During a trip out a guy commented on my spinning technique??

wollow007

Hi Guy's

While out on a ride over Swinley Forest today a fellow mountain biker pulled alongside up a moderate hill and said "nice spinning", not sure if he was taking the piddle or commenting me on my climbing skill probably the former.

Not so sure if my technique is correct for hill climbing. I find that at a middle to low gear I can get up the hills without killing my legs, however my cadence may be a little high and not so good for stamina etc.

My question is what sort of gear should I be in for a moderately steep hill, or a short but fairly steep hill both muddy. I'm in training for a couple of events this year and want to make sure I wont burn out to quickly!

Any assistance is appreciated, I'm sure the guy was taking the proverbial as he was pounding away at a high gear and got to the top before me, however he was resting when I passed him to climb the hill.

Cheers Guy's

sandy hill

If you made it up the hill without stopping and it felt comfortable for you then you were in the right gear.

For what its worth I tend to do a sitting charge into the hill and then change to keep the original cadence to the top, seldomly stand, and there's always enough left for a blast of acceleratation if required.

wollow007

I do try and pound a bigger gear up the hills, to be honest I find that I build up a ton of lactic acid and my breathing stops me before my legs run out. I'm sure with more training I will get better at climbing hill's

hammy7272

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

wollow007

My question exactly, bet the t*t had a nice little 10 minute rest at the top of the hill though lol

sandy hill

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

Mybe he was refering to his lack of satorial elegance. There are some real brand snobs in cycling.

wollow007

Plenty of brands here, Commencal Super 4 carbon with all the trimmings.

Not sure what he was riding but I bet he's a retard in the real world and a flop in the bedroom lol

I'm sure he was trying to be witty but sounded like he was taking the piddle.

road_donut

sandy hill wrote:

If you made it up the hill without stopping and it felt comfortable for you then you were in the right gear.

This^

cooldad

Depends on your style, and strength. I tend to spin - I'm oldish, not very strong, but reasonably fit. Some people I ride with use higher gears and push. Neither is right or wrong. Both often get you to the top about the same time.
The way I see it, modern bikes have loads of possible ratios. These should be used as much as possible to make it is easy as possible to ride. Makes you less tired, and more able to enjoy the fun bits.

But that guy was obviously a richard head.

hammy7272

sandy hill wrote:

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

Mybe he was refering to his lack of satorial elegance. There are some real brand snobs in cycling.

Ha ha, excellent. That's what it was, I'll my friend know. He is a bit fashion conscious

ilovedirt

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

I often see people riding down the road here at a medium pace but with their legs spinning like fuck, that's a wrong gear.

getonyourbike

ilovedirt wrote:

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

I often see people riding down the road here at a medium pace but with their legs spinning like fark, that's a wrong gear.

that could be there preferred cadence, I know mine is about 60rpm and i try to keep at that at all times as it leaves you feeling less tired at teh end. I've found spinning is far more energy efficient than pushing a higher gear. You can ride further without feeling tired, a massive plus in my book. Also the roadies tend to have high cadences, around 90rpm. If I remember correctly one of the pros has a cadenceof 110rpm

popstar

There are so many fashion police in Swinley, I guess I should have paid it a visit. But the place doesnt offer decent climbs so really doubt if I could ever join the ranks and have some healthy bit@hy discussions around.

OP stop riding that noob place and join us in some better challenging places. Those riders in Swinley do sound a bit viscous.

TheNorthernTrain

ilovedirt wrote:

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

I often see people riding down the road here at a medium pace but with their legs spinning like fark, that's a wrong gear.

I see them quite alot too. They normally look something like this

cooldad

popstar wrote:

There are so many fashion police in Swinley, I guess I should have paid it a visit. But the place doesnt offer decent climbs so really doubt if I could ever join the ranks and have some healthy bit@hy discussions around.

OP stop riding that noob place and join us in some better challenging places. Those riders in Swinley do sound a bit viscous.

