View 5 Aventador 1080P Black Car Wallpaper Hd
4 years ago
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Col du Tourmalet
Blogs I like
-
-
-
Riding Indoors and Pedaling Skills, Part 27 years ago
-
The Last Post11 years ago
-
Alpe d'Huez Long Course Video13 years ago
-
Check it out!!!!14 years ago
-
La Marmotte 201215 years ago
-
-
Essex Spring Lambs Sportive 201016 years ago
-
-
-
Take a triple chainset!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like good advice although I was teased for even thinking about a triple recently! I have a daft question (opening myself up here) - how many gears does a compact/triple have? I mean the mountain bike I was on recently had 2 levers - the left numbered 1-3 and the right numbered 1-7 so I take it that is 21 gears. What would I get on my racing bike typically?
ReplyDeleteI have another question if you do read this. Sooo many questions.
ReplyDeleteDescending on the said mountain bike it was a straight road so I would have been happy to be going a lot faster but I could only coast and not pedal even though I was in gear 21 (hardest to pedal is that a low gear or high gear?).
This might not be a problem for the Etape because coasting might be fast enough but will a racing bike have a gear that within reason will allow a nice big gear to get some speed up on the descent?
Strangely none of the racing snakes on the Hautacam were teasing as I rode past them walking up it.....
ReplyDeleteI'm on a ten speed with the triple, so 30 gears total.
With a low end of 30-27 (or 30-28) you should be able to get up most things. At the other end of proceedings you will probably have a 50-12 (or possibly 50-11) which may be too high to pedal on the flat and may have to be used solely on downhill stretches. What you have yet to experience is the low rolling resistance of a true road bike. Acceleration on the flat is great, downhill it can be downright hair-raising. I bottled on the brakes down the Tourmalet in 2008 and still averaged 35mph for the descent (including the hairpins) with a maximum of 42mph. It was wet and a bit slippery so I dared not go faster, some did. In better conditions I have let the bike go and got up to 55mph in the dales. I defy you to spin the pedals that quickly.
The rolling resistance of mountain bike tyres is so big that you wouldn't believe it. I'd worry about training right now, not going fast enough downhill. According to my memory, there is a section of the Marie Blanque the way you're going on which the pros really let it go, reaching over 100 kilometres an hour. The descent of the Soulor is winding but bends are fairly open, and descending that one is an absolute blast, but again you will most likely be braking owing to (in)experience and those around you.
Best to work on being 2mph faster uphill than 5mph faster down.
This is valuable info thanks Clive, much appreciated. Funny I saw bikes advertised as 9 speed (or 10 & 11) and I thought "that's not enough gears". Doh. I think your point about the training and being quicker up than down is a thought I'm going to hold over the next few months. Thanks again for that and I am going to act on that advice.
ReplyDeleteI had to face facts when I did it. Its the math. 1mph more uphill could be as much as an extra 10 or 12% speed (more in my case), and you will be climbing for at least 5 hours on the day, possibly more. 2 or 3 mph downhill is possibly only 5-6%, and you will only be descending for about 1.5 hours (unfortunately).
ReplyDeleteWhen you are comfortable on your new machine, and not before, go here and try this.....http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/2006/descend.htm
Faster (guaranteed) and more 'fun'.
Enjoy
Hi Andrew
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Clive here on the triple it will help out alot.
From my own experience I would say just get the miles in. Get out there and do some big rides 100+ miles and get used to riding in the saddle for 6+ hours. If you can do some sportive that will help get you used to riding in groups or join a club if they are all welcoming.
It also helps if your not upset too much by the weather conditions so just do it rain or shine and adjust to conditions.
See what kind of energy food/drinks sits well with you and take plenty of it. You could be up the Col du Tourmalet for 2+ hours and it does tax your energy and that is the last climb!
If you get the miles in you will do it. You seem focused and up for it that is 80% of the battle.
All the best Alec.
I like the "Please Read This - Preparation is everything" at the bottom of that flammerouge piece. I will return to that when I've more experience.
ReplyDeleteHi Alec, and thanks. The weather doesn't bother me as a commuting cyclist although the ice & snow this week has been a step too far for me. I've got a couple of sportives lined up, maybe 3 and I plan to get out and put the miles in. I'll link to your blog and have a read - all valuable insights to me.
In addition to the other excellent advice - eat/drink. You can use your training/sportive century rides in the coming months to determine what works for you - I use a tri bag on the top tube with powerbar gels (with caffeine). If I start feeling a bit low on a ride, it's usually because I've not eaten enough and so get a gel down. Through trial and error, I know I need a gel about every hour and 2 750ml bottles will probably do me for 3hours. The tri bag is good because the food is easy to access on the move.
ReplyDeleteOn the food stations on the Etape, I noticed that everyone went for the first few tables and there were tables further along which were much quieter.
Hey Karen, many thanks for this. This is one area I was going to ask about. I will have a look at these tri bags and experiment with drinks/food beforehand like you advise.
ReplyDeleteI've signed on for the Etape an dhave just started training, mostly on my old touring bike because of the weather.
ReplyDeleteI need to by a new road bike but they all seem to come with big ring chainsets. Ater reading the above and trying out hills I'm going for a triple with 30/40/50 on front and 12-27 on the back. I've been offered an 09 Modane 5.2 at a very good price but will need to change the cassette, the chainrings and probably the derailleurs. Seems like I may be better off buying a frame and building an Etape bike. Any thoughts.
Hi there Kevin. Good to hear you are doing the Etape too. From what the experienced guys have said, that triple would get you round for sure. The problem I have seen with making the changes you quote (chainring, cassette etc.) it can be quite expensive to get good quality kit. There is a review of a Planet X carbon bike complete in BikeRadar for under £1k which has a groupset which costs £800. I might go for the complete bike because it seems such good value.
ReplyDelete