Spinning?
 

A couple of people keep referring to "spinning" in their posts related to Karsten's on knee problems. What is this? What is a good spin? Where can I read more about it?

Thanks, in advance, for all your help and wise ass comments--

Skitbra

Convincing your wife that the reason you didn't get home before 3am was because you had to stop at the store for eggs.

Management:

When offering you a crappy job assignment. Usually prefaced with the phrase "Have we got an opportunity"

Cycling:

High rate of pedaling / cadence.

We think there needs to be more research.

-or, my favorite -

The government makes the policy, not us.

Politics: Bill O'Reilly, not.

Come on now, Bill's looking out for you, just like Big Brother.

Oops. Now I guess I have to go to the politics and religion forumn. Those Romans aren't all bad, you know.

33 and 1/3 through tubes.

marty

oh crap!
 

Oh crap! What have I done? Not one straight answer! A bunch of comedians, all of you. Second rate, too.

So how's about a true answer about riding a ss/fixie?... please, pretty please, pretty pretty please, with a gumdrop on top?

You guys are so mean :)

Anyway, spinning is basically pedalling really really fast. It's generally better to 'spin' a low gear than to push too hard in a high gear. I'm not sure what kind of cadence figures are regarded as 'good spin', I guess it might be a personal thing, but around 80-100 rpm seems to stick in my mind.

I'm a big fan of the 90RPM range

I remember reading something about how one team at the TDF pushed high gears at a low pace. I forget the team. But they were talking about 80 RPM or something. Dunno.

superchivo/fixer: D@mn you! I thought here was my last respite from o'reily :p

Pedaling/pulling/mashing = what you did as a kid and what I still do up a big hill

spinning - what you do on the way back down and what you should be doing all the time. force is all around the rotation not just down and up.

imagine those oil derricks they always show in cartoons as equaling sex vs what egg beaters do

You got a straight answer from dobber, actually.

But yeah, spinning is turning the pedals at a high cadence. The thinking is that you can create the same power from the bike by turning them faster with less power from you than you would in a lower cadence ("hammering"). It's more of an issue with bikes with gears as you would be selecting gears that would keep your cadence high.

With a fixie obviously you don't have much choice but it's a necessary skill if you want to go fast or go down hills.

spinning isn't just related to a high cadence....

it also relates to actually turning the pedals in ROUND circles. this gives you more power per stroke. chopping and mashing involves much more side to side motion of the bike, like when you rock the handlebars back and forth as you pedal. the wobbling somehow degrades you power...i read an article about it in the late '90s in a BMX magazine.

Skitbra-
You lost, little girl. A spin is a good pace in which you are challenged and comfortable. If you really want me to chastise you, get an Cadence monitor for your bike. Otherwise, find a happy place while sweating on your bike. If you weren't my brother, I'd throw my pump in your spokes...not figuratively (sp), but literally.
Your generation

There's a related term "spinning circles" which some may be shortening to just spinning. You apply force to the pedal at the bottom of the down stroke by dragging your foot back to the rear, like you're trying to scrape gum off your shoe. Then as that foot is starting to come up, you pull your knee towards the handle bars: not to pull on the pedal, only to lift the weight of the leg. A good way to practice is to pedal with one foot until you can do it smoothly.

Spinning circles allows you to pedal more smoothly so you eliminate pedal induced bouncing. It also increases your speed as you can maintain your cadence in a higher gear because you're using more muscles and generating more power. I spin 95 to 105 and it's more relaxing to do it when spinning circles once you get used to it. Switching to a full suspension mountain bike helped me to spin circles better as a soft rear shock preload setting gives you a lot of feedback on your smoothness. It helped my road biking.

Al

WTF!?!
You were with skitbra's wife? Wow, that makes two of us...wait, he's not married. Crap...

Well thank Satan and all his minions for brothers! Now I have to ****in' go out and big a new literal wheel... Long live the eternal hellfires of Satan! Praise beezlebub!

You ain't one a dem converts are ya boy? Shouldn't you be praising Loki or one a dem other Norse devils? Beezlebub...sheesh...where's yer head at son? Gonna have to figuratively rip dem horns raigghtt uff yer non-believing Viking lid.

Classic example of spinning vs. pushing is Armstrongs climbing technique. He spins much faster than most when he climbs (100-120 rpm). Most pros climb at about 70-80 rpm's.

Since his aerobic system is in such great shape, he puts the extra stress on his aerobic system instead of his anaerobic. Your aerobic system can produce energy continually as long as you supply it energy(glucose) and oxygen. Once you start going anaerobic, you limit your capacity.

As far as fixed gear bikes go they are great for spinning because when you have a 42x16 gear and are going 30mph downhill you are forced to spin.

From Sheldon "All Things Defined" Brown's Site
 

>>
Spinning
Pedaling at a rapid cadence in a lowish gear.

A program of indoor exercising. "Spinning ®" uses stationary cycles, with a fixed gear and a heavy flywheel. A trainer guides a group of "cyclists" using loud music to regulate cadence.

In this specific context, but only in this context, "Spinning ®" is a registered trademark.
<<

OneTinSloth has a good point in that it should also be viewed as a constant application of power throughout the entire range of motion by the foot/leg.

So Lance wins the Tour by spinning, but most people go to Starbucks after Spinning®. Do I have this right?

well, some people go to Starbucks before Spinning®...

Only after "Spinning®"...not spinning. Unless you mean "spinning" and not spinning

everyone has a 'push point' where your breathing becomes more labored and talk is heavier (and cheap) -it takes a lot more effort/calories to push your biggest muscle (quads) to simulate a leg press than to spin your cadence at a higher rate.

so if you were to not have anything to eat or drink once you get on your bike (fixing your amount of calories/hydration) you'd go longer and stronger by spinning around 100 rpm than trying to push a higher gear. you may ultimately go faster by pushing that higher gear, but endurance wise there is no contest.

p.s. push point is the point right above where you feel that you could pedal all day long.

so do you want to be the tortoise or the hare? and we all know how that one ends.