Hi AKB 8

Jim is correct. Your cohort, as you quoted, is not but we can consider what he may have been alluding to. If you are in a big tooth gear in the front and a small tooth gear in the rear you will ride at a slower cadence than if you are in an "easier gear" such as a "39" in the front and a 25 in the back. Generally speaking, I advise all riders, new or not, to try to learn to pedal at a higher cadence. That means an easier gear ratio. Many runners who take up the sport are strong from their running but tend to push too hard a gear because of the leg strength that they've gained from their running history. The fact is correct that by forcing too hard a gear they may hurt their knees or specifically their tendons. In the Springtime, experienced riders make an extra effort to re-find their cycling legs and pedal at a higher cadence. A slow cadence tends to emphasize the quads pushing down on the pedal. An efficient pedaling stroke is a more complete stroke that includes pushing the pedal across the top by, in effect, rolling the heal down a bit at the start of the stroke and getting the pedal over the top and emphasizing the calf muscles too. This is particularly useful when on a gradual slope that leads to a long climb. If you use your quads in the approach to the hill then they will fatigue sooner than if you've been using your calves and, in effect, saving your quads till you really need them.

I've been particularly aware of triathletes who come from a running background who push too hard a gear. They are using their running legs to pedal. So, what is going to be left to them when they get off the bike and have to now run a marathon to finish that IRONMAN race? If you watch a pro race you will note that the racers are generally stroking at a cadence most recreational riders, including good club racers can't touch. They are able to maximize their efficiency by putting energy through the maximum portion of the stroke. I've referred to the over the top portion of the stroke as 10 to 2. On the right pedal think about accentuating the stroke from the 10 o'clock position to the 2 o'clock position. I will specifically focus on this on terrain that rolls upward slightly and I'll avoid an easier shift to try to maximize the power over the top. Your quads will naturally do the rest,

Three teeth of a gear in the front is about equal to one gear tooth in the rear. You probably have a 39 smaller ring in the front unless you have a triple up there. So, shifting to the smaller tooth gear in the front is probably four gears, at least, different in the back, depending on the cassette set up. If you shift to the easier ring in the front, you may find that you'll have to shift to a slightly harder gear or two in the rear to find the right cadence. The bottom line is that you should try to spin faster. Faster than what is comfortable if you want to improve, but faster is a longer lever in effect and if you have a long enough lever you can move the world!

Try to avoid the dreaded cross over! This is when you are in a small gear in the front and the smallest gear in the rear and the reverse, which would be the biggest gear in the front and the biggest gear in the rear. Here I am writing of the size of the gear itself and not how hard or easy it is. If you look at the chain from the back of the bike to the front, if the chain is in the two biggest by size gears, the big front, your 53 in this case and the big tooth gear in the rear, probably a 25 I'd bet, the chain, you may notice is on an angle. If you shift to a more centered ring the chain is in effect straighter from a side to side vantage. It will wear longer if you don't cross over. Most riders will say you can go to the second from the extreme but if you can avoid the most extreme crossover position. Cassettes come in different sizes and this leads to another discussion that differnt riders have differnt takes on or different habits but keep your drive chan clean and pedal with a comfortable but "faster" cadence and you will feel stronger and faster at the end of the ride.

EJ

Last evening on one of our local "recovery" rides I rode with a fellow who gave me the best advice I've ever had while riding though it was over 10 years ago but I reminded him of it and thanked him once again. In a circuit race on an auto race course which was not an oval and had a nice hill in it, about 1 1/3 miles per lap, they rang the bell for a "prime" (pronounced Preem). When we got to the hill I jumped and got a huge lead on the pack and I thought to myself, "If Danny doesn't come after me I'll get my first prime." Sure enough though he did come after me and I knew full well that there was no way I'd be able to outsprint him for the mid race prize but I asked him if he wanted to try to hold onto a two man break. He said that it was too early in the race. We eased up a bit and the field caught us and we sat in. As it happens it is almost always windy out there and that day muggy too. I got gassed and was happy to just fininsh with the pack, the back of it even.

