB triples: more like wide-range classic road triples, since they have use for a high top-end as well.


I wrote carelessly, but it wasn't my intent to say that triathletes can't ride in groups. I ride road with a number of them. What I was meaning to say was that the overwhelming factor in being safe in a spirited group ride is the rider, and it's dangerous when someone who has gotten strong solo riding hops into a fast group without ever getting good group experience, regardless of what bike they're on.


Some of my word choice in my second post was careless, and I can see how it could read vitriolic.

But it's unclear to me what was vitriolic about my first post, and I'm not sure what hill I've chosen to die on. I thought your "I'm out" was taking a lighthearted jab at 'bents, and now I'm confused.


The guy that I mentioned previously is strong, & also rides a top tier CF bike. I might beat him up a hill, but not by much.

But it's true that it's not a good fit for group rides, at least hilly ones. Like riding with a tandem, except for the draft element.
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