How to Sprint on a bike?
12-30-11, 07:41 PM
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How to Sprint on a bike?
What is the best way to sprint on a bike? I know that there is more to it than just pedaling fast.
12-30-11, 07:51 PM
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Yeah, fast...and hard.
This is going to be a good thread...come on fellas, let's finish off 2011 with a bang...or a sprint.
This is going to be a good thread...come on fellas, let's finish off 2011 with a bang...or a sprint.
12-30-11, 07:54 PM
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I don't have a wife.
12-30-11, 07:55 PM
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12-30-11, 07:57 PM
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And don't forget to pull up and get into the drops, use upper body to power through the stroke. Start in a gear that you can accelerate quickly without boging down and be ready to shift to keep the speed going. You are looking to start around 95rpm and get up to 110-115rpm and then shift.
12-30-11, 08:02 PM
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Pick a gear that's pretty big but not so big you can't get on top of it and spin the cranks. For me, that's 53x14. Jam your hands deep into the drops, get out of the saddle, keep your elbows bent and your back parallel to the ground. Stamp like hell on the pedals and pull hard on the bars. Try to tear the bike apart. Keep spinning faster and faster. If you feel like you're going to spin out, drop a cog. Keep stamping. If it hasn't started hurting yet, it will. Keep going. Cross the line and throw your hands in the air.
12-30-11, 08:03 PM
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12-30-11, 08:18 PM
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Pick a gear that's pretty big but not so big you can't get on top of it and spin the cranks. For me, that's 53x14. Jam your hands deep into the drops, get out of the saddle, keep your elbows bent and your back parallel to the ground. Stamp like hell on the pedals and pull hard on the bars. Try to tear the bike apart. Keep spinning faster and faster. If you feel like you're going to spin out, drop a cog. Keep stamping. If it hasn't started hurting yet, it will. Keep going. Cross the line and throw your hands in the air.
12-30-11, 08:24 PM
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12-30-11, 08:35 PM
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You could do what Andre Greipel did in the TDU earlier this year: start in your 53-15 at around 103 RPM, spin it up to 120RPM using around 1000W, dump it into the 53-11 and crank out 1300W for the next 10S reaching a max speed of 60kph on a slight uphill finish.
12-30-11, 10:23 PM
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Also: if there's someone alongside you, don't force them over the centerline or off the edge of the road. Try to maintain your line. And I know this sounds obvious, but if you're trying to place as highly as possible, don't let up until you're actually across the line.
12-30-11, 11:04 PM
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More like, don't let up until you're in the next county 
The basic mechanics is when you are out of the saddle and in the drops, when you push the right pedal down, you're going to rock the bike to the left (gives you leverage). Left pedal pushed down, rock to the right (these are done simultaneously, pedaling and rocking). With a 53x14 or 15, this gives you a lot of flexibility for speed. You can hold the gear and just increase rpm to increase the speed, don't have to waste time with a shift.
The basic mechanics is when you are out of the saddle and in the drops, when you push the right pedal down, you're going to rock the bike to the left (gives you leverage). Left pedal pushed down, rock to the right (these are done simultaneously, pedaling and rocking). With a 53x14 or 15, this gives you a lot of flexibility for speed. You can hold the gear and just increase rpm to increase the speed, don't have to waste time with a shift.
12-31-11, 12:11 PM
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remember when you're sprinting from speed, the sprint is ~40 pedal strokes. make 'em all count.
12-31-11, 05:23 PM
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12-31-11, 05:52 PM
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