Can someone explain the mechanics to me of just exactly why it's better to beat up hills? I've always mashed and I hate high RPM on my commute. I'm open minded though.

really?! i am thinking about going fixed and i am scared about it. :rolleyes: There aren't that many hills here (norfolk, va), but i wonder how much my stamina would be affected...
so i try to keep it on the big ring and mash as often as possible. - yes, my knees hurt quite often.

I used to be like this. For this reason:

And then even after I got a better bike that shifted smoothly I clung to the habit. Then one day I downshifted from the hardest gear to second-hardest on level ground and realized with amazement that I was able to go faster that way! Today my preferred cadence is in the 95-105 range. A total convert. :)

I still do some mashing on hills, especially short steep ones, but not the way I used to five years ago... god, the memories!

It shifts from a muscle/anaerobic to a cardio/aerobic workout, and its easier on your knees. I think those are the main points. It may also be easier on your bike, I have that suspicion but I've never seen it quantified. My 1st chain after shifting my general focus to spinning lasted twice as long as the previous mash-o-rama chain but there could have been other confounding factors there.

Maybe they're doing a low cadence high torque training workout to focus on muscular strength. Worry about your own riding style.

I mash the big chain ring to build up leg strength. Mashing about 1-2X week and spinning the rest of the time. Otherwise, I'd be stuck eternally in the very lowest gears for climbs. Low gear/Low spin = slowwwwwww

Some days I mash, some I spin.

The reason I got into riding in the first place was t osaty in shape for hockey season.

some days I'll mash real hard (not hard enough to hurt the knees though) and some days I'll spin, spin, spin.

I'd say there are advantages to both and oth have their place in riding.

I ride fixed, it's all about hard circles.

I think a distinction should be made between "mashing" and pedaling at a lower cadence.

To me, a masher is someone who only pushes down on the pedals. They're leaving multiple muscle groups unused.

I have a comfortable, relatively high, cadence, but sometimes I'll vary it. Regardless of the speed or gear, I'm always moving the pedal around the entire arc. Pushing forward, pushing down, pulling back, pulling up. If I'm standing I'm doing the same thing.

My theory is that most new riders don't like a high cadence because they're still just mashing down. Low gears tend to leave them bouncing in the seats and make their butt hurt.

Sometimes I deliberate gear up coming to a hill - get it into about middle and just walk the bike up. (pedal like I am walking, pretty much standing up) - as long as the hill is steep enough, this works really well. About the same force as walking too for me - usually the speed is about 6 to 7 MPH - yeah, works on really nasty hills.

But, if it is loose junk and not very stable, I just get comfortable and spin. I never really mash because I break chains that way - breaking chains is bad I have found...

Go for it. don't be scared. If you get the right gear ratio for yourself you will be in good shape. I had to gear down from 46x16 to 45x17 when I moved from denver to seattle due to more and steeper hills, keep in mind I have big legs and have been riding fixed for a long time when looking at those ratios. Chances are the gear you are trying on your geared bike is really high/big. With my setup I am probably only "mashing" 10 percent of the time or less. Your knees probably will not hurt when you try fixed, mine never did even when I used my legs to slow down (no brakes), but do yourself a favor and start out with a front brake, maybe both. Good Luck, you'll be fine!

Seated or standing? A big difference. These type of shorter steeper hills are great to stand up in a higher gear in and fly up. Going anerobic is not a problem if the top of the hill is within reach. If you push hard enough you may find you self spinning by the top.
al

I take the Queensborough every day on my 20" folder, I keep it in the mid-range of gears because I'm young, married and the wife doesn't like a growing waistline (I agree with her). So, I push myself, but I never mash, I'm still sitting down and if my legs are tiring, I just lower the gear, I don't like standing up.

My theory for unenlightened mashers is that they don't like spinning because it feels more tiresome than mashing. It feels more tiring because they mash up a hill until they can't keep a decent pace anymore and have to downshift. Since they've already worn themselves out, spinning feels miserable on their burning legs. My biggest breakthrough in riding technique once I started biking for transportation was to anticipate the hills.

I'm a reformed masher myself. It seems like the more experience I get, the lower my gears get. Someday in my fifties I'll be spinning a 42 x 25 at 150 rpm just to get to work.

I like to call low-cadence pedaling "grinding", but grinding away at a big gear kind of implies seated riding.

Okay, I mash. The reason is mechanical. If I try to shift into the largest gear the clain often comes off and gets lodged between the disk and the gear. So, I can only shift when the going is easy enough that I can look back and watch what I am doing.

As far as the third (smallest) chain ring; I try to use it. However, to use it I have to press the chain woth one foot while pedaling with the other. Again, this is something I can only do while riding somewhere that I can take the time to look down and do this. Then there is the problem of shifting back to the center chain ring. sometimes when I am shifting back up, the shain lockes up; as in, it comes to a full stop. This happened once when I was trying to get out of the way of a car.

I am told that the bike is a good one, one of the best I will get here ( http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=242603 ). Turther, when I have taken the bike to the shop and explained the shifting problem, or had otheres who speak the language better than I do, to do so, the shop has only checked to see if it capaible of shifting and then deemed it good. They do not even understand oiling the chain. I am using cooking oil (as are all the other westerners with bikes here) to oil the chain. At the moment the entire system, because I have not oiled it ina couple of weeks, is a giant ball of rust, much like all the other bikes here.

So, yes, I mash.

I started as a spinner, up hills, out of lights (not spinning really but low gear accell). I had a complex that I couldn't climb except for the benefit of my 36x26 cyclocross low gear - I called it my secret weapon when riding with road bikes up long steep hills who didn't have as low a gear. I shifted gears when cadence got below 100.
Then I got a fixed gear, farily high gear and gained the strength and confidence to ride up hills in high gear - I rode up some of those same long hills (1500ft climbs) in 48x17 and learned to grind seated and do lots of standing. One gets better at it, not just physically stronger, but also tuning ones skill, minimizing wasted energy and getting a standing slow cadence 'mash' that doesn't burn one out, almost like walking on the pedals. Keeping momentum up. Driving for faster cadence as one approaches top of hill.
Now back on cyclocross geared bike and I need to both take advantage of high gears now that I can use them, and learn (again) how to spin when needed up hills, but not loose momentum. Hills that were 'easy' on fixed can kill me on the multigear if I shift down too soon and loose momentum.
Al

If you're in a higher gear, the bike moves further per revolution than in a lower gear. HOWEVER, it's harder to turn the crank. So the theory is, that if you can turn the crank say 25% faster in a slightly lower gear, you'll be able to maintain a faster time over all.

:D