spinning guess im doing it wrong

andy610

ive just done a 70 mile ride on sat i have a triple chainring, i seem to be pushing the high gears im nearly always on the large front chainring and dont use the double much, think thats why my legs get tired after 50 miles, should i only use the large chainring which has 53 teeth for downhill only and use the double more, do most use the large chainring on the flat or not. ive been cycling for nearly 2 yrs now, i guess spinning in a lower gear will increase my fitness and less stress on my knees but will it build muscles up, and i guess i will need more food if spinning

LeighB

Lance Armstrong could spin up Alpine climbs on a 39 x 23 where people like us would need a 30 x 28; it’s down to personal strength. I have a fixie with 42 x 15 (74’’) gearing and this is comfortable for rides in our area (South Lakes/North Lanc’s) as long as I avoid the big hills. My winter bike with gears has a 53/39 front and a 28/14 rear and on the flat I use the big ring with 18 or 20 on the rear. My best bike has a 50/36 front with a 26/12 rear and again I use the big ring and middle of the block/cassette combination on the flat. As long as you find something you can use and feel comfortable with I would not worry about the technicalities of it. If you cannot pull the 53 why not but a new chain ring e.g. a 50 tooth one?

Cajun

If you can maintain an 85-95rpm and ride an acceptable (to yourself) speed, then your gears & thighs will dictate your cog selection... I did as LeighB suggested; I hardly used the 53t except for downhills & tailwinds and I changed out to a 50t a few years ago....and yes, I do lose some speed on occasions, but I use the 50t a lot of the ride which more than justifies the changeout...

CheeseyJoe

I have a triple too and I've got into the habit of using the large chainring on the flat now, and I use the middle chainring for most hills. I use the big chainring on the flat until near the end of a 45 mile ride when I start using the middle one on the flat and the smallest one on a couple of hills. I suppose this means I'm in the same situation as you but I'm not bothered about it as long as I'm not having to pedal too fast or not pedal at all I'm ok.

andrewjoseph

Don't get too hung up on 'spinning', latest research indicates that spinning is only efficient for highly trained athletes. Most normal people are more efficient at lower cadences.

Go for what's comfortable, within reason, part of the point of my cycling is for exercise, i like working hard for hours, on the mountain or the road.

myqul

If you your really that interested in getting into spinning try shorter cranks/crank shorteners as they promote spinning over mashing.

I have shorteners on my Recumbent to help with a hip problem and even though I'm a "natrual" spinner anyway these deffo got my cadence up.

Geiger

Noob question, what's spinning?

ride_whenever

pedalling at a higher rpm with lower gearing...

Geiger

Cheers.

Rich Hcp

Just pedal at a rate and in a gear that you're comfortable with


Do your own thing

Be a maverick!

jezcc

I've got to agree with people saying pick your own leg speed. There's little point in trying to push yourself into riding in a way that feels unnatural to you. If you're taking cycling very seriously, you might find that it's a good idea to try and change your behaviour on the bike, but if you feel god with low cadence there's no need to change it.

It's such a repeated phrase on these boards, I've noticed already, but here goes: Just go with what feels right to you, there''s rare;y a 'right' answer.