Yet another gearing question
So I'm still struggling with whole issue of climbing hills on my road bike compared to my mountain bike and have read all the gearing threads - thanks so much for the info btw... Loved the Sheldon Brown site where you punch in your info and it gives you lots of stuff back. Anyway..... I am wondering where cadence comes into the whole thing. I generally ride at a cadence of about 90rpm. It feels comfortable to me and comes naturally. When I am on the really hard hills - you know, the ones where people say, "don't worry about your speed, just drop into your granny gear and spin up" - I find I can't get much about 50 rpm even in my lowest gear. I'm struggling along at about 8-9 km/h and pushing my legs as hard as I can. If the hill is really long, my legs are aching so bad by the time I get up to the top, that it takes me a fair while to recover.
So the gearing question is - should I consider switching over to a rear cassette with a ring that would allow me to spin at 80-90 rpm up those hard hills? Using Sheldon's site, I see that the 11-34 would probably allow me to do that.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance..
barb
Are you a spinner or masher?
There are a lot of articles on how to decide what cadence you should use for hills. Each person is different. This article was a in recent RoadBikerRider newsletter. Here's the start:
7. Try This on Your Next Ride o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o
Take Testa's Test to find your best climbing style and cadence.
Max Testa, M.D., is a former pro team physician who now directs a sports medicine clinic in Davis, California, owned by Eric Heiden of speedskating and cycling fame.
According to Testa, the key to discovering your most-efficient cadence is to pay attention to what happens when you're about to blow on a climb.
"What fails when you're trying to keep up on a climb?" he asks. "Do you shift to a lower gear and spin fast because if you go to a bigger gear and grind your legs die? In that case, you need strength. But if, when you use a smaller gear and spin, your breathing goes out of control, you need more cardiovascular conditioning."
Try Testa's Test when you're doing hill repeats:
The test is at: http://www.roadbikerider.com/255e.htm