Basic Gearing
Originally Posted by
RonH
Just get on the bike and ride. Shifting and being in the correct gear combination will become second nature after a short while. Have fun.
For me, there is a synergistic, and intutitive relationship among
gears, cadence and exertion. I previously posted about
cadence:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
I’m a 40+ year cyclist and I ride mainly for fitness. During nearly all of my 40 cycling years, my training has been by mileage. This year though, I decided to go for speed (intensity), and I use the semi-quantitative, standardized, but personally relavant system of
(Borg’s) Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE), with my own particular adaptation….
I use cadence to chose gears to maintain my desired exertion.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
The RPE scale ranges from 6 to 17, with descriptions of the intensity. Multiply the RPE by 10 is the approximate heart rate. Jim's scale is the equivalent on a 0 to 100 scale, easier to think about:
RPE = 6, resting... Jim's scale = 10 to 20
RPE = 7, very, very light... Jim's scale = 20 to 30
RPE = 9, very light... Jim's scale = 30 to 40
11, fairly light...50 (my usual happy-go-lucky pace without thinking about it)
13, somewhat hard...60 (I have to focus to maintain)
15, hard...70 (I start breathing hard at about 30 seconds)
17, very hard (lactate threshold; breakpoint between hard but steady
breathing and labored with gasping)...80 (my predicted max HR)
19, very, very hard...90 to 100.
My basic training is to ride at my RPE of 50% for six miles to warm up, then cruise at an RPE of 60%, and do intervals (on hills) at 70%.
I try to change gears to maintain a cadence of about 85-90 rpm on flats and rolling hills, and about 60 to 80 rpm on harder hills, to maintain my RPE. Shift up to higher gears as the cadence rises, and shift down as the RPE increases.
Originally Posted by
chaadster
Yes, Jim, good points; you make clear that cadence is simply nothing divorced of effort level.
...and
gears are changed to maintain effort level. FWIW
Originally Posted by
chefisaac
LISTEN to [MENTION=124426]Jim from Boston[/MENTION]
he knows his $hit!