I keep getting dropped on 53/39 steel frame

cld531c

Keep the steel as is and either get a second bike with a compact or get some new friends!
You will regret it if you get rid of it.

DeVlaeminck

Highly unlikely you need a smaller gear than 39*30.

When and where does the group ride go from, is it a regular thing, are they mostly club racers ? Only while I do have a compact if I fitted a big cassette and used the granny gear there is no way I'd keep up with the fast groupmrides round here (also Peaks) unless I was spinning up hills at 120rpm.

The bike will make a difference but not a huge one, the engine is the main thing but that said I bet 90% of those telling you it's all about the legs are training on several grands worth of bike.

milemuncher1

DeVlaeminck wrote:

The bike will make a difference but not a huge one, the engine is the main thing but that said I bet 90% of those telling you it's all about the legs are training on several grands worth of bike.

My most expensive bike cost about a grand. I’ll still say it’s mostly about leg muscle endurance. The key here is endurance not strength. If you can stand on one leg, for 30 seconds, your leg strength is fine, the big problem most people find, is the lack of endurance in the muscles ( repeated on / off switching of the big twitch muscles in particular).

imposter2.0

Milemuncher1 wrote:

If you can stand on one leg, for 30 seconds, your leg strength is fine,

You seem to be the only one here talking about 'leg strength', but now you mention it, where did you get this notion that 'standing on one leg for 30s' means it's fine..?

Matthewfalle

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Highly unlikely you need a smaller gear than 39*30.

When and where does the group ride go from, is it a regular thing, are they mostly club racers ? Only while I do have a compact if I fitted a big cassette and used the granny gear there is no way I'd keep up with the fast groupmrides round here (also Peaks) unless I was spinning up hills at 120rpm.

The bike will make a difference but not a huge one, the engine is the main thing but that said I bet 90% of those telling you it's all about the legs are training on several grands worth of bike.

club racers

jgsi

Matthewfalle wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Highly unlikely you need a smaller gear than 39*30.

When and where does the group ride go from, is it a regular thing, are they mostly club racers ? Only while I do have a compact if I fitted a big cassette and used the granny gear there is no way I'd keep up with the fast groupmrides round here (also Peaks) unless I was spinning up hills at 120rpm.

The bike will make a difference but not a huge one, the engine is the main thing but that said I bet 90% of those telling you it's all about the legs are training on several grands worth of bike.

club racers

It's where you cycling roots live, but you havent got any, sadly.
You might not like them (clubs) but they kept cycling alive in the dark days when no bugger of a mamil cared about bikes.

imposter2.0

^^^^ this

Vino'sGhost

JGSI wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Highly unlikely you need a smaller gear than 39*30.

When and where does the group ride go from, is it a regular thing, are they mostly club racers ? Only while I do have a compact if I fitted a big cassette and used the granny gear there is no way I'd keep up with the fast groupmrides round here (also Peaks) unless I was spinning up hills at 120rpm.

The bike will make a difference but not a huge one, the engine is the main thing but that said I bet 90% of those telling you it's all about the legs are training on several grands worth of bike.

club racers

It's where you cycling roots live, but you havent got any, sadly.
You might not like them (clubs) but they kept cycling alive in the dark days when no bugger of a mamil cared about bikes.

now people turn up on 10k bikes with 6 months experience and ride all over the road and into each other. There was a definite benefit to society from clubs, not least of which was the ability to ride safely.

Re the bike they def make a difference thats why you see Deep section zipps and enve wheels all over the place. performance and placebo. Buy the most bling that you can

pinno

keef66 wrote:

I did a 60 mile charity ride yesterday and kept getting dropped by my son who at 29 is 31 years my junior.

Hardly a fair comparison - you're a wreck

milemuncher1

Imposter wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

If you can stand on one leg, for 30 seconds, your leg strength is fine,

You seem to be the only one here talking about 'leg strength', but now you mention it, where did you get this notion that 'standing on one leg for 30s' means it's fine..?

If you had any experience at all, you’d know.

imposter2.0

Milemuncher1 wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

If you can stand on one leg, for 30 seconds, your leg strength is fine,

You seem to be the only one here talking about 'leg strength', but now you mention it, where did you get this notion that 'standing on one leg for 30s' means it's fine..?

If you had any experience at all, you’d know.

:roll:

Well, I have enough experience to know that 'standing on one leg for 30s' is not a measure of 'leg strength' by any conventional sports science or physiological definition - so if you have another view, then let's hear it. You're the one coming out with these bullsh1t statements, not me. I'm offering you a chance to prove me wrong, so go for it...