McBTC

Might want to think about shortening your crank length, e.g., 165 's...

dr1445

i had to move from 135", pedal to seat height to 137", to be able to get full rotation. did 6 miles the other day with the seat back at 135, some complaints for the first mile , then all went smoothly. so far no flare ups. did a 3 mile walk today as i mix up walks and rides, brilliant spring morning. if all is well tomorrow i will most likely try my old 10 mile route, last done in 2017. not a lot of hp here, not sure about the having to spin a 165 faster. currently running 170mm crank. thanks for the suggestion.

McBTC

Interestingly, when you shorten your cranks by, e.g., 5 mm, you must then raise the saddle 5 mm resulting in a 10 mm difference when coming over the top of the pedal stroke... Interesting research that is easy to Google and has been printed many times on this forum showed that the optimum crank length was actually, 145 mm so, there's a lot to play with there. In any event, the effect on RPMs is usually positive not negative and also that longer cranks at any given RPM results in a faster foot speed which is the more relevant factor to consider. What some find is, when going to a shorter crank the RPMs go up which is good and the foot speed goes down in any given gear which the rider naturally accommodates for by increasing the gear with the result that power output is increased.

dr1445

i did 10 saturday the only issue was a lower leg cramp starting at mile 4 mark. changed my front cog from 36 to 38t today and did a 7 mile run to check it out. i did some stretching of the calf muscle before the ride, all went well.

philbob57

Deleted - this post was supposed to be in the "did you ride today?' thread.

jlvs2run

I've been averaging about 55km / 34miles a day on my indoor bike, including workouts and time trials. Due to periodic knee swelling, I had the steel forged 170mm cranks drilled at 150mm a few days ago, and raised the seat 2cm, which has been a big improvement. The constant dead spots are gone and my pedaling is quite a bit smoother. This is surprisingly especially noticeable when standing.

Since changing the cranks, I can use the same gears and rpms as previously to go the same paces as before, with no discernible difference in effort. Though the pedal speed around the circumference is lower, my feeling is that some of that previous pedal speed was wasted, due to the dead spots.

During a workout a few days ago, I experimented with different gears / rpms, and felt more efficient with a higher rpm but slightly below a 17/15 increase. There is much more experimenting yet to come, including a possible time trial by the end of the week, provided all goes well in the meantime.

OldTryGuy

I can't even remember when 2008 was???

McBTC

That's not a good sign... right?

freeranger

Anyone else find, that after retiring, that they don't do as many group rides as when still employed. Guess I've gotten used to not being on anyone else's schedule, and enjoy the freedom of doing things on my own time, instead of someone else's schedule. Still enjoy a group ride now and then, for the company, but doing a lot less than when I was working. Guess I should add, that while working, was on a very strict time schedule, and lunch, breaks, arrival and end of day were very strictly monitored. Certain that has a lot to do with it!

BCAC

My experience is just the opposite. I do many, many, more group rides, now that I’m retired. Since I’m totally in control of my own schedule, it’s easy to do any ride I want. And I want to do 4 group rides a week.

jppe

I was talking about that very thing earlier this week. In my situation I’m walking 18 holes of golf every morning so I’m a bit more tired in the evenings for group rides. Plus when I was working I was more rigorous with my schedule. I planned around getting rides in so I actually rode more. Now I can ride just about any time that I’m not taking a nap!!

Wildwood 

90+ holes of golf per week is enough to induce 'nap syndrome' in any retiree.
Not to mention many of your cycling expeditions.

McBTC

... and, when you hook into that you can take advantage of something else that's different, unlike in younger days when you drink a lot of coffee to stay awake all night to pass midterms or whatever... Feel free to enjoy a coffee nap-- supposed to be good for 'ya...https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-nap

jppe

I think my last cup of coffee was in College for late night studying!

Wildwood 

I'd almost bet my last round of golf was about when you graduated College.

Wildwood 

I lost motivation to ride today shortly after waking. Found out about family & friend deaths. Family member was related thru marriage to my sister. Other man was an old family friend, visited regularly growing up (but only Xmas cards since). Ages 62, 67.

I will ride tomorrow. I think the texting has mostly ended and I missed a good day to spin today.

jppe

RIP Charlie Spainhour. He was doing his usual Tuesday bike ride and suffered a massive heart attack. 67 years old. I don’t think he posted in 50+ but fits this forum for sure. He also enjoyed playing golf like yours truly. Good guy.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...?pid=198561213

Ballenxj

R.I.P. Mr Spainhour.

ListerFam

lol.
Is there anyone really 65+ here?

ListerFam

My respects to Mr Spainhour. May God bless his soul!

Wildwood 

65+? Yes, until there is a 70+ sub-Forum. 3000 - 4000 miles per year for 1/2 a lifetime, more mi/yr when I lived in flat America.

How 'bout you?

10 Wheels

79 y/o

McBTC

Saving for anterior anthroplasty before I'm 73...


Found some rain...

Trsnrtr

I'll be 70 in a couple weeks and will be doing a 70 miler to celebrate. Also, recently bought a new Colnago road bike so I'm still youthful enough for quick bikes with drop bars.

McBTC

How large a rear tire does a new Colnago accommodate these days? ... 25 is the max on my '15 Felt.