Compact Crank vs Semi-Compact

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  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,301
    Webboo wrote:
    What about a game of hill and gear and here's my starter for ten. Rosedale Chimney 42 X 23

    That's just silly. You would have pedalled quicker if you had done it in 42 x 25.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    Webboo wrote:
    What about a game of hill and gear and here's my starter for ten. Rosedale Chimney 42 X 23

    Is that going up or coming down ?
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Webboo wrote:
    What about a game of hill and gear and here's my starter for ten. Rosedale Chimney 42 X 23

    Is that going up or coming down ?
    Not sure as the altitude got to me.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?


    As far as I'm concerned. The reason for big gear / low cadence, is to keep my heart rate in zone 2, for as long as possible. If the heart rate goes into 4 or more, you will tire out, there's no coming back from a bonk on a long ride, you will never get the calories in quickly enough, to stay ahead of 'the curve'.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.
    You are only burning about 430 calls an hour, that is hardly putting in much effort.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    edited March 2016
    Still tickled by the irony of a man who bemoans "Strava chest beaters" and "forum chest beaters" as well as "willy Waver"s et a, yet keeps on posting his Strava rides on this forum. The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality/intensity is far more important than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...
    Still, serves well as a beginners guide on "How not to do it " I guess...
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,301
    MikeBrew wrote:
    The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality is better than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...

    Priceless.

    Surely even Milemuncher has to give you some credit for those metaphors.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    Very unlikely : he'll be way too busy waving that tiny metaphorical todger of his to even notice.... I'd love to see one of his sky rides where, like every good General, he'll no doubt be leading from the back.....way,way back 8)
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,301
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Very unlikely : he'll be way too busy waving that tiny metaphorical todger of his to even notice

    He did say it was a cold ride.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Love this thread. The last couple of pages are even better than the ones with the fish-based puns.... :lol:
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Still tickled by the irony of a man who bemoans "Strava chest beaters" and "forum chest beaters" as well as "willy Waver"s et a, yet keeps on posting his Strava rides on this forum. The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality/intensity is far more important than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...
    Still, serves well as a beginners guide on "How not to do it " I guess...

    You really are tiresome.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    edited March 2016
    Webboo wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.
    You are only burning about 430 calls an hour, that is hardly putting in much effort.
    Over ten or twelve hours, that's enough.

    I had some nuggets trying to wheel suck me, at about 120 miles. They found out that the apparent 'plodder' can still turn the wick up, if some idiot try's to play silly buggers. I decided to 'orbit' one of them, three or four times, before I got bored.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,301
    If you pedalled a but quicker, your rides would be over sooner... much sooner. :)
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Pinno wrote:
    If you pedalled a but quicker, your rides would be over sooner... much sooner. :)
    True, but I'd be knackered, and injured, so I'll just stick to plodding, with the occasional wick turning upping.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Pinno wrote:
    MikeBrew wrote:
    The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality is better than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...

    Priceless.

    Surely even Milemuncher has to give you some credit for those metaphors.

    No, even his metaphors are shit.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    if some idiot try's to play silly buggers...

    *tries*
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    KneeCruncher wrote:
    I had some nuggets trying to wheel suck me, at about 120 miles. They found out that the apparent 'plodder' can still turn the wick up, if some idiot try's to play silly buggers. I decided to 'orbit' one of them, three or four times, before I got bored.

    To be fair, you probably shouldn't have taken a short cut through the playground in the middle of their cycling profiency test anyway....Especially not with your "wick turned up" ... Whatever next :shock:
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Imposter wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    if some idiot try's to play silly buggers...

    *tries*
    Autocorrect *yawn*
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,814
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.

    Nice bit of cross chaining there.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    if some idiot try's to play silly buggers...

    *tries*
    Autocorrect *yawn*

    Autocorrect, my ar5e. Just say 'thanks for the correction' and move on...
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    MrB123 wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.

    Nice bit of cross chaining there.

    Very true, but the Ultegra chains are made of tough stuff, I'm not sure how to kill one, it can be bent back laterally ( almost ) and not fail. Chain tech is very good now, I wouldn't cross chain a 70's number like that, it would end in tears.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    edited March 2016
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Still tickled by the irony of a man who bemoans "Strava chest beaters" and "forum chest beaters" as well as "willy Waver"s et a, yet keeps on posting his Strava rides on this forum. The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality/intensity is far more important than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...
    Still, serves well as a beginners guide on "How not to do it " I guess...

    You really are tiresome.

    Not sure I'll take that to heart coming from someone as delusional as you keep showing yourself to be, but thanks anyway. :roll:
    I thought of you today when I got home to see that our street had been re tarred.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Still tickled by the irony of a man who bemoans "Strava chest beaters" and "forum chest beaters" as well as "willy Waver"s et a, yet keeps on posting his Strava rides on this forum. The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality/intensity is far more important than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...
    Still, serves well as a beginners guide on "How not to do it " I guess...

    You really are tiresome.

