dijos

So I only started riding the track this year. I took a T101 last year, but I've been getting my feet wet 1-2x weekly for the last few months. After not feeling terrified on the track in general, I started to wonder about how fast I was going. I have not timed any distances, because to be frank, I have no idea how people time distances by themselves. As a result, I've been using a regular computer to get a baseline of avg and max speed.


I started out at 46/16 (76.2"), then went to 48/16 (79.37") (based on Carleton's sticky of what chainrings/cogs to buy), and felt that I was pretty ok at that gearing, so then I went to 48/14 (90.74"). I'm noticeably faster, but I feel like I'm grinding-I can't get my cadence where I need it to be-I am riding somewhere about ~110 ish max effort. and I was at ~120. On a trainer, My cadence is much higher.


So I have a few questions:
it's a 333 track, and there are guys (sprinters, mostly) that ride over 100, and they suggested somewhere 90-95GI, so I'm not looking to gear up until I can figure out what I need to do.


did I just jump too much? I'm happier with the speed, but I almost feel like when you move up in weight when you lift. It's manageable, but I definitely am feeling it.


Did I jump too soon? should I have been faster before gearing up?


I ride clinchers (outdoor track), is this part of my problem?I'm ~200 lbs, and ride @120psi.


I'm not clear on what cadences I should be looking at-nobody is super spinny from what I've seen, but I am assuming that my cadence is way too low. If this is just too low, is it a winter of rollers for me?


sorry for this long post, I've been trying to work though this in my head.

queerpunk

First - you are right to not gear up to what other people are riding until you figure out what you need to do.

Second - you may have jumped a little too much (a 48/14 is actually a 92.6 - most people use 27 as the conventional multiplier instead of 26). When I started racing I raced in an 88 (49/15), and slowly went up to a 92 (51/15). Even as a cat 2, a 92 was my standard gear for a lot of racing. Mostly, the proof is in the pudding - you increased past the point where you were gaining speed.

Clinchers aren't part of your problem. To figure out what is, we need to get a bit more precise - it would be better to talk about what kind of workouts you're doing. Are you there just riding around? Doing structured training sessions? Doing your own workouts?

It's good to experiment with gear, but when we're talking about cadences - you mention maxing out at 110 - it's good to talk about what kind of efforts. Did you hit 110 in a sprint? Or in a longer effort?

Conventionally, a lot of people hit 140 rpm in sprint situations; I race races where my average cadence is around 110. Sometimes higher.

Often, a track newbie's ability to go a certain speed is less about their ability to put out the power required to go that speed, and more about their muscles being unused to firing that fast, without a break. That'll take time to develop - that's OK. That's why we have rollers, and winters.

dijos

for better or worse, my training is somewhat unstructured. I've been doing flying 200s and flying laps, as well as Kilos, but nothing longer than those. So yes, even on 200s, my cadence is lower than I think it's supposed to be. otherwise, I'm at 90-100 for non max efforts, which I can do all day. Next season, I'm doing the intermediate training group here, as I also need to learn to ride in a group/race setting, and begin to learn about tactics and so on. I'm hoping that the guys there (Other Masters-age guys) can impart some criticism or knowledge.

gl98115

Many beginners start out in a 47x15 or 48x15. Riders may train with both overgeared and undergeared efforts, so there's room to try different things.

carleton

1) If you can't ride 110, 120, 130, or 140 RPM on rollers unloaded (without fighting air resistance), you will not be able to do it loaded (against air resistance), period. You will likely have to tinker with your bike fit a lot*, preferably on the rollers (with or without a fork stand) using your actual track bike. You can also load the bike into the trainer with no resistance (I forgot about that.)

2) What size cranks are you using? Simply put: Longer cranks are more difficult to spin for a handful of reasons.


*When I started back riding again, my bike was in pieces and I reassembled it based on nothing (I couldn't find my fit measurement notes). I couldn't hit any of the cadence numbers I'd hit before. Not even close. Not even on rollers. After a few days of tinkering on the rollers and track, I eventually lowered my saddle over 2CM as well as moved it forward about 2cm, and everything clicked.

I was at a bike shop that specializes in Tri stuff and I was really particular about something the mechanic was doing to my bike and the owner commented, "You track guys are the most particular of any of my clients." to which I replied, "Yeah, a lot of us are like The Princess and the Pea when it comes to our bikes.

In order to open up those higher cadences, you'll have to do some fit work, maybe including experimenting with crank length, cleat placement, saddle position, bar height, etc... You can't just "try harder" and make it happen.

EDIT: I'm not suggesting you go in for a professional bike fit session. You can do this on your own with patience.

dijos

I'm riding 170s. I've also adjusted my saddle and riding position probably 20 times as I've gotten used to the bike and the track. I think I'm in a good spot again.

I recently got on a spin bike and seen how fast I can spin, and with no resistance at all, I can sustain 160 and have hit 200. With resistance, I top out at 160, but again, it's not on my bike or my rollers.

carleton

This makes my point about it being a fit issue.

If you can do it on one bike and not another, it's the bike, not you.

Your track bike could be setup in a comfortable, grinding position that's common for road riding.


You need to adjust your fit....and find out how long the cranks are on the spin bike.

brawlo

In terms of your spin, that's pretty much what I do, after having been racing now for 9 years. So I wouldn't worry too much about those figures.

Do you get to do much regular track racing? Just club level stuff? Your training is focusing on sprint stuff, but I would say it's too early to be putting yourself into that arena. Just get out and race some. Sure you may find that sprint is what you excel at, but it may not be.

The very first proper training drill I was given was just repeated standing and seated accels from a very slow roll. Begin with 100m and as you improve extend those out to 200, 300 & 400m. Alternate standing and seated with only a couple of rolling laps in between efforts. Do 4 efforts, then a short say 5min break and then repeat. Those develop your leg strength and as you get fitter

Also, riding track and the gearing is very different. On road you pick gears to stay in a sweet spot cadence range. On the track whatever gear you choose has to get you from zero all the way up to top speed.

In all the time I've been racing, aside from spinning up in small 80" gears, I have always seemed to top out in the mid-high 130rpm in a race scenario. I gear up and that continues to be the case. Years spent searching for spin-ability had me chasing my tail. I've made a move to bigger gears. Not something you can do overnight, you need to develop the strength and conditioning to push them, but of all the things I've done over the years, it's the one thing that has gotten me faster.

Give yourself time to develop, and to find out what you like and what your body is good at. Then make your move to specialise if you desire.