surfinguru2000

Check it:

BikeCalc.com - Cadence at all Speeds for any Gear and Wheel

rmfnla

No; 700s (do Ksyriums even come in 650?).

That's because she rides a flatbar!

BTW, I never said she spins as fast as I do, she just likes high gears...

(Please excuse the Lance gear; old shot)

BoSoxYacht

Thanks, but that tells me nothing.

What is your cadence when you "spin out"?

I'm smooth up to about 130rpm, and that is about 43mph. When descending at that speed, tucking is usually going to increase your speed over pedaling.

redlude97

But if you are going that fast on a flat its gotta be in a sprint. There is no way that 53x12 is "too easy" and you need 53x11 to hold in a pace line at 33mph+

BoSoxYacht

53x12 @ 95rpm is about 33mph. Who spins out at 95rpms?

surfinguru2000

I can keep it together up to about 115-120rpm. After that, my form just goes out the window. Kudos to you if you can keep that though! (I know it's not impossible at all, but it IS impressive.)

Totally agree, but that's assuming a constant negative grade, yeah? What about variations in gradient where speed starts bleeding off? If I want to maintain that momentum, I'm going to have to spin. The difference between 50/12 @ 115rpm and 120rpm is ~2.5mph. Not huge to be sure, but still there.

Now if you want to compare 50/12 vs. 50/11 at say 115rpm, speed differentials start becoming more relevant as you're looking at about a 4mph increase for the 50/11. That's not insignificant to me.

BoSoxYacht

That's fine, but you aren't the one that's talking about spinning out 53x12 at less than 35mph.

I do wonder why you use 50/34 rings.

kbarch

We've all heard it before, and we know 95rpm isn't "spinning out"

The point I was making was that when cruising along at a typical relaxed "B" or "C" pace, not putting forth much effort, it can be too easy to accelerate with a cadence that's in the 90+ rpm range. So as long as one isn't working too hard, a lower cadence sometimes helps smooth out the processes of maintaining position. It's like taking your car out of "sport" mode and putting it in chauffeur mode. Then, if one has been maintaining a low cadence, on descents and town line sprints one may quickly find oneself in the smallest cog, even at speeds below 33 mph, because higher cadences initially feel like spinning out in comparison to the rather lumbering cadence one has been maintaining up to that point. I suppose there are some who have an inner tachometer with alarm bells that go off when cadence drops below 90, but for the most part, I think riders who ordinarily maintain a high cadence can get used to a low cadence over the course of a sufficiently relaxed-paced ride.

Mind you, I'm not saying any of this is necessarily proper - just suggesting an explanation of why even mediocre riders may feel the need for small cogs.

redlude97

Which is fine, but none of that explains why a 53x11 would be necessary in that case. Pushing a 53x11 at lets say 80rpm on a flat is hard, so it certainly wouldn't be an option on a relaxed B/C ride. That is 30mph/~500watts.

surfinguru2000

Meh....cause I'm old, have crappy knees and there's no such thing as a "flat" ride where I live. However, I won't be going to a 32 out back, that's for my MTB.

BoSoxYacht

I'll take your word for it because I have no clue WTH you are saying.

f4rrest

So, I thought I had an 11-25 with 53-39 chainring on the Evo, but it's actually a 12-25 cassette.

No problem at all keeping up with the Hammerfest rides in this combo or on the other bike with 12-26 and 50-39.

In fact it was on the old bike with top gear 50 12 that I got a PR on the slightly downhill part of the loop at 38mph.

@BoSoxYacht it's -2%, 0.7 mile segment, spinning 120 but pausing occasionally being in the back of the pack of 100 riders. It's easy spinning with the draft and slope.

BoSoxYacht

you were probably able to spin a little and then coast a bit. With a group that size, it's really easy to get rolling along.

kbarch

Maybe that's because you don't know from "relax."

Maybe if we take this one step at a time. First, it will help to highlight the difference between relaxed riders and conscientious 90 rpm spinners if we put the former on a compact and the latter on a standard.

I'm not saying "relaxed" or mediocre riders are on the smallest cog on the flats, just a relatively small one given their speed. For instance, "the prettiest gear ratio in the world" (53/16) may get you better than 23 mph at 90 rpm, but a compact 50/16 at a relaxed 70 rpm gets you a comfy 17 mph, a pace where conscientious spinners would need to be way up on a 22t cog (or maybe, God forbid, the small ring!) on their standard crank bike.

It's descents that quickly call for the smallest cog for a relaxed rider. If a rider has been cruising along at 70 rpm, even with an 11t cog, he has to increase his cadence 50% in order to keep us with a modest 35 mph descent. Contrast this to the conscientious 90 rpm spinner on the standard crank bike - with a modest 20% increase in cadence, he wouldn't need to go below the 13t cog to keep up on the same descent, and if he were to increase his cadence by 50% (like the previously more relaxed guy), he could take it in the 16t.

Also, if one has been cruising along at a sufficiently low cadence, 95 rpm may feel appropriate for a 34 mph town line sprint, but it will require the 11t cog on a compact. It's the required change in cadence that makes the smaller cogs necessary, or at least seem necessary in context.

rpenmanparker 

For what possible reason would you equate mashing with being "relaxed"? A rider might have to slow their cadence to make their smallest gear ratio (small ring/largest cog) sufficient to get up a tough climb, but doing it just so you will run out of cogs on the small end of the cassette is bizarre. What does any of this have to do with being relaxed?

BoSoxYacht

Shhh. He's on a roll

PepeM

Don't forget that all the relaxation will end if he needs to increase his cadence, which I have heard is quite stress inducing.

kbarch

What does being pulled along at 17 mph on a flat (or riding solo at 14 or less) - have to do with mashing? When the watts are low enough, even 40 rpms is easy going. Plenty of folks often find themselves coasting when the pace is relaxed. Having to coast because ones sporty, high cadence acceleration would close a gap too fast, well, that may not be bizarre, but it is annoying.

Bob Ross

^^^This

series1811

If I am on a downhill grade or have a decent tailwind I use my 11T. I like having it as an option and with an 11 sp cassette, I still have enough cogs to cover my higher gearing. The 7 sp cassette on my Basso is 14-28 so I favor the gears that help me ascend as opposed to going fast.

redlude97

I don't understand where you are getting these ideas from. High cadence lets you modulate your speed more finely, a 5rpm difference at 90rpm is way less than 5rpm@60rpm. Its easier to hold a steady line at a high cadence. Usually the people yoyoing all over the place have poor ability to modulate cadence.

PepeM

Some people make group riding sound much harder than it is.

noodle soup

Some people make riding sound much harder than it is

TheRef

Best first post EVER!

bikebreak

I ride with a guy who has 54x11 big gear and I keep up with 53x12

Some people are simply more comfortable with a lower cadence. I have heard that there is some data or theory that equal speed with a lower cadence has a lower metabolic cost. Less stress on the cardio system anyway.


I have truly “spun out” my 53x12, on a long descent where I hit 50-55mph per my GPS. So I was spinning at 150rpm or so and that was a practical limit.

I don’t have a cadence monitor but we can go 35-40 on flats which would be 100-115 which is still comfortable.