Jakedatc

and the rad hipster fixie folks like to mash big gears for no good reason. Usually 10mi to the nearest free range organic coffee shop to talk about how rad they are.

The fastest riders in the world are generally over 80 RPM with 10-11 speed cassettes. but if you know more than a pro tour rider then well i guess you're the expert. Seeing that the 41 is the Road forum not the fixie or TT forum then the advice applies.

LesterOfPuppets

I'm pretty rad. But I'm pretty old, so just roll 71 GI.

You try riding fixed down a hill on anything lower than that and you'd be gearing up right away. Sometimes I ponder bumping up a little bit I'm too weak for that action.

Dannihilator

I ride a fixed gear, but I don't mash a big gear, in between here.

I'm excited about my surly's new setup. A 17/19 cog on the back and 46/44 on the front.

Jakedatc

doesn't matter going down a hill if you need to paper boy up the thing and get dropped. see with gears you can get up and down

Dannihilator

I get up hills just fine.

LesterOfPuppets

I never shift out of the 53 on my road bikes, so I can't get up hills on multi gear bikes either.

LesterOfPuppets

All my paved climbing PRs are on fixed, I think.

truckstop

Estrogen Den = Lady Cave.


wait...

hrmpf.

thanks.
it's complicated.
it could be worse.
hopefully we figure out how to make it better.

lol.

patentcad

My Dad is terminally ill with cancer. He's 90, so it's not exactly premature, but it's kind of rough on the whole family. My business is in the tank, worst quarter in about 15 years (various reasons mostly to do with my industry and my client base). Frankly the only thing that's keeping me sane and sober are riding my bicycle and playing music with my friends. Not doing a lot of miles (maybe 600 miles over a very cold January) but I do get out most days. And on the music side we're starting to gig out (just had one, three more booked over the next 8 weeks coming up, and I'm confident that pace should ramp up).

Those distractions keep me balanced, otherwise I'd get pretty depressed. Both hobbies really help, the cycling gets me endorphized and the playing is good for me on multiple levels. Playing out is a blast, we go over pretty good and it's just a lot of fun. I am keeping my day job. Or what's left of it.

Rowan

Serious question -- any opportunities to diversify? Find something else not related to patent stuff?

I've re-invented myself several times over my work-life. It does take balls and the ability to identify the opportunities.

Rowan

Sorry about your dad, too. That was a beautiful picture you posted the other week. The memories are what count, and it seems like you have good ones.

patentcad

PC/JD Live. That's Al on the cajon. Good drummer/percussionist.

RollCNY

Not that I am PCad, but the drawing world is tough. There is a huge amount of technical drawing coming out of India, and a lot of large companies are turning over all of their old drawings to be "modernised". The problem is that a great many nonstandard but industry essential features get drawn incorrectly, and make product unproduceable.

And by outsourcing the menial drawings, many companies find themselves with a surplus of in house drawing talent, and they take on the projects that were once sourced locally. Also, I use the word drawing loosely, as there are many many CAD operators in the world, and far fewer draftsmen. One draws with a CAD system the other operates a CAD system.

RollCNY

Hi there!

1. I am not a hipster. I ride a single speed, not a fixed gear.
2. I never said cadence was bad. I said saying it must always be over 80 is dumb.
3. The pro's you reference don't always keep it over 80. They ride cadences and set gear ranges appropriate to their needs.
4. I dropped it in that thread, and deleted my response that would have been argumentative, because this is the road forum.
5. I shared it here as I know a significant subset here ride fixed or single and might understand the nuanced point.
6. You are seeking to continue an argument that doesn't need to be continued. You might want to lighten up, Francis.

EDIT: I keep rereading your post, and I am trying to understand why you would respond with what really reads like a personal attack. As you know what is appropriate for the road forum, are personal insults appropriate? You seem to be attempting to rail against some stereotype, and applying said stereotype to me. Have we met, or ridden together, or have I made some offensive reference to organic products that bother your sensibilities?

Rowan

I didn't necessarily mean staying in the drafting world. I am doing something that 20 years ago was entirely beyond my imagination. At that time I was in media management, public relations and event management all wrapped in together. This was after a career in journalism. I later went into sport and recreation management. Then I went to orcharding which had everything I needed -- an outdoor lifestyle, fitness gains while at work, working with trees.

As I posted earlier, we've just finished cherry picking. As orchard supervisor, I had to manage a workforce of more than 40 and co-ordinate with other groups on the property. It was event management in a different way, so it brought my previous skills to the fore. And I enjoyed the challenges and outcomes immensely.

I have a sneaking admiration for Pcad for setting up and running his own business. I mean, he's already done the change from selling cars to drawing up patent ideas. And it's tough to keep going through the lean times and support a family. But maybe it's time to make another change before it's too late.

Rowan

I am one. I love fixie riding. Even toured fixed.

The idea of a higher cadence for me comes from long distance riding where it does seem that maintaining something over 80 means a rider doesn't quite become so tired over 200, 300 or up to 1200km.

But developing a higher cadence is an acquired skill that takes a fair degree of application and practice. My most comfortable cadence right now is in that 80-85 range, but I notice that as I ride longer in one session -- say a century -- my cadence increases.

We also have quite a few 10 to 20% grade where I live and ride, and having a granny really helps. I avoid the steeper hills if possible on the fixed-gear, and get off and walk when things slow right down.

I have had the occasional issue with ITB soreness from pushing low cadence with touring loads. And the pain and the time to get rid of it lingers in my memory.

RollCNY

I know, and I didn't mean to say it is the only option. Just sharing a pinch of personal experiences. Fifteen years ago it was easy to pick up sideline work drawing, or have a business in that vein. Now not so much.

Americans (and I am Not including you) always think outsourcing is some easy factory job that anyone could do and make $20/hr. Those jobs don't exist anywhere, much less outsourced. To me, the dangerous outsourcing is the technical drawings, the reading of MRI's, and the processing of accounting data. The jobs that require skill, and thought, and technical accuracy.

Edit: this post was about employment, not cadence. Rowan snuck one in on me that makes my opening sentence vague.

RollCNY

Rowan, my average cadence on a ride, depending on terrain, is 85-90. But during the course of that ride, it may vary from 30-160. My ONLY point, and I get that it is subtle, is that there are people on this very forum that make clear cut absolute if-then-else statements: IF your cadence EVER drops below 80 rpm, THEN you MUST get lower gearing, ELSE you WILL have knee failure. I disagree with those statements, not as general comments, but as absolute rules that new riders must follow. Most new riders start at a cadence of 60 rpm. We must rescue them before their knees explode.

Rowan

Agreed.

datlas 

Now can I say it??

datlas 

Yes...

coasting 

That's some heavy stuff going on. I wish you the best in the time you spend with your dad.

By the way, your music will make you famous one day.

coasting 

reinventing yourself is had to do. I am perfectly willing to do something new and interesting even if it means starting from the beginning. I have a pretty laid back attitude to what I want to do.The problem is other people won't let you change. People expect you to run along the same tracks.

ls01

If its just the virgins were worried about...I can help....

WhyFi

The really rad kids brew their own espresso at home - I have a hard time sufficiently conveying my radness with only the two or three minutes it takes to inspect the roasting dates and to pay for the beans. Since I'm follicularly challenged and can't grow a proper handlebar or mutton chops, maybe I should get a t-shirt that [strike]proudly[/strike] radly displays my gearing ratio, or something...