tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post3366506926536918183..comments2024-03-29T04:01:31.445-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: "Saving" Your Gears: a False Economy?Velouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-48934268406031423432015-03-11T03:20:36.556-04:002015-03-11T03:20:36.556-04:00My way of expressing the dilemana is that you can&...My way of expressing the dilemana is that you can't back up a hill. At some point you either get off (not a bad idea), or you take a stand literally or figuratively. You can blow out spinning a tiny gear, or stomping a big one. Not being some great cyclist what I do is make sure I am really using my full lung capacity, and I try to really pull as hard as I push on the pedals. So what works for me it looking for technical ways of getting more power into the pedals, not trying to bail.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-71131396160831655092014-09-10T13:38:16.764-04:002014-09-10T13:38:16.764-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13149377222281857534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-69136893261805116542014-09-09T09:36:48.977-04:002014-09-09T09:36:48.977-04:00Deliberately choose a harder rear cassette AND avo...Deliberately choose a harder rear cassette AND avoid granny gear, this will make you work hard. Over time it builds up strength and ability however if you aregue that cadence is key, then this doesn't help. <br /><br />A better tip however is to ride for yourself and ignore other riders, overtake or let them over you without throught - rather concentrate on your own pace.CShttp://www.smart-cyclist.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-52906851444824908452014-09-09T09:05:28.780-04:002014-09-09T09:05:28.780-04:00The lesson I would learn from this: The smallest g...The lesson I would learn from this: The smallest gear may not be necessary at all and it may be beneficial to instead use an intermediate cog for finer shiftsManfrednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-74332434577149624892014-09-08T19:17:32.766-04:002014-09-08T19:17:32.766-04:00There is an physiological or endurance aspect to t...There is an physiological or endurance aspect to this as well. While standing on the pedals gets you promptly over a short, sharp climb and spinning is best for a long climb within a short ride, the really long efforts, when you must conserve your stamina till the end of a long day, call for gearing that feels heavy but not crushing. I often stay on a tougher gear not because I wish to save the granny for later, but because I want to save my energy for later.Francisco de Almeidahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14147944912098034703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68772198505234008282014-09-08T14:59:27.422-04:002014-09-08T14:59:27.422-04:00I'm saving the last cog for when I get OLDER....I'm saving the last cog for when I get OLDER.jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-23504945069998049842014-09-08T05:10:03.692-04:002014-09-08T05:10:03.692-04:00"like hamsters" lol - another good reaso..."like hamsters" lol - another good reason to ride solo.spokeswomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003029599627697118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-81966648170670364252014-09-07T22:37:54.232-04:002014-09-07T22:37:54.232-04:00Of all the head games we cyclists use to get us ov...Of all the head games we cyclists use to get us over the top, I suspect saving the last gear is probably the most universally used and also the most denied. It has just a whiff of irrationality to it, not quite as bad as Jaques Anquitil taking his bottle out of the cage and putting it in his jersey pocket to lighten his bike, but enough that people almost treat it as superstition and hesitate to admit doing it..<br /><br /> People say that to not use the gear till you cant go on without, keeps you from using it when it will do you the most good. Or that by holding this ace up your sleeve you deceive yourself into never discovering what you can really do, only hiding behind that which we hope will prevent us from revealing our weakness. I think that's all just semantic BS. Anything that keeps the cranks turning should be fair game and proudly so. <br /><br />Of course this little ploy has it's dangers too, if not used with a little common sense it has the potential to make you look like a dope unnecessarily. More than once I've ground my way up a climb in a group, one gear from the bottom, slower and slower, telling myself "just a bit farther" until I give in and push the lever over, only to have to ease up, not only enough to complete the shift, but to also drop my speed to the point that I'm now having to push my bail-out gear even slower than I was turning the previous cog. Lols. My friend Ben gets no end of joy out of suddenly "leaping" ahead of me on his fixed gear when I do that. It also loses some of it's magic if you use this little ruse on yourself more than, say, 300 times a day. Starts to make one feel a bit of a fraud in my experience... <br /><br />I sometimes reward myself for not resorting to, as the Mountainbikers say"Humping my Granny"(Horrible phrase, I absolutely refuse to use it) by promising myself a Hershey bar at the top of the mountain, there have been angry words at the summit a couple of times when it comes out that I was lying and didn't really have any chocolate but sometimes you have to be a bastard to get the most out of yourself. I always patch things up with myself and I return home joking and laughing like nothing ever happened. It's sweet really.