Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Planet X London Road?

Has anyone got a Planet X London Road? I'm looking to replace my HT mountain bike that spends all its life running 37mm touring tyres with the suspension locked out, and the London looks ideal!

I'm 5'9" with a 31"ish inside leg and had a 2012 Defy 4 in medium and that was a good fit, so I think I should be looking at a medium for the London too, but I'm open to expert advice on that one...
 
Last edited:
ArmoVanBuuren said:
First week back on the turbo, did a nice 40 minutes tonight whilst watching the documentary chasing legends with the former HTC Highroad team & Cav.
http://www.strava.com/activities/221336343

So boring riding the turbo indoors, waiting for my ant+ usb stick to arrive so i can use trainerroad and at least do some structured training. Back feels fine which is good though still wearing my brace!

Did Sufferfest - The Hunted on Tuesday and blew up after 20 minutes ha!!
Click to expand...

Nice work mate! Getting the miles in like that will certainly be keeping you fit - only a matter of time and you'll be back out ;)

Derek W said:
So what you're saying is that i should drop a few gears so its easier to turn the pedals rather than try to maintain a higher speed in a higher gear but with lower pedal revolutions?
Click to expand...

Vonhelmet said:
It does, but your knees will pop, and it isn't actually that useful out on the road because you're generally better off spinning a higher cadence as it places the strain on your cardiovascular system rather than your muscles.
Click to expand...

Asprilla said:
Road cycling is a cardio exercise, not a strength exercise. Spinny spinny, not mashy mashy.
Click to expand...

Exactly this, pushing a high gear and grinding it out over long periods (rather than just a hill climb) puts some huge continuous pressure on your tendons. It'll make you a good sprinter able to keep a high speed, but it'll ruin your knees and do hardly anything for your endurance!

I usually have in my mind:
High cadence = cardio = endurance
Low cadence = muscle = sprinting

Unsure how accurate that is, but my 'happy' cadence is around 88/92, I find I can push it regardless how tired I'm feeling or what terrain I'm riding, if I can find my cadence I can just slog it out regardless how long/far it is :cool:
 
Roady said:
Exactly this, pushing a high gear and grinding it out over long periods (rather than just a hill climb) puts some huge continuous pressure on your tendons. It'll make you a good sprinter able to keep a high speed, but it'll ruin your knees and do hardly anything for your endurance!

I usually have in my mind:
High cadence = cardio = endurance
Low cadence = muscle = sprinting

Unsure how accurate that is, but my 'happy' cadence is around 88/92, I find I can push it regardless how tired I'm feeling or what terrain I'm riding, if I can find my cadence I can just slog it out regardless how long/far it is :cool:
Click to expand...

Road printing is high cadence and high gear :p Track sprinting is ludicrous cadence and not quite as high gear. Road sprinters will go well over 100 on a sprint finish, and track sprinters can get above 150.

As for optimal cadence - yeah, that's the idea. Find a cadence you can manage easily and then use your gears to maintain that. The only time your cadence drops significantly should be on a climb that's steep enough to significantly slow you down even in your bottom gear.
 
touch said:
It looks like it in this image (from parktool):
barendshifter44.jpg

Never taken mine apart though so I dont know if they are all like that.
You could use a front derailleur shifter. They are non-indexed but i'm not sure if it would have the range to do a 6 speed derailleur.
Click to expand...
That's great, nice find. Dia Compe do a pair of non-indexed ones but I really wanted indexed shifting and I think with a bit of fettling I could do it. That diagram is exactly what I was hoping to see. I think I just need to modify the thickness of the 6-speed indexing ring behind the shifter which goes over the square boss and it'll fit :)
 
I'm not much of a spinner, something I probably need to work on.

Just looking at my cycling stats, assuming my maths is correct, I've cycled for 96 minutes every day this year. Over 3 weeks on a bike!
 
Has anyone upgraded their HR monitors from the standard ones which come with the Garmins? mines playing up big time recently. Its on and off and when its on its giving false readings. 46bpm going up hill ready to pass out lol?
 
Not upgraded. My HR monitor started giving dodgy readings a long time ago. A battery change didn't help. Speaking of upgrades, I'd like to get the new GMS070 speed cadence sensors but the price is just stupid. So currently my Garmin is running without speed, cadence and HR sensors.

Will need to ask Santa for these :)
 
Vonhelmet said:
Can't comment on the heart rate thing, but I've been doing two shorter midweek rides and a longer weekend ride for a couple of years now and I've been getting faster and coping with longer rides, so something must be working... But hey, when I say faster and longer I mean a metric century at 16mph, so not at all earth shattering, but then I am a 32 year old asthmatic who only started getting any exercise 2 and a half years ago, and who still can't run more than about a hundred yards, so I'm happy enough with that progress.
Click to expand...

that's good , well done mate :)

for me, I'm 36, with asthma, high metabolism (if that makes any difference)
ride 3 times a week at the moment, in summer ive been known to do up to 5 in a week
hoping when the weather improves to go out 4 times a week at least
 
topgun06 said:
Not upgraded. My HR monitor started giving dodgy readings a long time ago. A battery change didn't help. Speaking of upgrades, I'd like to get the new GMS070 speed cadence sensors but the price is just stupid. So currently my Garmin is running without speed, cadence and HR sensors.

Will need to ask Santa for these :)
Click to expand...

which strap are you using ? the Garmin one or the polar one ? (im assuming your using a garmin edge)
 
daveski said:
I'm not much of a spinner, something I probably need to work on.
Click to expand...

Seems a common thing tbh, a lot of guys I know on the track are grinding away on 90 inch plus gears (51 front, 15 back ish) when elite track riders will be using 86" or smaller in a 6 day race, and spinning that up to 40mph in the sprints (150ish rpm).

Obviously track is a different beast to the road but I think most people's riding would benefit from working on cadence and pedaling technique. It's easy to neglect and I include myself in that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom