There's no lights on the stretch of road i commute. once i get going i have no need to stop or try to slow. And i also just recently fit aero bars. Problem?

You're using aerobars to commute?

People talking about running 100+gi for daily riding.
Dont care if youre strong your knees arent.


When did this place turn into hipsterville

Under 90gi with no snow/slush, inbetween lights my legs are just flapping. This is not good for my knees to do for over ten minutes. Flapping with nearly no resistance at over 100 rpm on flat streets for an hour has me creaking and in pain for hours. Slow takeoffs do not hurt them one bit. Ten years of mostly 52-14 in the city, 52-16 in the country hills, the only time that my knees can tolerate a significantly lower gear is when there's enough snow and wind to provide ample resistance. I'm definitely too old to be part of the hipster horde.

Hi I'm thinking of building a single speed and wheels come with 18t freewheel in the back and wondering if 46 T chain set is okay? I had Tibial plateau fracture 3 months ago and can't wait to get these Quads working.the area around me is relatively flat.but I'm not hardcore cyclist.not overweight don't have physical therapist so trying to get on the roads again to strengthen my thighs.patella area is a bit weak.whatsbthe average speed on 46Tx18T sprocket? Tanks

problem? its not uncomfortable to me. it works and i like it, so what again is wrong with that?

there's nothing wrong man. it's just stupid. not wrong, jus dumb

but hey, if that's your thing, then ****ing do it right

educate me then. (this isn't sarcasm.)

Riding at a higher cadence has many advantages, and is almost always a better choice.

*You have more control over the bike
*It places less stress on your joints
*It emphasis the aerobic system over muscular force, which will always fatigue first
*Functionally, most riders produce the highest sustainable power (for every time duration) at higher RPM's.

Those things I mentioned above are for efficiency, and safety reasons. If you don't care about efficiency or safety, then don't consider my points.

If you're just stomping down a few blocks, or having fun, then your gearing won't matter so much. If you're riding more than a few miles, a lower gear will probably make you capable of producing more power and make you go faster.

most road racing cyclists avg somewhere between 80-100 rpm. i didnt look that up but its probably right

for track the rpm's are even higher, across all disciplines.

really the only reason I chose the gearing is because i drive up to Rockville all the time to maybe race or just free ride on the velodrome there. I see it as a training element more than just cruising.

As far of training goes, cycling is like most sports, where the law of specificity is true. In order to best train for track, you will want to replicate those demands as much as possible. One of these demands is the ability to ride at high cadences for extended periods, and surge to very high rpm occasionally.

Track speeds are always higher than road speeds, which of course necessitates the use for lower gears on the road.

Well aren't you just special.

This absolutely this.

I just can't fathom the stupidity of running monster gearing on the road.

That doesn't make much sense either. 97 gear inches is too much for a track novice for almost all races. I ran 48x15 all last season, and the only time I could have used higher gearing was for keirins, or for the end of the season for certain races. Plus no one runs a race gear off track, when training off track, or for warming up/cooling down.

When, as a result of a chronic deficit of joint pressure in conjunction with sweating minerals out, many pro and many avid fun/commuter cyclists are suffering from complications related to low bone density, I am not very special at all.

thats because they're 130 pounds and don't lift weights(in terms of the pros).
riding a dumb gear ratio on the road isn't going to fight off low bone density.

70 - 80 gi FTW.

Can't do dumb sh*t like skid on 100 gi. Where's the fun in that?

We're all special, in our own way :). You're very special too my friend. Also I do believe you, and that there are many others like you, but you're in the minority here bud.

If you care about your bone density, which of course is a concern for all cyclists, small doses of cross training by running or weight lifting is the way to go. Most coaches will prescribe a little bit of this to their athletes, be it amateur or pro.

Most coaches will also prescribe a little bit of big gear work to their athletes, but not for the purposes of increasing bone density. Tricking yourself into thinking that you're significantly increasing your bone density by pushing a he-man gear on the road is just dumb.

No type of cycling is going to increase bone density, but some types will decrease it. I listen to my knees and refuse to subscribe to the fashionable-on-forums low gearing which has been reappropriated from recommendations for elderly/injured riders.

BD is not a concern to me. Armchair Orthopedic conjecture really isn't of concern to me. I'm just shedding light on the other side of the coin. Sub-90gi riding on normal pave is neither fun nor physically advantageous to me.

word, i wouldnt do higher than 80" for the road. 52 x 17 looks badass enough anyway.

73" all day though, das dat gear

when i first started, i ran like 80" and my friend was running like 85"

some hills were ****ty getting up but overall it was doable

definitely recommend a brake for anything above 73 though on the street

Im thinking of gearing down actually. Currently at 49x18 and im thinking of going to 48x18. I originally started out on 49x17 when I first started too.

You should start a thread about it. Here and on PedalRoom.

Just realized you had the Retrogression logo on here and yer in SD. I just ordered a couple things from you guys. Great website.

Thanks, man!