mastershredder

I recently went from riding 42:16 to 48:18, and even though this is only like 1-2 gears inches more, it feels alot harder to ride. Is this something anyone else has notice or is it because I am being lame and i gotta get used to i? Obviously I am not spinning so much but now I'm wondering if 42:16 is more or less effective for where i live (hilly but nothing too crazy).

Also I am wanting to lose weight/tone up/lose my belly. would a gear that makes me spin more be better for that or a gear that pushes my muscles hard be better? does it make a difference? I do of course do supplement exercises i.e. press ups, sit-ups etc but i just want my riding to complement that.

bbattle

go here: www.sheldonbrown.com/gears

The gear calculator will tell you that 42-16 on 700c x 25 tires is 69.2 gear inches and the 48-18 is 70.3 gear inches.

That's pretty similar so I'd say just keep at it. Or go back to the 42-16 set up. What's important is that you are out there riding that bike. I started 42-17 fixed, went to 42-15. Commute on 42-17 ss.

To lose weight, you need to get that heart rate up in the 65-85% range and keep it there for as long as you can. An hour or more. Spinning gets your heart rate up more than mashing so keep that cadence up in the 90's-100's if you can. Weight lifting doesn't do much to lose weight; aerobic exercise is best for that. Bicycling is excellent aerobic exercise but you gotta get that heart a pumpin'.

idiq

I used to have some lower back pain after riding for prolonged periods of time and not being able to stretch out too well on my fixie, I've started doing some major abs exercise and it's seemed to help. I guess what I'm getting at is that to work on my belly and relieve some lower back pain on my bike I've done crunches and it's helped a lot. So there's your motivation.

cc700

i went from 42-16 to 48-16 and honestly it wasn't that bad.

chrism32205

I used to ride 48x18, now at 42:16.. You do spin alot, but i like it because I often have alot of red lights and stop signs.. its good for getting back up to speed quick.

powerband

And to get insanely fit, which makes you lose fat and develop lean muscles as a side-effect, go here and study up, and then get some:

www.crossfit.com

Here's a video, as an example. No b!tching out:

https://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/C...nerTeamWOD.mov

And even if you still eat In-and-Out burgers, you can still kick some ass:

https://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/C...utFranEdit.mov

This chick will kick your ass, too.

https://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/fran-greg_annie.wmv

All good fun, folks.

operator

The more likely explanation is that one or both of your chainring:cog numbers are wrong. There's no way 1 more gear inch is a lot harder unless you're geriatric.