I'm not sure but is it something like "fait accompli"
I just had to put this whole 30t cog vs 27t cog thing to bed. I mean, do I buy the darned bike or don't I?
Today, the perfect test came to me.
There are two main routes I take out of town and I need the 30t for both of them.
But what if I took the LeMond up one of them and forgot I *had* a 30t cog?
When I started climbing this last year -with no 30- I had to stop 5 times to catch my breath and get my HR down under the doctor approved 165. Actually, when I started, I didn't know that doctor approved limit and blew way past 165; I'm lucky I didn't stroke out. Really.
After I put the 30 on the back, I gradually got this 1.3 mile climb down to 2 -almost, almost 1- stop. So, right now, it's 3 legs: .5 mile at 7.1% average, .25 mile at 7.6% (I think I'm close to nailing that quarter mile, too), and a last 6/10 mile 6.5% leg. After that, it gets easy. er.
Well, here:
And over the past year, my HR has come down (which is why I can make it farther without stopping) and my cadence has gone up. I used to grind it at 50-55RPM and now 60-65RPM is my comfort zone.
So, how far would I make it without the 30 and how much would my cadence to drop to push the higher gear. How much perceived progress would I lose by giving up the aluminum LeMond for this shiny new CF, monocoque Giant?
The answer tonight proved to be... nothing changed. I made it just as far at the same cadence, with the same amount of stops. At both stops, I measured my HR and it was right around 160. 5 under the limit (though it was a rough count, my HRM died a few weeks ago).
Hm. Nothing changed. Oh, I'm a little more sore but that's it.
I wasn't cooked at the top, either, as I was afraid I would be; I had miles left in me.
And they tell me that CF climbs easier, that Giants are good climbers? Well...
The BEST part -or at least the most enlightening- was coming back down at 37mph (at least until the traffic caught up with me. Then I slowed wayyyyyy down). The LeMond, fast downhill, is scary twitchy. It is decidedly nervous. One thing that really stood out about the OCR C2 was how stable it felt downhill, how it carved the turns.
Maybe it's just not that big a deal, after all, eh?
When will I start to believe in myself?