During my commutes I sometimes see this. Somebody 50 yards ahead of me, on an incline, swaying back and fourth, riding up the hill. Me? I kick it down and spin - I'm a wuss. Heh. But when I pass these people I see them in some like, 52x14 (I'm guessing!) gearing, going like 5mph and swaying from side to side. Those poor knees! And this isn't just folks with piece of junk 10 speeds either, I see folks on brand new Giant hybrids doing this.

And I swear, a lot of my "I just started riding!" friends have no clue that using the lower gears actually helps. Anyone else see this?

I never see other cyclists on my commute but I've tried mashing those hills and I just can't take it. My muscles tire much more quickly and then they're practically useless. So the granny gear and I have become great friends!

I see this everyday on the Queensborough Bridge. Sometimes I feel bad, but most times I get a little pissed because they are usually smack in the center of the road, making it impossible to pass safely.

YES. This is where I see it, too. From junker bikes to $1200 rigs, people with their knees splayed out, rocking back and fourth... sheesh... lower gears are your FRIENDS.

Yeah, but for some (most really) is a matter of pride to show off they're mashing BIG gears, just check the Double vs Triple threads to see this phenomenon.
I personally use all my gears, included the granny, when called for.

Corsaire

Funny you should post this. I saw four other cyclists on my commute this morning, and two of them were mashing big time!

As I passed one of them, I almost felt like saying something to her about how to use the gears better, but wasn't sure what her reaction would be. She looked to be in pain...

Yea, I sometimes wonder if I should just mention, "Hey, downshift. Life will be more enjoyable!" heh....

I don't think it's just an ego issue. People don't realize the value of spin. If they want to climb, they figure they should be working hard at it. Most casual riders just don't understand the mechanics involved.

If I'm riding the shifty, I like to save my granny for when I'm completely played out or find a really steep climb. I figure if I'm too eager to shift down, I'll uncondition myself and have a hard time when I'm 50 miles out.

Of course most of the time I'm riding a 77" fixed gear, so it's mash mash and hope it ends well.

Yea, I don't understand how the fixie / single speed crowd gets over the Queensboro bridge... ouch... or any hills for that matter. Sure, riding those bikes makes you stronger and stuff, but dang... I don't wanna show up at work DEAD. hehe...

I ride a 24 speed hybrid. I paid for each and every gear combination and I use 'em.

It's also easy to forget that there are people riding bikes who don't actually know HOW to shift. I have taken people out on rides (lending them a bike) and they actually don't know how to get to an easier gear - and it isn't intuitive that small in front, big in back is the easiest combination. Gotta learn this stuff.

More unfortunate are those whose bikes may not be working properly so every time they shift is like clunk, clunk, slip, catch, clunk, etc. So they stop fighting and just find a gear that doesn't screw up. then they end up mashing. I always feel awful when I pass someone who then tries to shift to catch up and the bike sounds like it's exploding to pieces.

I mash the big gears for 2 reasons:

1. I am lazy. Because my speed is considerably higher climbing the steep hills when I'm not using the granny gears, I get to the top quicker. I grab the bar ends, get off the seat and push like mad. I guess I prefer agonizing pain for a short time over nasty discomfort over a longer time period -- probably because my muscular strength is better than my cardiovascular strength.

2. Ego, its a show off thing, I have to admit.

So there you have it, I'm a lazy show-off.

A friend of mine had already raced in one triathlon before she knew how to shift the gears on her road bike... No wonder she didn't place well.

I've been helping her train, and I've found that in actual fitness she is great (better than me), so we don't have to work on that, but we do have to work on general bike skills. Like how to operate her STI levers, how to brake properly, how to make turns, etc. We went over the different hand positions, on the hoods, the drops, the flats, etc. How to start and stop properly, etc. She's scared to death when she rides her bike, because she just doesn't know HOW. She's getting a lot better though, and races in another tri tommorow morning. Hopefully the hour we spent practicing mounting and dismounting safely yesterday will help her confidence. We also did a bunch of hill repeats, not so much for strength (though it wiped me out), but so she could practice using her gears.