Have a look in London Calling in rides. We do Surrey Hills most weekends, and Swinley a bit, and you soon learn to ignore popstar. And no one will comment on your spinning.

njee20

I know mine is about 60rpm and i try to keep at that at all times as it leaves you feeling less tired at teh end. I've found spinning is far more energy efficient than pushing a higher gear. You can ride further without feeling tired, a massive plus in my book

That's a contradiction surely? You mash a big gear, but have found spinning to be more effective?! I ride at what is comfortable. On the road I usually average about 90 on a flat ride, a bit lower on a hilly ride. On the mtb I tend to do what's quickest, usually a mix of standing and sitting. Personal though innit.

ilovedirt

getonyourbike wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

hammy7272 wrote:

Once my mate was cruising up a gentle hill on the way home from a ride. Some t*t rode passed and told him, he was in the 'wrong gear'! What exactly is a wrong gear?

I often see people riding down the road here at a medium pace but with their legs spinning like fark, that's a wrong gear.

that could be there preferred cadence, I know mine is about 60rpm and i try to keep at that at all times as it leaves you feeling less tired at teh end. I've found spinning is far more energy efficient than pushing a higher gear. You can ride further without feeling tired, a massive plus in my book. Also the roadies tend to have high cadences, around 90rpm. If I remember correctly one of the pros has a cadenceof 110rpm

I mean more like 120rpm, so fast that it can't possibly be less effort. Roadies have a higher cadence because they run out of gears faster.

lasty

wollow007 wrote:

Hi Guy's

While out on a ride over Swinley Forest today a fellow mountain biker pulled alongside up a moderate hill and said "nice spinning", not sure if he was taking the piddle or commenting me on my climbing skill probably the former.


Sounds a bit gay - he`d get decked around here ....... 8)

getonyourbike

njee20 wrote:

I know mine is about 60rpm and i try to keep at that at all times as it leaves you feeling less tired at teh end. I've found spinning is far more energy efficient than pushing a higher gear. You can ride further without feeling tired, a massive plus in my book

That's a contradiction surely? You mash a big gear, but have found spinning to be more effective?! I ride at what is comfortable. On the road I usually average about 90 on a flat ride, a bit lower on a hilly ride. On the mtb I tend to do what's quickest, usually a mix of standing and sitting. Personal though innit.

hell, that seems really quite fast to me, anymore and my legs get even more tired. But when I went from going out of teh saddle up teh hills to sitting and winching like I do now, I noticed an immediate difference, I'm getting up tehm faster too.

njee20

Roadies have a higher cadence because they run out of gears faster

.

You don't ride a road bike do you?! If you can spin out 53/11 you ought to get on the blower to British Cycling immediately.

Roadies tend to spin more because it's more efficient. There's obviously a 'sweet spot' but as said above that's generally reckoned to be about 90rpm. Mountain biking is a bit different anyway, as the constantly changing terrain tends to dictate your cadence far more. Mashing a big gear is much more likely to cause you to lose traction though.

At the end of the day, if it works for you WGAS?

ilovedirt

njee20 wrote:

Roadies have a higher cadence because they run out of gears faster

.

You don't ride a road bike do you?! If you can spin out 53/11 you ought to get on the blower to British Cycling immediately.

I never claimed to be a roadie.

Eyon

2 methods for me to climb. If its short climb steep or shallow, just keep in a high gear and mash away, you will get to the top fast not too much out of breath and all is good.

If its a long drag, I just sit on my arse, go in a low gear, get a nice high cadance (90rpm works for me when i've measured it) and spin my way to the top. I'm not the fastest, I look like i struggle maybe, and the guy who goes past me twice the speed mashing away might look like he knows better, but what do i care? I get to the top, I'm not near my death bed and i can enjoy the way down

If it works for you then its what you should do, dont let other people take the piss because they prefer their method

wollow007

Sounds like good sound advice

timpop

Spin at whatever is the most comfortable to you that does not create too much tension/pressure on your knees. Good spinning reduces risk of injury to your knees so it's worth getting it right for your riding.

cee

depends on the climb...

a great big long dirty dragged out affair....i'll sit and spin.
a short sharp climb....stand and pound.

and often somewhere in between

nick1962

Never got out of my seat to pedal yet.Am I doing something wrong :?

njee20

Depends on your measure of 'wrong'. It's undoubtedly quicker over some short sharp climbs, but more tiring. bit pointless to sprint up every climb then blow 5 miles into a 50 mile ride. Conversely it's a little odd to spin your way up climbs in an XC race.