After the race, which Danny won, he came up to me and said, "You know E.J., you are pushing way to hard a gear." I was a little surprised and said, "really?" Dan said he thought I was way too strong to not finish better than I did. The next week I stayed in my smaller front chain ring even on downhills. I got dropped a couple of times on our rides but would eventually recatch. After a week of this my pedaling stroke was greatly improved and my racing season was completed with better results and top 5 finishes. The trick is to save your power for when you need it. Spin and spin and power at the end. If you watched the tour de France you will note that the sprinters aren't pushing the monster gears that you and I can't even dream about until those final hundreds of meters after spinning as best as they can for the first hundred miles or so!

SPIN!

EJ

That's absurd. A 53 tooth chain ring is quite standard on a road bike. Most bikes today come with either a compact crank which will have a 50 tooth chainring, or a conventional setup with either a 52 or 53 tooth chainring. The difference between a 52 and a 53 is negligable at best. Most folks starting out will use whatever is on their bike, and for most people that's a 52 or 53.

I agree with Jim. I'm not sure to which response Ironfeathers is stating "not true" to however. Of late, almost every bike that is not a compact drive or a cyclecross bike comes with a 53/39. If it is a triple, sometimes the second ring is a 42. As it happens, I use a 53/42. I find my shifts either up or down to be quicker in the respect that I find the next gear quicker. It usually only takes no or one shift of the rear derailleur to find the groove with a 42 than it would with a 39 where I was shifting twice. Unless it is very hilly, using a 42 is no problem and while it isn't mountainous where I am we do have hills. Of course the gearing in the back makes a difference too. As Jim understands, three teeth in the front is about equal to one tooth in the back. That is why using a 42 for me seems snappier than a 39. The difference being three, I find the next gear more quickly.

Back to the gearing in the back. As referred to, we want to avoid "cross over." There is a video put out by the "expert" here but it only addresses one side of cross over. While you don't want to be in the big ring in the front and the big ring in the back, you, likewise, don't want to be in the small gear in the front and the small gear in the back either. The physics guys say you should seek the largest size rings as the contact on the gears is greater and there is a benefit to this. I'll leave that to them. Ultimately, whether in the big or smaller gear in the front depends on the gear inches you are in which is dependent on the rear cassette too. I have varying size cassettes. On a flatter course I'll use a 12/21 which is a straight block. Each shift is one gear different. I usually train on a 12/23 but sometimes will use a 12/25 which seems to be what most other riders use. I've never owned a 12/27. Even in northern Michigan I probably wouldn't need it. Colorado, yes. By using a 42 I'm more likely to be in my small ring than my cohorts when racing. I'll shift the front derailleur when they will stay in the big ring the whole time. That is why they need a bigger cassette in the rear, that is a 25 instead of a 23 as I might. They will go to the 53/23 (not going all the way to the 25 to avoid cross over). I'll be in the 42 at the same time so I have plenty of gears to work with and they are more closely spaced as well.

So, may I suggest that knee strain also has to do with alignment and bike position. Your foot placement inside your shoe is probably compromised as most people pronate which puts strain on the knee, medially especially. Seat height, fore and aft position as well comes into play as well. There are some general rules about this but there is a lot of room for personal taste. Most of us are too high. Watching the pros will illustrate that point. They usually are lower and gettng better use out of the full cycling rotation. AND THE RPM's are significantly higher than the 70 that Ironfeathers mentioned. We should be shooting for 90 to 110 I'd say. Pretty much, whenever thinking of it, shift to an easier gear. Learn to spin. And if you lower your saddle a bit, it will teach you to get that pedal around the top more effectively. Raise it later but learn to spin. This is especially true of you former runners, or current runners who are doing tri's. You are no doubt already pretty strong on the bike from your running legs but you should learn to spin and develop cycling legs so that you can save your running legs for the run. I see this all the time with new triathletes. Lower the saddle, and by that I mean maybe as little as 1/8th an inch and try to get that foot to push the pedal over the top of the arc and not just downward.

Oh yes, if you have a bike velodrome near you, and you are lucky if you do, get on it and really learn to pedal. It is fun and most tracks will be happy to teach you. A fixed gear bike is a great way to train.