    Not sure I'll take that to heart coming from someone as delusional as you keep showing yourself to be, thanks anyway. :roll:
    Yeah, Okay.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    MikeBrew wrote:
    Still tickled by the irony of a man who bemoans "Strava chest beaters" and "forum chest beaters" as well as "willy Waver"s et a, yet keeps on posting his Strava rides on this forum. The fact that the pace barely exceeds that of most tectonic plates, illustrates perfectly why quality/intensity is far more important than quantity when it comes to training. He appears to do more "Junk Miles" than a Chinese sailor...
    Still, serves well as a beginners guide on "How not to do it " I guess...

    You really are tiresome.

    Not sure I'll take that to heart coming from someone as delusional as you keep showing yourself to be, thanks anyway.I thought of you today when I got home to see that our street had been re tarred :roll:
    Yeah, Okay.

    Steady with that rapier wit, you'll cut yourself...
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Webboo wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.
    You are only burning about 430 calls an hour, that is hardly putting in much effort.
    Over ten or twelve hours, that's enough.

    I had some nuggets trying to wheel suck me, at about 120 miles. They found out that the apparent 'plodder' can still turn the wick up, if some idiot try's to play silly buggers. I decided to 'orbit' one of them, three or four times, before I got bored.
    If you upped it 600 calls an hour you'd be home in 8 or 9 hours in time to go out with the missus or your mates :wink:
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    They'd all be imaginary, surely ...........Why else would anyone spend 11 hours riding slowly in the rain ?
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,301
    edited March 2016
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Pinno wrote:
    If you pedalled a but quicker, your rides would be over sooner... much sooner. :)
    True, but I'd be knackered, and injured, so I'll just stick to plodding, with the occasional wick turning upping.

    On a serious note, would you really? Spinning maintains what those wacky Belgians and French call 'Souplesse'. They must be wacky - they invented the Paris - Roubaix. How flexible are you?
    I have two artificial hips and I try to average 90rpm. I can average 96 on a roller session (for 1 hour) and on the flat my average RPM is 88 and on a hilly ride, 83 rpm. I don't get any injuries. Why do i aim for this average? Because after years of cycling and overcoming a serious medical condition, I have found that the quicker I pedal, the better my CV fitness and the quicker the muscles recover. This may be different for others.
    To replicate the number of pedal strokes as your 40 rpm 10 hour ride (24,000 ps), I would only need to go on a ride of a little over 4 hours 45 min (23,940 ps).

    You get a buzz out of a fast(ish) ride as it induces the production of endorphins and adrenalin. Are you getting a buzz put of racing the tectonic plates - it's a serious question? You don't actually have to go fast, just pedal fast, it has the same effect.
    If you are wandering why I ask this, it is because I am not sure what you get out of cycling for 10 hours or more at such a slow pace and your injury assumption is rather flawed. Runners are cripples by the time they are 50. I coach Table Tennis and the runners who attended the sessions (all 5k to half marathon endurance runner bracket) are constantly nursing an injury or two and are as flexible as ironing boards. I know an elderly gent who cycles and is in his late 70's who can go all day at an average 16/17 mph. He can't accelerate very quickly and he is slow uphill but he's still going strong. He pedals at a 'leisurely' 75rpm

    BTW, I had a great time on excel in nerd mode using the $ function.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Imposter wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    if some idiot try's to play silly buggers...

    *tries*
    Autocorrect *yawn*

    Autocorrect, my ar5e. Just say 'thanks for the correction' and move on...

    No.
  • 97th choice
    97th choice Posts: 2,222
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Webboo wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Alex99 wrote:
    marcusjb wrote:
    Faster than milemuncher I reckon. Seems to average 23-25 on a 2-300km ride.

    Big distance rider (he was attempting the HAMR last year).

    Thanks. MPH or KPH? What's the rationale for such big gears?

    kph

    You'd have to ask him or milemuncher. There are a few, and I do mean a few, riders doing long distances on big gears - a few fixed riders using 90+ inch gears (I ride 67 usually, geared up to 71 inch for Paris-Brest-Paris last year, primarily to try and make the long downhills less agonising on m'ars*).

    But the reality for most of us mere mortals is lower gears are more important than higher gears. For most of us at the end of a long day, the ability to spin up even gentle hills is far more important than being able to still pedal a bike downhill at 80kph+. I reckon my 11 tooth sprocket on the geared bikes stays pretty clean on most big rides!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/508530738

    216 Km's today, again big( ish ) gears, the headwind on the return was a nightmare, I kept it on the 50t ring, but I was down to 28t at the back at one point :lol:
    Fun though.
    You are only burning about 430 calls an hour, that is hardly putting in much effort.
    Over ten or twelve hours, that's enough.

    I had some nuggets trying to wheel suck me, at about 120 miles. They found out that the apparent 'plodder' can still turn the wick up, if some idiot try's to play silly buggers. I decided to 'orbit' one of them, three or four times, before I got bored.

    You're trying to convince people that fellow riders tried to wheel suck you at 13mph? jeebus wept :roll:
    Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye

    Giant Trance
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