I just wonder, where are the bike shops in this?!? If you buy a new bike (like my friend did), how is it that you can leave the shop without knowing how to use it? If I were a salesperson I'd be tempted to give the person a little class before letting get out of the store. You know, it might take about 10-15 minutes, we could put the bike up on a short stand, and go over all the parts. Here is your front derailleur, see how the cable pulls it side to side? Here is your rear derailleur, see how the other cable moves it as well? Pedal with your hand in this gear, now we'll try this gear, see how its harder, but the wheels spins faster? Etc... Even someone who has biked a lot before may need to be shown how the STI levers work (which are totally confusing if you aren't expecting to push a brake lever sideways to shift).

I say, if you aren't willing to learn how your gears work, you should ride a single speed. And honestly, many of those people you see out there would probably be good candidates for single speeds. My girlfriend hates biking (horrible, I know), but I got her a 3-speed raleigh that she enjoys. I told her to stay in the middle gear most of the time, and go down into the first gear for going uphill, and into the third gear for going downhill. Thats all the more gears most people use, and at least this way she doesn't get confused, and there isn't a bunch of useless stuff hanging off the bike just waiting to break.

peace,
sam

I end up mashing a bit on my fixie, of course, but on a geared bike, I figure that as long as I'm putting up with the hassle and lack of efficiency, that I might as well get my money's worth. If I'm too quick into my granny gears I'll lose speed, of course, but mashing isn't efficient. If I can tune my cadence to a good 80ish rpms at a high output then I can pass a masher on the hills. Of course, some people use hills as an opportunity to 'give up' and drop to their lowest gears, and those people get quickly passed by someone who is intent on climbing.

peace,
sam

PS. Screw ego, if I want to show off my big cahjones I'll just spin a 13t cog onto my fixie and sit outside the bike shop looking badass with a big blaring 52/13 staring everyone in the face. Then I'll try to ride away and injure myself.

To heck with the drivetrain, hey?

I'm all about getting to the top the quickest, I don't care which gear I'm in. I've actually learned a lot about riding hills by watching other cyclists pass me. I was never a masher, but absolutely detest getting off my bike at any time, even red lights.

You mean to heck with the knees yeah? Hehe

I mashed big gears for a while before I got my fixed gear bike because I knew I was only going to have the one gear so I wanted to practice.

I don't think that's what everyone else is doing, though.

Im tempted to try this, but I fear the results. I just don't if I could climb some of the hills I encounter on my commute... then again, I'm moving to Brooklyn, so my whole ride may change

Nope.

SaskCyclist said he paid for 24 gear combinations and uses all of them, which would mean even the crossover gears (small-small and big-big), so...

to heck with the drivetrain!

I go back and forth on up hill climbs. When I get tired of spinning, I shift up one or two notches for a while and climb standing up. Then I go back to spinning (shifting back down) for a while. Works well to mix muscle usage up a bit.

Where do you live now? It's not as bad as you think, unless you are really a lot weaker than I am. I'm handling Pittsburgh hills fairly well now, a month into riding fixed.

It's not that hard when you're used to pushing that gear. We took that bridge out 1-2-3 in a race last month. Good luck in brooklyn, those bridges are pretty easy to take down. ride safe

Mashing or not, granny gears or not depends on one's comfortable cadence.

My comfortable cadence is around 95 - 105 rpm, but I can keep up 115rpm for 15 minutes at a time.

I tend to select a gear which is in my comfortable cadence uphill or downhill. While going uphil, if I get tired and slow below my comfortable cadence I shift down. That's all there is to it.

Regarding mashing, it's simply style. Lance Armstrong will spin 100+rpm uphill in low gear while Jan Ulrich will spin around 60rpm in very tall gear going uphill. It's all matter of comfort.

On my commute, I sometimes runinto a guy built like a tree who will mash a very tall gear at around 2/3 of my cadence, but keep up and most of the time pass me (that's with me trying very hard to keep up).

Far as I'm concerned, I cannot mash big gears that's all there is to it.

...and Ulrich comes second.

sorry. couldn't resist.