Which ring?

bigharj

I have a triple set and tend to use front middle ring on flats and run out of gears. Let me explain, when getting to speeds of 20mph+ I find that pedalling is like free wheeling, there is no momentum to push forward.

Will this explain why my cadence average is at 125, should moving to the biggest front ring make a difference, will this ring become my main ring and eventually bring my cadence down?

I an intend to try it out tomorrow but am keen to hear your opinions.

smidsy

If you run out on the middle ring shift to the largest front ring and also 1 or 2 up on the rear cassette to compesate (i.e to a bigger rear sprocket) and work from there - Simples innit!!!!!

ForumNewbie

bigharj wrote:

I have a triple set and tend to use front middle ring on flats and run out of gears. Let me explain, when getting to speeds of 20mph+ I find that pedalling is like free wheeling, there is no momentum to push forward.

Will this explain why my cadence average is at 125, should moving to the biggest front ring make a difference, will this ring become my main ring and eventually bring my cadence down?

I an intend to try it out tomorrow but am keen to hear your opinions.

If you are in the middle front ring and pedalling is like freewheeling, you should definitely be in the big ring. It should be a natural thing to go into the big ring at the right time rather than worrying about your cadence.

bigharj

Went out this morning and completed 13 miles with an average cadence of 115. However road conditions were damp and I was very reluctant to build up speed. Tried to use the big ring most of the time.

I noticed that there is lot of bend in my leg at the bottom of the down stroke, so I am raising the seat height by 2 cm for my next ride, I am hoping this will enable more power through the pedal stroke and increase speed & reduce the cadence.

Am I on the right tracks with this?

Sprool

sounds like you are. You should notice a difference with the seat set higher, it should be easier and not hurt your knee as much. Do you know how to set approx seat height for your leg length? Youtube has a stack of videos about bike fitting u can refer to

CiB

bigharj wrote:

I have a triple set and tend to use front middle ring on flats and run out of gears. Let me explain, when getting to speeds of 20mph+ I find that pedalling is like free wheeling, there is no momentum to push forward.

Will this explain why my cadence average is at 125, should moving to the biggest front ring make a difference, will this ring become my main ring and eventually bring my cadence down?

I an intend to try it out tomorrow but am keen to hear your opinions.

That's like asking if your car won't rev so much if you the fourth & fifth gears on the open road.

Gears are there to be used; they give you a range of ratios (some the same in different combinations) to allow you to pedal smoothly at in the right cadence range. Up to you if you want to pedal at 120+ (85-105 is fine for me thanks) if that's what you want or think you should do, but it's almost a trolling question to ask if using the big ring will reduce cadence (apologies if not obviously).

You're allowed and expected to use whatever gear suits the particular 20 yards of road you're currently on. Swap, change, change again, go up down & sideways to get the same ratio on different rings & cogs permutation, anything. There are no rules.

CiB

bigharj wrote:

Went out this morning and completed 13 miles with an average cadence of 115. However road conditions were damp and I was very reluctant to build up speed. Tried to use the big ring most of the time.

I noticed that there is lot of bend in my leg at the bottom of the down stroke, so I am raising the seat height by 2 cm for my next ride, I am hoping this will enable more power through the pedal stroke and increase speed & reduce the cadence.

Am I on the right tracks with this?

As a rough guide for getting close, with your heel on the pedal at its lowest point your leg should be fully extended, not stretched. Riding on the ball of your foot (the correct way) allows for that slight bend at the bottom of the stroke.

ForumNewbie

bigharj wrote:

Went out this morning and completed 13 miles with an average cadence of 115. However road conditions were damp and I was very reluctant to build up speed. Tried to use the big ring most of the time.

Hi bigharj, I don't know much about cadence as my Garmin 200 doesn't measure cadence, but 115 average seems quite high for being in the big ring most of the time. You say you were reluctant to build up speed, but I would have thought you must have been going pretty fast with that cadence. I'd be interested to know what speed you averaged over the 13 miles.

bigharj

Nope not very fast as the roads were wet and I am still building up confidence.

Here's a link to the data

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224139005

Harj

Garry H

Max cadence 239!

nbuuifx

Looks like your sensor is picking the magnet up twice per revolution.

That would give you an average of about 67rpm and a max of about 119rpm which sounds much more like it.

MattC59

Garry H wrote:

Max cadence 239!

I'd pedal like that if I was cycling away from Wolverhampton !

CiB

Oh. Out for an hour, covered 13 miles at 12.9 mph yet managed to end up with average cadence of 115 and a max of 239, and hit a max velocity of 55.1 mph? Sounds like a bit of setting up is needed before we start answering questions. 115 cadence for 12.9 mph would probably be possible in a seriously low granny gear, legs flying round like lord knows what whilst the bike maintains a sedentary rate of progress. Scuse me while I have a quick chortle...

Cadence is how often your leg completes one revolution. 60 is one per second; try timing yourself (with a watch, not your Garmin) to get a sense of how slow that is. Sounds like a spot of RTFM is in order.

bigharj

nbuuifx wrote:

Looks like your sensor is picking the magnet up twice per revolution.

That would give you an average of about 67rpm and a max of about 119rpm which sounds much more like it.

I think you've hit it on the nail. My Garmin has 2 sensors but the Garmin was set to 'cadence/sensor' and not 'cadence and sensor', so in effect it looks like twice the data is being picked up.

I'll find out in a few minutes when I go for my morning ride.

Harj

bigharj

The Garmin 500 will on pair up at 'cadence/sensor' as it only transmits 1 ID.

I will enter another post for the Garmin issue.

Thanks

bigharj

Sorted.

Messed about with the position of the sensor and placed it back at the original position and it started to give a real reading. Just been on a 10 miler and more novice cadence of 73rpm was achieved!

ForumNewbie

bigharj wrote:

Sorted.

Messed about with the position of the sensor and placed it back at the original position and it started to give a real reading. Just been on a 10 miler and more novice cadence of 73rpm was achieved!

Glad you've worked it out. However you seem overly-interested in cadence for a beginner. Just go out and enjoy your rides. When turning the pedals gets difficult, move down a gear and when it gets too easy move up some gears - simples!

bigharj

I have been keeping fit for about 2 years first with running and now cycling. I started using a Garmin very early on and just love to see the data, it's the analytical part of me. I am one of those type of people who just have to see everything, if don't work get it fixed.

You're right though, enjoy the ride.