sinikl

So i've been vacillating between a smaller cog that i have trouble pushing at 90 rpm uphill or into headwinds (or worse, both), but i kinda don't want to go back to the bigger cog i could push everywhere because i felt like i needed a smaller cog to get stronger. When i'm on a slow cadence on the smaller cog it's only around 80 rpm, so it's not like i'm just gutting it out at 50 rpm.

I've got a fixed-fixed hub, so i suppose i could just throw on the bigger cog on the rides i feel weak, or it's hilly or windy or whatnot.

Finally, we're only talking about 44x16 versus 17, so if you just wanna tell me to HTFU then that works too.

Scrodzilla

No one is going to be able to give you a definitive answer on the internet. Cogs don't cost a thousand dollars. Why don't you just try it?

sinikl

Oh, i already have a 17 and a 16t, i'm just saying, if i'm trying to get stronger, should i just gut it out, or go to the bigger cog when i'm feeling weak or lazy.

Now that you ask, i guess i coulda just said that one-liner instead of wordsalad.

A friend of mine says run the smaller gear (bigger cog) until i'm spinning it out ever-ee-where.

tombc

you don't get stronger and go down a tooth every year or whatever, you know

Scrodzilla

Spinning will improve your stamina, therefore making you "stronger" than mashing higher gear inches.

Dannihilator

This, spin to win.

sinikl

Only had the bike like 3 months. had the 16, swapped for 17, blew up the hub due to improper tightening (surprised scrod doesn't remember that cos he CSI'd me when i was asking how the hell i blew up a hub), got new wheels, ran the 17, swapped down, feeling whiny.

patience, maybe. i'm bad at that.

Scrodzilla

I remember everything.

sinikl

this is a legit question, i think: what does "mashing" count as? how do you define mashing? As i said, i can push the gear up a hill a *bit* seated at 80 rpm on the 'big' gear (not big to you guys) if it's steep and short. it had better be short, though. false flats into a wind i'm good for 1-2 mi and then totally cashed.

Scrodzilla

To "mash" means to push big gear inches, just as I said. How you define it depends on your ability.

sinikl

well, 44x16 is only 72 GI, hardly what most would consider "big" gearing, but i'm a weakling, so i guess i'm looking for some context here. / fearing the wrath of Scrod with this repartee

Scrodzilla

Dude, no worries. Read this stuff:

https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/o...s-spinning.htm

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ng-vs-spinning

hairnet

Spinning is like 90+ and I would say mashing is something like 80 or lower. When I started cycling I was told to," pedal, don't push." Dont worry about comparing how large your gear is to ours, a lot of us stick to 70gi or lower. It has nothing to do with being a weakling or not.

sinikl

Thanks for all the replies. I considered 80 "spinning" (ex vernacular-MTBer with no road background... i think anything over 60 is spinning). If i have to set the target at 90-100 that helps. After a few months trying to "spin" i can tell you that 80 feels like mashing, i just wanted some validation.

Now then, what to do about the fact that descending at 100+ rpm blows up my cardiopulmonary function even though my legs are technically resting (such that i die up a subsequent hill)? Maybe quit smoking or HTFU til i can roll 48x15 up a hill while smoking a marlboro red after 20 miles.

Thanks, everyone.

Jaytron

This.

Recovering from a cardiovascular effort is much faster than recovering from mashing your 90 gear inches up a 5% incline.

Jaytron

This.

I find that 49x18 is pretty perfect for the every day ride. It can handle climbs, and spin well in the flats. Descents are meh, but you learn how to spin.

europa

Riding fixed is all about cadence in that in some places you have it, others you don't and in others you've got so much of the rotten stuff you just want it to go away.

Forget about the cadence, it is what it is and you can only change it by putting in more effort or grabbing a handful of brake. What IS important is how it feels. If you feel overgeared, fit a larger cog.

For what it's worth, after years riding with 70gi, I was starting to feel overgeared, so I dropped my gearing to 66gi. Pretty much the same average speeds and point to point times (faster if anything) and happier legs.

You MUST build your endurance, this is more important than power. You do that with long, steady rides. You build power with intervals ( short high effort periods with rests in between), not by pushing too high a gear which if it does manage to increase your strength, will do so with no endurance i.e. a few pedal strokes and your legs are dead.

And btw, a cadence of 100 is not all that high and is more what you'd use for cruising on the flats, it is definitely NOT a top end cadence. Look at your technique. Forget all the bull**** that roadies talk about with their pulling and tugging and scraping etc. All that does is teach you to pedal in squares. Your weight should be on the saddle and your legs turning circles. Get it right and it'll suddenly smooth out into something that feels like you're part of a turbine. I'll pull and sustain 120- 130 on the flat, run 150 down a decent hill and top out at 180 ... and it's only technique.

vw_thing

As a few others have pointed out, I've never seen anyone catch hell for running "only" 72 gear inches. As a rider with a fair bit of power but little endurance, I currently run 46/17 (around 71", same as Jaytron's 49/18). It's almost too much for daily riding here in the foothills, but very fun on the flat sprints and mild downhill grades.

Now if you're mashing 80+ GI on the road trying to look "tarckstar", then you have something to worry about...

As for getting stronger, just ride. Most of my riding is around campus (often > 1mi at a time) with a 20+lb backpack. It's pretty surprising what ability you can gain just by doing that. Obviously putting down the cigarettes would help significantly.

max-a-mill

i'd argue the best way to get faster/stronger (if the only bike you ride is this one) is to mix up your gear ratios and try to ride both as well as you can.

for me i accomplish this by riding different bikes, but if i had only one i'd definitely have a couple different gear options depending on the ride and how i was feeling and what i wanted to accomplish (if anything) on that ride.

ThermionicScott 

No matter what gear you pick, it'll be "wrong" a lot of the time. You just have to experiment and go with a gear you can tolerate.

Jandro 

This.

Terrain, fitness, endurance, and form are all variables that will make finding the right answer on the internet impossible. We can tell you what works well for us, but that's like saying 'my saddle is awesome! You should buy the same one'.

Experiment and see what works for you. Typically, spinning is all around better than trying to push a gear that is too big most of the time.

Muffin Man

I think the best way to get stronger is to just ride more. I remember struggling up a hill last year on a road bike, and I flew over it yesterday on a fixed gear. This was only with a year more of experience, and I don't watch my diet too much, and I don't have a regimented training program. Just ride more, and whenever you can.

sinikl

Thanks for all the replies, this one really took off on me.

I think what i might do for now is leave the big gear on for my very short commute and treat that as "strength work" (fact: i am always late for something whether going in or coming home to get my son from daycare and almost sprinting anyway) and flop the wheel for longer rides.

TMonk

"Strength" is a vague word.

Do you mean force???? If so than pushing a bigger gear will make you stronger.
Do you mean power??? (the amount of work that you can do over a given time interval), If so than pushing a bigger gear will not make you stronger.

ColtJ

I think the OP is asking for an opinion in regards to how he should proceed... In other words he wants to know if he should just train with the smaller cog (higher gear) to get or until he is able to master it or if he should continue to work the larger cog (smaller gear).

Kinda like asking if he should train to use the equipment as is or if he should change the equipment to better suit him as he is.

I could be wrong though...