<br /><br />"Back In The Day", when race bikes typically had something like a 42-26 low gear and the hills hadn't eroded to the gentle mounds we have now, climbing was an even more fraught and desperate endeavor. I vividly remember trying not to get dropped, pushing the biggest gear I could maintain at 40 or so RPM while sitting, till I thought blood was going to squirt out of my eyes, then shifting UP one and standing to let the dead weight of the rest of my near lifeless zombie corpse take a turn pushing on my Zeus Campy copy Super Record pedals. If you did it right you got a big enough burst of torque to momentarily accelerate enough to drop back down into the previous gear at a slightly elevated RPM that you tried to maintain for as long as possible. This cycle could go on and on till you thought you were going to blow your Fruity Pebbles into the woods. Compact cranks and the "Old Mans 36 Tooth Badge Of Courage" means I don't do that anymore. <br /><br />Another ploy for psyching oneself out that I've been using for a thousand years is to pedal in time to music in my head, pick something up-tempo that "loops" that won't make you want to kill yourself if it gets in your head forever, and try to keep it from dragging. I use The Kinks "All day and all of the night" and imagine Ray and Dave Davies standing behind me ready to kick my ass if I F up their song by dragging it down to where it sounds like Paul Robeson singing "Old Man River". Ray and Dave have gotten me over the top so many times maybe I should send them a check... <br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-82692938362192098152014-09-07T22:08:06.661-04:002014-09-07T22:08:06.661-04:00Bicycles are amazing, period! The very idea that ...Bicycles are amazing, period! The very idea that I can move about at two, or three, or more the speed of walking and travel miles and experience things I could never experience in a car is incredible. It enriches my life. I think little about the gears I have simply because they allow my to go wherever I want to go. What else matters? For me, it's not a competition, it's just breathing in the miles, some days with a grimace and some days with a smile. My bike allows this and saving things does not connect as much as using things...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-6998177246378652992014-09-07T19:26:00.753-04:002014-09-07T19:26:00.753-04:00Hey Somervillain, What is your current gearing set...Hey Somervillain, What is your current gearing set-up? Just out of curiosity...<br /><br />SpiondizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-25720177932716631252014-09-07T17:12:29.085-04:002014-09-07T17:12:29.085-04:00Very true. Initially, my main reason for wanting g...Very true. Initially, my main reason for wanting gearing that low, was that I was physically unable to climb some hills otherwise - due to a lack of strength, exacerbated by my then-inability to stand out of the saddle. Today I can push a considerably higher gear if necessary and falling over at a standstill even on the toughest hill is no longer a serious concern. Still, for my purpose and style of cycling (I like doing long rides and prefer to pedal at a high cadence), low gears are useful and improve my cycling experience. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-58383244617600031232014-09-07T17:02:12.694-04:002014-09-07T17:02:12.694-04:00Everyday I travel the same route and some days I c...Everyday I travel the same route and some days I can make it up the hill w/o using my lowest gear and some days I require it….There are so many variables which explain my variations. In general I'm stronger as my milage increases but am glad to have any gear I need on those days I'm low on fuel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-87937781642576074222014-09-07T14:01:52.068-04:002014-09-07T14:01:52.068-04:00There are many use case scenarios for having a sub...There are many use case scenarios for having a sub 1:1 gear, so I'll definitely be keeping it.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-75695980186998811022014-09-07T01:04:57.370-04:002014-09-07T01:04:57.370-04:00I like to get up hills as fast as reasonably possi...I like to get up hills as fast as reasonably possible. I hate riding in groups where everyone shifts down at the first whiff of an incline, and continue to downshift repeatedly, while churning away like hamsters. <br /><br />So that's another reason to reserve a gear or three.