Mental Mickey

The 'sweet spot' is always the place to be, I have done this pretty much for most of my short 18 months or so cycling and it has come as second nature after the initial period where I was brand new and clueless - finding my way.

Not sure I understand the physics of it all but I'm not sure about some of the statements made to the effect that you can last longer by spinning or can keep up the same speed as someone in a higher gear on hills.
In more recent times, (last 6 months) I have noticed only 2 people spinning that could keep up or ahead of me on long fireroad climbs, 1 was a guy who I has spoke to earlier that raced regularly and the other was a man older than me but fit looking that just about hung on my tail, he was pushing himself real hard to do this though and this was when I had little traction from ice and snow conditions and was on my 32:16 singlespeed.

I like that lactic acid burn, makes me enjoy it more, then again, I like fiery hot chilli too, maybe this is similar in a way?
I have found that since learning to stand up more, everything slots into place either regards dealing with off road terrain, SS'ing is actually the best move I've made yet, I can stand for very long periods now without stopping, rarely have to take a 'pedal while sitting' rest even on v...e...r...y long fireroad climbs, I put that down to sticking at it with the SS, for those who haven't tired it you really should give it a go one day and stick with it.

I feel it is making me fitter, only the other day I spent the whole day overtaking everyone I encountered (at least 15 people at a guess) of all ages and none were fatties, all were lean, I was pretty ill as well and still had a chest infection. The looks I get while cruising past in 1 gear is pricless and worth the SS conversion kit price money alone.

ireland57

Maybe his comment was a genuine compliment. He may not be able to spin yet and that's why he stopped on the hilltop. Rooted from pushing a big gear/not fit.

My cadence varies a lot as I spin and also start to push as my knees get used to it.
An average roadie ride is usually 85-87 average cadence varying from 55 - 120 (hills and sprints) mostly aiming at about 90 - 105 rpm.

The mtn bike averages about 75 rpm; it has longer cranks which I can't spin as fast and the terrain causes rest periods (downhill).

On occasion I ride slowly and spin like fark because I just gave my legs a hiding and they need a break to rid lactic; it works well; recovery is quick for me.

Standing up is important to get some blood flowing to those bits which get jammed into the seat for hours on end.

Everone has a different sweet spot for cadence. On short steep hills (mtn bike) I sit and overtake a lot of bikes but very rarely get overtaken.
Different story on long grinds though.

wollow007

Look's like i need to try the standing, medium gear and dig in approach next time i'm out

tofu21

There is always the macho thing of driving the biggest gear possible. "I only use big ring" etc... There seems to be a a growing trend to go 1*10 which seems like a bit of a macho statement really.

I am defo' a spinner more than a powerer. I tend to spin my road bike like a mountain bike which is fine on the flat and slight hills but when things get a bit steep I end up struggling.

I have always been of the opinion that if you turn a big gear that it will knacker your knees etc... but I think that may have been debunked. But that could always be an excuse for me to use granny.

On the the MTB I find that being in a lower gear means that you have got a bit more torque so I can overcome obstacles on the trail. If I'm in a higher gear I can come a cropper. I suppose if I had more power in my legs that would not be as big of an issue.

I'm not a racer but do endurance events so taking it steady and getting to the end of the 100K, 24 hours etc... is more important to me than getting to the top of the hill a little quicker.

There is the school of thought (if you run a triple anyway) that if you are running big/big or little/little you are in the wrong gear as you are putting you drive train under too much strain. You can get the same ratios as big/big and little/little by shifting to the middle ring.