Which gear?

[Bruno28]

Can someone give me some advice on which gears to use? I have just recently started cycling and at first I was using my 2nd gear (front middle wheel) and a variety of back gears for general riding.

Now I find that 2nd gear is getting easier and I am using mainly 3rd (largest wheel) gear and a variety of back gears most of the time. This makes it harder and slows me down but I feel I am putting in more effort so will get fitter quicker. Already I find I hardly use my 'granny' gear where before I was using it regularly. My longest ride so far is 10 miles with an average speed of just over 8mph (which seems a bit pathetic compared with what you women at TE are doing...still, a journey starts with a single step).

My aim is to get fit and hopefully lose some weight. I have a hybrid (Trek 7.2fx ) - if that's relevant and am cycling on mainly flat terrain with a small number of moderate hills.

[mimitabby]

Good morning to you!
If you are riding all flat land, you won't need those "easy" gears. But if you have a stiff hill, you sure will (use all those lower gears)
as for staying in the 3rd chain ring, I think the experts will have something to tell you about cadence; if you aren't spinning, you aren't getting the best exercise. I know one thing, you should be in lower gears while you are warming up, for the sake of your knees.

Good luck have fun
mimi

[Bruno28]

Thanks mimi -

I've seen references in these forums to cadence but can't quite figure out what it means. I've 'googled' to no avail. Perhaps someone can explain?

[Veronica]

Cadence refers to how many times you are spinning your pedals per minute. Generally a higher cadence is better for your knees. I would suspect based on your first post that your cadence is rather low. It would be better and more efficient to spin at 80 - 90 RPM.

V.

[tygab]

cadence is how fast you are going (revolutions per minute), sort of a measure for your pedal speed. It has little to do with your real speed over land. but most experts say your cadence should be quite high, on the order of 90 rpms. Basically you will feel like you are 'spinning' your pedals fast. I do not have a cadence monitor on my cycle computer so I'm not sure what I ride at but it's almost certainly below 90. I would make a wild guess I hit around 75 to 80.

If you are using your biggest ring up front, you are very likely not anywhere near 90 either, you may be closer to 60-70 (just a guess). Anyway, the point is you want to stay out of that big ring and go with an 'easier' feeling gear. The goal is to keep the pressure on your legs light by choosing the gearing that allows you to keep your cadence nearly constant.

So, yes, now I want a cadence monitor too, and my computer might just accept it since my husband has the same model with the monitor.

Here is a link that may explain it better:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~doc/roadbiking/

[Bruno28]

Thanks Veronica. You are right - I am spinning slow, with a fair amout of resistance due to the gears, on the basis that I thought I needed to build up strength in my legs. I'll ease up on this now, as I feel my legs have gotten stronger in quite a short time, and hopefully I'll go a bit faster and a bit easier.

SO much to learn....but such great fun.

[Veronica]

I like having a cadence sensor. :D My average cadence is generally in the 90s. I use the sensor to try to keep my cadence up when I'm climbing.

V.

[Bruno28]

Anyway, the point is you want to stay out of that big ring and go with an 'easier' feeling gear. The goal is to keep the pressure on your legs light by choosing the gearing that allows you to keep your cadence nearly constant.


]


It's a Scottish thing...we like to make things hard for ourselves!:)

[tygab]

heh! but I think your knees will be happier long term with the higher pace...

I will add that I do use my biggest ring at times, I didn't mean to imply it has no purpose either. Where I use it is on big downhills so I can get a power boost once the hill flattens out or starts going up again. I'm almost never in it for long.

[bikerz]

When I first started riding I used a harder gear because the resistance made me fell more secure and better balanced on the bike - which meant a very low cadence - probabaly 60 or so. (In hindsight I am lucky I didn't hurt my knees!)

I find, now that I am more comfortable on the bike, that I spin at a higher cadence. My regular cadence on flats now is usually around 85, and I'm working on getting it higher. If I really concentrate on form, I can get to 95 without feeling like I'm going to bounce myself right off the bike - for a little while at least!

I have a inexpensive cadence device - Cateye Astrale 8 ($40 US) which has been very reliable and was quite easy to install.

On another thread, some one posted that the song "I get knocked down, but I get up again" (do you know that song?) is at about a cadence of 80.