EJ
Motive FORCE

Hi AKB,

Some relevant questions. First of all, don't be afraid to use both chain rings. If you've been using the smaller one, and I presume it is a 39 tooth ring, then if you shift to the 53, say when the road is rolling slightly downhill, you will then generally be using the bigger gears in the back, instead of the smaller ones. There is an overlap of "gear inches" from the front ring that is big and the big rings in the rear AND the small gear in the front and the small gears in the back. We can discuss the math but for now just play around with using both rings. Unless, as in my previous email in which I mentioned "crossover," you are crossing over you won't hurt anything and even if you do crossover, if you don't sustain that gearing for an extended time, it will be fine.

Now, being fitted on the bike is very important. There are numerous variables which contribute to a proper fit and they are dynamic and also subjective. By subjective that means that different people have different takes on it. Greg Lemond's method is pretty standard for example but there are always differences of opinion. But by this I'm speaking of minor differences in cleat/pedal position of the shoe, the fore and aft position of the saddle, and the height http://remember that when you raise the saddle you are moving it back at the same time. You can move the saddle forward a bit and that may even feel like you are lower it because when you bring it forward you are bringing it closer to the pedals, not just the handle bars.

I'm fond of saying that as the season grows I do too! My fantasy is that the more I ride the taller I get. That means, the more I ride the more stretched out I become as I'm more limber and also the tummy seems to have dissipated so I can lean over farther. Most importantly, I can bend over at the small of my back, in a hinge like fashion instead of my back being rounded out so I get more laid out so to speak. I'm wondering though what you mean by "out grow" your position. In your case I think it pertains to your strength in pedaling the bike. By being "over my peddle stroke too much," do you mean that it feels as if you are spinning too fast or that you are pushing the pedal downward only? Let me know on this so I can better advise you. Generally, good position is good position but as I referred to it, fit is dynamic and can be modified as with a new rider whose shoulders and arms and butt seem to build up to it and can tolerate a more aerodynamic position for example without the commensurate soreness.

You should not have to change your gearing on the bike. But go ahead and shift to your heart's content but try to spin at a higher RPM and learn to push the pedal over the top of the arc, which is what I call 10 to 2 as if viewing the right crank side and if the rings were a clock. It wouldn't really matter if the rings are standard or compact in this regard however. Help me out with your points of concern and I'll get back to you.

EJ

AKB,

Trust the force! Or the lack of it! You are feeling "wrong" and you should trust that feeling. First, you described that you are not laid out enough and that is good that you are seeking a more aero dynamic position. The quick response to that is that you might need a longer stem... Note the quick response. It may be though, and this is because I can't see you that your saddle needs to come back a bit. The first focus on fit though is to the drive train. That is when the best fitter around sizes you up, he should be keying in on the power stroke of your hips/legs/feet into the pedal and how well you are rotating it around. The flexibility of the foot even comes into play here. With more and more riding flexibility changes, throughout your body and strength changes too. Not just in the legs but the shoulders, arms and abdomen http://which is often overlooked when discussing position.

So, some folks never get fitted and seem happy. You are working at this sport and a refit seems in order. Don't feel guilty about it. So, remember that the first key for the fitter is to see where your power stroke is which pertains to the height and position, fore/aft of the saddle THEN consider stem height and length. Also, handlebars have different reaches. The bars on my newest bike were a tad longer, almost 5 mm and with the longer hoods of the 10 speed Dura-ace brakes over my previous hoods I actually had to use a shorter stem so bars and brakes come into play too. What kind of components do you have? Make sure that they don't just rotate the bars up or down at the stem. Sometimes it is necessary to unwrap the tape and adjust the brake hoods up or down. Most bikes I've seen of late have the brake hoods mounted too low, especially if Dura-ace. Check closely Lance's bike if you see a picture of it. His brake hoods stick up pretty good.

A crucial feature of fit is the foot into the shoe and I recommend footbeds. This is the primary interface which is nearly always overlooked. Specialized came out with a footbed that is better than what comes in the shoe but only okay in my mind. Likewise, Shimano in their high end shoes also came out with a moldable feature. That is okay at best as well. Consider checking out www.Aline.com for their product. I'll be happy to discuss why I like this product but primarily it is because it attends to the actual load bearing aspects of the foot. And load bearing is what it is about. Let me know if you have any other questions or what you learn.

EJ