Indeed, Alpenrose is steep and bumpy...

I could break one minute, but only if my timing clock was just outside the event horizon of a massive black hole.

my best advice is if you are going with an aero setup, go WIDE on the aerobars . it is harder to handle than i thought it would be. BUT, this was overgeared, and with my elbows touching.

Did another test today, but in the 53-14. Felt like a really tall gear.

Still, compared to the previous week:

• 60W more power this week.
• Acceleration in the launch was actually quicker. Looking at the first sample at ~12mph, I actually a whole mph more out of that 1.26s interval this week.
• Speed at 250m was 2mph higher
• Cadence at 250m was identical (118rpm)
• Time to 500m was 4s faster
• Somehow I managed to get over 1450W at the start, once I got to 80rpm. I also somehow managed a nice peak 1' power, at 760W. I'm sure I'd be back over 800w with a flying/shifting 1' WRI. Good news!

But, the hill at the end killed me in the taller gear, and I finished at the same time.

So, I need to find a flatter course. I want to try the 53-14 again, at full test RPE. Last time was not quite there. I also think I need to start rolling. Today I did a trackstand for 10 seconds, reset in that position, then started. The computer didn't start recording again until 11mph, so I had to extrapolate back.

In other news. I'm really starting to like this 1' pain again. My brain is twisting nicely, and I find myself wanting to test weekly or more. <evil eyes>

Impressive numbers. What about changing the auto-start to record on HR?

Hi,

I am definitely impressed with WR's power and speed. However, the extrapolations are quite interesting... :popcorn

Now we're talking. (And don't worry, I get it.) :)

That was good for a snort. Keep in mind that my son was watching "I Love You Man" this evening while I was going in and out of the garage while working on my bike. Therefore my appreciation for base humor was somewhat elevated. :D

Excellent idea.

That's bad news for the guys you'll be racing against.

I guess that's good....but really liking the sub 1'05" (or so) pain would be a bit more helpful.

1. Giddeon Massie (Huntington Beach, Calif./Bike Religion) 102.793
2. * Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo./Trek-Livestrong) 104.438
3. David Espinoza (Kutztown, Pa./Bike America) 1:06.134
4. Daniel Sullivan (Bloomfield, N.J./Team Metra-Wendy’s) 1:06.388
5. Peter Billington (San Rafael, Calif./LTO Velo) 1:06.535

In my experience you are closer to the right equation here. A little easier to accelerate but more importantly a little easier to stay on top of. Kilo is about holding onto speed and form, harder for most to do if you are muscling a big gear.

Do your intervals at higher rpm, learn to hang onto the speed by spinning.

WR, a pretty good explanation of what Chris Hoy is doing and why. Most of us tend to get our CG moving up/down rather than back to front = bouncing the bike or backing off on the power.

http://www.fixedgearfever.com/module...oaching&op=sst

Yeah, I think the winner at the Superdrome in my age group is going to be about 1:09 :eek:

Awesome explanation. I'm doing some of that, but my front wheel is hopping early on. I'm not getting my hips far enough forward...

[edit]and thanks![/edit]

Ah masters. I misunderstood.

I did 4x250m (standing) tests today. Pretty flat section of road, two in each direction.

One in each direction in the 53-15, and one in each direction in the 53-14

Anyone want to guess which gear yielded the fastest 250 in each direction?

15

It was actually the 14. I was surprised. I still need to do the download, but it looks like it made a 1" difference to 250m (20" instead of 21"). Top speed was 2mph faster (35.5 vs. 33.5). Cadence for meters 251+ looked like they would feel much better too.

Roadies tend to overgear on the track. 50/14 (96 inch) is probably the biggest that most amateur racers use. Most will be closer to a 90 inch gear. 110 RPM average (including the standing start in a 90 inch gear) is what I hit on my latest kilo race (1:18 on my second ever kilo on a standard track bike), and if you look at the video of Hoy (in the fixed gear fever presentation), he is right around that average cadence as well.

Control is a big deal too, depending on the track. At my home track, Alpenrose, most first time kilo riders with aerobars end up riding near the stayers line. While it's not as bad at other tracks (ours is particularly steep for it's length), you'll give up 3-4 seconds with a standard track bar, but you'll sacrifice more if you mishandle even one corner.

And outdoors. Quite a wind sometimes coming out of turn 4.

Unfortunately I don't have time to adapt to a 145rpm cadence (which is what I've timed Hoy at in video of his La Paz run). I need to consider cadences that allow me to complete the effort. I just drop to 450W after 45 seconds at 130rpm. I just can't do it w/out training.

At this point, all I can do is test and see. If a tall gear isn't hurting me at 250m, when will it hurt me? After 250m, it's not a tall gear any more.

It is disconcerting to see all the gearing standards used by everyone. I just don't see how those levels of spinning could work for me.

Roadies overgear on the track because we ride at different cadences then trackies. I CAN NOT race a points race on anything less than a 50/15. I usually run 50/14 or 51/14. I simply can't spin that fast and produce power. Yes, it's not what trackies do, but I'M NOT A TRACK RACER.

My teammate was 2nd in the collegiate national points race last year on a 52/14. When you don't have hours of high cadence work in your legs, going with traditional track gears because "it's what trackies do" is just dumb.

Nobody races a long points race in a 90 inch gear. I tried that and got blown out the back so fast I couldn't even say "hi" (I am still somewhat inexperienced at the track and have been going on feel, and I was a Cat 3 in an elite mens field). You are right. When the fields flying around at 30+mph, it's hard to produce power if you are spinning >110 rpm. Higher gearing works better for this particular event because the pace is high and even. Pursuits, same thing. But a kilo isn't a pursuit and a kilo most definitely isn't a long points race. A huge chunk of your time in a kilo is the start time. Probably a solid 20% (15 sec) give or take. Acceleration, in this event, is a big deal.

Trackies ride their gears simply because that's what you have to ride to be able to accelerate. Not "just because they are trackies". It's really hard to do a credible standing start for a sprint event with anything over a 90 or 92. Not impossible, but hard. That's all I'm pointing out here. No need to get defensive. Just like you don't take advice on pacing hillclimbs from a trackie, you don't take advice on track sprint gearing from a roadie.

My problem is reconciling the 2mph speed difference from 250m. I just can't hold that higher speed at that cadence with the training I have. I can hold it in the 14 though. I'm sure the 15 is faster to 150-200m for me, and that's even too tall of a gear according to most kilo riders. It just destroys the last 750m for me.

exactly. Go with what you feel works for you, disregard the "common knowledge" for the most part. Unless you spend a lot of time on the track, you just work differently.

Put it this way, you will spend much more than 25% of your time in the first 250m. Your fastest split will be the second 250m. Your third and fourth splits will be falling off and staying on top of your gear is more important than the force you produce. With shorter gears, you are really only hurting your second split. You are dramatically helping your first split, and the damage in the third and fourth splits is minimized by your natural fall in power production after that length of time.

Yeah, I totally see that. The thing is that my first 250 is faster in the taller gear... and so is everything else.