[SadieKate]

A little more than you might want to know about cadence but this may help. Everyone is right -- don't push big gears without the leg strength to protect your knees -- but the cadence you choose is a personal thing.

http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/bike/cycling-cadence-and-pedaling-economy-001048.php

[Bruno28]

Thanks SK - liked the link. I'm a real anorak -when I want to know about something, I want to know everything about it :)

[DrBee]

I have a inexpensive cadence device - Cateye Astrale 8 ($40 US) which has been very reliable and was quite easy to install.

As we've discussed on other threads - the Cateye Astrale 8 is a great computer! I started out on a hybrid (a 7.2FX in fact). I always try to ride by cadence. I keep it in the 80-90 range and change gears accordingly to maintain a cadence in that range. 85 feels comfortable to me. As V and others have said - mashing gears will likely damage your knees. I know what you mean about feeling like you want to build leg strength. It sounds like you are doing that pretty effectively, however riding at a higher cadence will do that and not destroy your knees in the process. Good luck!

[Bruno28]

On another thread, some one posted that the song "I get knocked down, but I get up again" (do you know that song?) is at about a cadence of 80.

You've obviously guessed my riding style!

I do know the song, but I wonder if Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' is more what I should be aiming for? :)

[oxysback]

I do know the song, but I wonder if Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' is more what I should be aiming for? :)

That one'll do! Also...songs for biking:
Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Great Spirits by Tina Turner (from Brother Bear)
Light Up by Styx (a bit slower...I use it for a cool down or warm up)

There are more, but I can't think of the names right now. Left my ipod at home!

If you are up on your music theory, I've found that songs with a 6/8 time signature are very biking friendly, like the Kelly Clarkson one mentioned above.

[Bruno28]

Thanks for all the help folks. I'm just back from my first ride in mainly 2nd gear and it certainly got my speed up a bit (probably would have done better if my tyres had been properly pumped up...but that story's on another thread).


I'd say I was still more 'I get knocked down...' than 'Lust for life' but I'm getting there. I've noticed now that my thighs hurt more than my calfs which is probably right?

Finally- if I could try your patience for just a bit longer....should I be pedalling with the ball of my foot or more with the kind of middle bit (which is what I'm doing).

Don't worry I'm sure I'll get the hang of all this eventually:)

[Geonz]

You should feel more power from the balls of your feet. It's also a bit easier to work on that "round and round, not up and down" idea of getting the most power out of all-the-way-around the pedal stroke.

I also prefer to use a 3/4 or 6/8 tune, which makes for better balance and is more like my "alternate breathing" rhythms in swimming. ("Anyhow, I Love You" [Guy Clark] is one I *try* to do but it's kind of wrapped around itself so sometimes I almost fall off...)

[KSH]

Thanks Veronica. You are right - I am spinning slow, with a fair amout of resistance due to the gears, on the basis that I thought I needed to build up strength in my legs. I'll ease up on this now, as I feel my legs have gotten stronger in quite a short time, and hopefully I'll go a bit faster and a bit easier.

SO much to learn....but such great fun.

I too thought this when I first started riding.

After 2-3 months of doing this... muscling through pedaling... aka: mashing the pedals... I got ACCUTE knee pain. That knee pain took about 3 months to heal.

Honestly, I didn't understand WHEN to shift gears... until I got a computer with CADENCE.

I only look at my cadence and I shift according to what it says. I try to keep in the 90-100 range. When I get to 103, I shift into a harder gear. If my cadence is around 80, I shift into a easier gear.

This saved my knees... AND made me a better cyclist.

Keep getting out there and doing it... learn how to use cadence... and someday you will be FLYING down the road too.


Finally- if I could try your patience for just a bit longer....should I be pedalling with the ball of my foot or more with the kind of middle bit (which is what I'm doing).


Most of the pressure will be on the ball of your foot, but you should not tippy-toe pedal. WAIT! Are you clipless? My advice on how you pedal refers to clipless.

[Bruno28]

Typically, before I read all this advice about cadence I bought a bike computer. I thought, "I'll go for something relatively sophisticated so I'll gradually use more of the functions, but I don't want some ridiculous overcomplicated thing showing this cadence nonsense" :rolleyes: How quickly we learn. It does however tell me how much fat and calories I'm burning...which really isn't all that useful as I've got a pair of bathroom scales and an inchtape.

I've just got normal pedals - not sure if there's a special term for them - just put my feet on top of them and go...no clipping, no straps. I'm riding a hybrid, if that helps.

PS Can you girls start giving musical references that a 50 year old will recognise ????:cool: