Steve,
You bring up a good point about suppleness. When I first started going out on group rides I was a "masher" trying to push high gears all the time in tennis shoes with no toeclips.
Others in the group encouraged me to get toeclips and straps and "it was all uphill from there" (excuse the pun).
I learned to spin at high a cadence. The thing to concentrate on is avoiding bouncing on the seat at higher RPMs, that's where suppleness come in.
Spinning at 80+ RPM is a good way to quickly build up your heart, lungs and legs. I used to ride at 90 RPM most of the time except for climbing.
It's sort of like riding a stationary bike and pumping iron.
I started riding "compact" half step gearing in 1975; 49-45 chainrings and a 13-26 5 speed freewheel covered most of my needs. I'd switch to a 14-34 freewheel with a Shimano Crane derailleur for alpine touring.
From the late 70s until about 3 years ago I rode mostly offroad. When I starting riding road bikes again I had to get back into spinning. Once you get your spinning working then it's easy to gradually work up to higher gears.
I agree with several other posters, I only use the big gears for long downhills.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Stephen James wrote:
> Hi Brad,
>
> I ride a one-speed, so I'm biased :) But, I agree that you should work on raising your cadence (rpms) before worrying about getting a bigger gear --in this case. It's true that you can keep your rpms down --yet go faster-- if you put on a bigger chainring or use a freewheel (OT) with fewer teeth. However, ime, huge gears were only needed for track sprints and descending very steep hills. I needed a huge gear because I ran out of rpms. On a flat road, though, it's relatively easy to keep up with traffic using a lower gear. In fact, on the street, ime, lower was better --but my rides were never completely flat.
>
> So, I guess I'd say that you need a bigger gear if you've really run out of rpms.
> Not trying to lecture, just reminiscing. I remember John Howard quoted as saying something like '52t chainrings are for wimps', but I seem to recall an emphasis on lower gearing and "suppleness" earlier on. I was wondering if there is/was an "OT" style of riding the gears on these OT bikes. Maybe the ideas of the 80s differed from those of te 70s, etc.
>
> regards,
> Steve James
> Bronx, NYC, USoA