im i doing it wrong

andy610

i started cycling last sept on a mountain bike, and bought a trek pilot 1.0 road bike last nov, i commute to work 3 to 4 times a week 7 miles each way, i have now done 4 longer rides 30 miles, 50 miles ,70 miles, and last weekend 32 miles but it seemed harder then the 70 miles due to wind i think, i was thinking i might not be using the gears enough i have a triple chainset 52 42 30 on the 32 miles rides i was using the largest front cog all the time and only changed from between 17 and 24 gears should i be using the middle front cog as well even on a straight bit of road, as after about 30 miles my legs get fatigued could this be because of using a too high a gear should i be spinning more

Yorkshireman

Sounds as if you could be pushing too high a gear. Spinning is better (and kinder) for the legs particularly on longer distances. I think a cadence (pedal rpm) of around 80 is generally recommended, if you're not used to such a high spin use lower gears and gradually work up to it (if I'm wrong someone will be along to correct me ).

andy610

which gear should i be spinning in then about19 i seem to get faster speed in about21 but when i make it easier i go slower but guess over a long distance it will be better

Yorkshireman

It's a matter of getting used to the higher spinning speeds (it doesn't take that long really), and it's certainly easier on the legs, and try to make good use of the gears by changing up and down as required to keep your spinning speed up.

MarvintheAndroid

It's hard to say because of different speed, gradient, road surface, wind direction etc, but basically the gears are there so you can select a happy medium. If you are labouring hard at low crank rpms than you should select a lower gear etc.

Try to anticipate changes in the road to select the right gear as soon as you need it, rather than letting your pedal rate fall and then trying to recover by changing several gears at once. Little and often is better.

Finally, try to avoid cross-chaining (biggest front ring with biggest rear cog and vice versa) as this puts additional wear on your drivetrain.

Marv

nun

andy610 wrote:

i started cycling last sept on a mountain bike, and bought a trek pilot 1.0 road bike last nov, i commute to work 3 to 4 times a week 7 miles each way, i have now done 4 longer rides 30 miles, 50 miles ,70 miles, and last weekend 32 miles but it seemed harder then the 70 miles due to wind i think, i was thinking i might not be using the gears enough i have a triple chainset 52 42 30 on the 32 miles rides i was using the largest front cog all the time and only changed from between 17 and 24 gears should i be using the middle front cog as well even on a straight bit of road, as after about 30 miles my legs get fatigued could this be because of using a too high a gear should i be spinning more

The quetsion I'd ask is what speed are you doing, if you are doing 80rpm (a good cadence) given your gears you should be doing between 13 and 19 mph which is just fine. However, you should not be on the big ring using the 24 cassette as you are cross chaining. Use the outer 3 or 4 cassette cogs with the big ring, the center 5 with the middle and the inner 3 or 4 with the smallest ring. This will give you good gear coverage and minimize wear and inefficeiny chain line.iits probably best to ride on the middle ring most of the time and use the small and big rings for climbing and going down hills. You should adjust your gearing so that you can maintain 70 to 80 rpm