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-19341944364170067332014-09-06T19:55:00.745-04:002014-09-06T19:55:00.745-04:00Does this mean you will retire the sulky, dust rid...Does this mean you will retire the sulky, dust ridden gear or seek out steeper climbs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-3534362990809767942014-09-06T16:46:14.451-04:002014-09-06T16:46:14.451-04:00I used to save the lowest gear for years and years...I used to save the lowest gear for years and years.<br />25 years ago I climbed this way the Stelvio with 39/23 (at this time 26 was the max. cog I had... long time ago). For the last 5 years approx. I have used all gears (now 30/27... getting old and fat!) and some times I still am a little bit stressed not to have a gear "in reserve"... In fact my reserve today are S-lines, hopefully not with cars coming.Elvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-90692360869498102992014-09-06T08:52:42.539-04:002014-09-06T08:52:42.539-04:00This is true - bikes don't seem to appreciate ...This is true - bikes don't seem to appreciate having their gears changed under duress - particularly the front gears. Changing gears in anticipation rather than retrospectively is better, though this may not always happen in practical situations. Whenever I have not changed down sufficiently in advance, I prefer to get off and walk rather than torture my bike.spokeswomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003029599627697118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-66335733232956178492014-09-05T20:28:43.208-04:002014-09-05T20:28:43.208-04:00One disadvantage to this that I have found, is tha...One disadvantage to this that I have found, is that if you save your lowest on the really steep bit, you can't use it without risking popping off your chain completely.<br /><br />This happened to me recently on holiday on a rented bike. Chain came off as I was attacking a very steep incline. I don't know if its me, the crap bike setup or both, but when you are putting a lot of stress on the chain, shifting down causes it to slip. Not very pretty!<br /><br />Its easier to shift up if needed, although as you said, instinctively most people don't do this. I have learned to slip down to the lowest just in case, then slip up if I can take it...the leisuristhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03625982500995111308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-87917167002296628012014-09-05T16:57:18.435-04:002014-09-05T16:57:18.435-04:00Easy: That picture was taken when the cassette was...Easy: That picture was taken when the cassette was new : )Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68274861434706693722014-09-05T16:50:35.602-04:002014-09-05T16:50:35.602-04:00Totally unrelated to your question about gear savi...Totally unrelated to your question about gear saving: How on earth did you get your cassette so clean? Kendrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18329731743529266746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-76802435065600831812014-09-05T14:37:03.781-04:002014-09-05T14:37:03.781-04:00and then you have a singlespeeder...
I totally &q...and then you have a singlespeeder...<br /><br />I totally "save" a gear or two for hard times, though I am learning to do that less and less mtbing and meter out my effort better. but I also like to use it as a gauge of how my fitness and leg strength is coming along.spericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-85747996261988057782014-09-05T12:32:30.677-04:002014-09-05T12:32:30.677-04:00I have even lower gears than you do and am not shy...I have even lower gears than you do and am not shy about using them. Sometimes when I'm still on the hill I'll find myself shifting back up because I'm not as tired as I would have been in a higher gear. It's only a bicycle ride. What are you training for? Is there a test?Jon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02944939117507730995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-21855850710415827272014-09-05T12:07:44.071-04:002014-09-05T12:07:44.071-04:00I've lately been riding an old touring bike, o...I've lately been riding an old touring bike, one whose gears were sufficient when I was 21 years old. The lowest is 28T granny, 28T rear. I routinely use the granny gear and still have to stand in the pedals to hoof it over these ungodly steep VT hills. Yes, I used to save one gear in reserve, but I'm happy to just keep riding this old bike. I'll be swapping gears when they wear out.anniebikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737989268380822651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-53078989418980905202014-09-05T11:56:28.819-04:002014-09-05T11:56:28.819-04:00When you're doing big miles, especially when y...When you're doing big miles, especially when you're not used to them, there is also the tiredness factor. At the end of a long ride, I am always in lower gears than I started with, holdig terrain constant.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-73651783551593795452014-09-05T11:35:18.506-04:002014-09-05T11:35:18.506-04:00Consider the alternatives.Consider the alternatives.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.com