Out of shape or bad gearing?
03-15-19, 10:04 AM
#26
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This might put a target on me, but I don't think it's coincidence that the world-class distance masher disappeared as a type of rider during the EPO era. I suspect training for long-distance mashing is just a lost art because the current generation of trainers just doesn't know how to do it.
03-15-19, 10:20 AM
#27
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Spinning or mashing...... what does that have to do with the OP?
He felt slow doing either.
He felt slow doing either.
03-15-19, 11:33 AM
#28
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Could be the gearing to a degree, I suspect the fitness thing contributes too. But I've had drivetrains that put your cruising speed right where you don't want it, so you constantly have to shift between the front rings or risk cross-chaining. It could be that you have too wide a gap between front ring sizes and/or a too close-ratio rear cassette. I don't personally care for a difference over 10-12 teeth between my front chainrings, and I like to have a 1-1 ratio in the small front/big rear for climbing.
03-15-19, 12:20 PM
#29
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While I don't think the gearing is your issue I'm surprised nobody has asked.... What groupset do you have.?? Tiagra.?? 105.?? Sram whatever....
I put money down on a new bike recently. I want to ride in the hills so gearing, in my mind, was important. I went with the new Shimano 7000 series 105 groupset. The rear cassette is is 11-34 with a double chainring of 48/32.
I'm curious... What's your cassette and chainring.??
I put money down on a new bike recently. I want to ride in the hills so gearing, in my mind, was important. I went with the new Shimano 7000 series 105 groupset. The rear cassette is is 11-34 with a double chainring of 48/32.
I'm curious... What's your cassette and chainring.??
03-18-19, 06:07 AM
#30
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My assumption that my buddy is less conditioned than me is pretty sound. Though who knows, maybe I'm conditioned differently. I'm much lighter and much stronger, for sure. He doesn't exercise at all and hadn't ridden in months either. Smokes a lot of plant matter too. The nine miles didn't do any favors to our discrepancy if I wasn't lagging before though, for sure.
Kind of a mutt gearset. The derailleurs are a Tiagra front and 105 rear. Not sure the cassette series but it's a Shimano 12-24T 9-speed, chainring is a 36/50T FSA Tempo. It's a canned bike package with an aluminum frame and carbon fork that I got for a song. Might be a reason for that though.
While I don't think the gearing is your issue I'm surprised nobody has asked.... What groupset do you have.?? Tiagra.?? 105.?? Sram whatever....
I put money down on a new bike recently. I want to ride in the hills so gearing, in my mind, was important. I went with the new Shimano 7000 series 105 groupset. The rear cassette is is 11-34 with a double chainring of 48/32.
I'm curious... What's your cassette and chainring.??
I put money down on a new bike recently. I want to ride in the hills so gearing, in my mind, was important. I went with the new Shimano 7000 series 105 groupset. The rear cassette is is 11-34 with a double chainring of 48/32.
I'm curious... What's your cassette and chainring.??
03-18-19, 08:55 AM
#31
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As long as all the gears can be shifted to efficiently and reliably and the bike doesn't weigh a ton, then don't fault the bike. With the exception that you need to be sure you have reasonable gear ratios available to you for the terrain you are riding and that you know how to use them.
When cruising at a steady cadence, if you are using a lot of leg power to pedal, then you are in the wrong gear and will tire quickly with your quads burning. Find a gear that gives your legs an easy effort.
When cruising at a steady cadence, if you are using a lot of leg power to pedal, then you are in the wrong gear and will tire quickly with your quads burning. Find a gear that gives your legs an easy effort.
03-18-19, 09:05 AM
#32
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I'm going with fitness. 15mph is conversation speed and riding 9 miles within your limits to meet your friend should mean that you are properly warmed up and you should have been able to maintain a higher effort right out of the gate in comparison to your friend who was starting "cold" (all things being equal). The other thing is you cannot judge a book by it's cover because some people who look like they wouldn't be a threat on a bike are actually beasts on a bike.
03-18-19, 09:23 AM
#33
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A really bad ride after a time off is one of the things that sent me to the cardiologist. If your problem persists, pay attention to it.
03-19-19, 07:40 AM
#34
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Kind of a mutt gearset. The derailleurs are a Tiagra front and 105 rear. Not sure the cassette series but it's a Shimano 12-24T 9-speed, chainring is a 36/50T FSA Tempo. It's a canned bike package with an aluminum frame and carbon fork that I got for a song. Might be a reason for that though.
The issue with a compact double crankset like you have is the lack of cross over gears. With a compact double whenever you change chainrings, you have to also make one or two rear shifts to access the next ratio in a logical sequence. A compact double is fine as long as your favorite flat road gear combination happens to fall in the middle of your cassette. If, however, you find that your bikes gearing coupled with your fitness level forces you to make a lot of chainring shifts, a compact double is a PITA.
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03-26-19, 07:40 AM
#35
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I know this is a religious issue for some people, but I firmly believe that some of us are natural mashers. I ride frequent solo centuries in high gears, and I find high cadence/low gear spinning incredibly inefficient for me. Don't be afraid to play around with different gear combos/cadences, I think there's way too much one-size-fits-all thinking on this issue.
I will now prepare to duck and weave.
I will now prepare to duck and weave.
whether one is in shape or not, some people are always going to be stronger than others. as a teen i was in shape, but lost out to friends who were stronger. no problem, just keep pedaling........we all win when riding regardless of first place because of the value of the experience......oh yeah sometimes i win...sometimes.
03-26-19, 12:37 PM
#36
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My assumption that my buddy is less conditioned than me is pretty sound. Though who knows, maybe I'm conditioned differently. I'm much lighter and much stronger, for sure. He doesn't exercise at all and hadn't ridden in months either. Smokes a lot of plant matter too. The nine miles didn't do any favors to our discrepancy if I wasn't lagging before though, for sure.
Kind of a mutt gearset. The derailleurs are a Tiagra front and 105 rear. Not sure the cassette series but it's a Shimano 12-24T 9-speed, chainring is a 36/50T FSA Tempo. It's a canned bike package with an aluminum frame and carbon fork that I got for a song. Might be a reason for that though.
Kind of a mutt gearset. The derailleurs are a Tiagra front and 105 rear. Not sure the cassette series but it's a Shimano 12-24T 9-speed, chainring is a 36/50T FSA Tempo. It's a canned bike package with an aluminum frame and carbon fork that I got for a song. Might be a reason for that though.
What is your position like on the bike? And, it's worth answering the cadence question, where are you in the rpm spectrum?
These are all factors...
