It’s no secret that I’m prone to riding in the big ring as much as possible, mostly on account of my not being a giant sissy. In accordance with the ISO Non-Sissy Standard, I also never read instruction manuals or ask for directions when lost. I make sure to only rarely ask my VMH to turn up the radio when Adele comes on, usually followed quickly by an ernest explanation of how I thought it was Metallica, and how Rolling in the Deep ripped off the opening to Enter Sandman. The record does show, however, that I occasionally fly into hysterics when surprised by an insect or amphibian – but that’s just good common sense.
Pantani’s in-the-drops climbing style has always impressed me, but he’s only one of the riders who won races going down in the drops looking for more power on the climbs; Jan Ullrich was often climbing in the drops as well as our mate Johan Museeuw – not to mention Richard Virenque and so did Frank Vandenbroucke. Looking at that list, I wonder if the UCI should explore adjusting the test for EPO to examine time spent climbing in the drops.
Riding the route of Liege-Bastogne-Liege with Johan last Keepers Tour, I noticed a pattern in his riding style. Whenever the gradient increased on a climb, instead of changing gear he just moved his hands to the drops and rose out of the saddle to casually push the same gear over the steep. It looked so easy, it was impossible to resist trying it myself. At first, there is a strange sort of sensation, like you’re dipping your nose into the tarmac. But then when you switch to the hoods, you notice an immediate loss of leverage. After practicing it, it becomes second nature.
Someone once told me that the key to going fast is to try to break your handlebars, and that’s just what I’ve been trying to do lately although I hope I’m ultimately unsuccessful. Since gleaning this trick from Johan’s riding style, I’ve been staying in the big ring longer and climbing out of the saddle in the drops, pulling hard on bars and feeling them flex. Its not always faster than spinning a low gear but it has the benefit of taking the load off your cardiovascular system and putting it on your muscular system – a handy thing if your form is missing something or you’ve got massive guns (which I don’t).
This has brought another notion to light: the lower the hand position, the better able you are to find the leverage you need to turn the pedals. This is one of the principle issues with the sit up and beg epidemic, apart from it looking crap and being less stable. But hand height seems to impact power; I’ve noticed that when I’m climbing on the tops, I can breath easily and I’m able to maintain a speed well, but acceleration is difficult. To accelerate or hold a pace up a steep gradient (which is almost the same as accelerating), I’m better served riding on the hoods where my position is a bit lower. But when I really need power, I go looking for it in the drops.
All this brings into question the current trend towards compact bars and flat hand positions between the tops and hoods, with the drops only a bit lower. Compare that to the deep drops ridden in the past, in the style of Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck where the hoods were halfway between the tops and the drops. The modern bar shape and hood position seems to reduce the riding positions to as few as possible, while in the past, they were designed to provide as many as possible.
In any case, big sweeping drops look the business and I’m pretty sure they are in complete compliance with the ISO Non-Sissy Standard.
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@Ccos
This very good advise pertains to movement of the upper body while pedaling - not between positions. If you move your upper body 10cm with every pedal stroke and you pedal at 75rpm and your torso, arms, and head weigh 50 kilos, that means you're lifting and lowering 50 kilos 75 times per minute. That's a ton of lost energy. Moving your hands from one position to another a few times during a 45 minute climb is another thing altogether.
TOTALLY.
@Chris
Best comment of the day, right there.
@GogglesPizano
They have the artillery to do it for much longer than we do, but it doesn't mean we can't use their tricks. My big takeaway the first time I rode with him was just to keep the tempo up - easer on shorter climbs but that's really the trick on a climb of any length: keep the tempo moving, the the pedals going around at the same speed.
We reach for the gears all the time, but they just use their guns to move over it. I am doing the same thing now and my leg strength is noticeably better after doing it for two years. There are many routes in Seattle that I rarely use the 39, let alone the 39x25. I do use it on the steep stuff, but its incredible what you can power over that I had previously assumed I had to downshift for. Including short 20% grades when you carry enough speed into them. That will get the out-of-towners on the back foot!
@meursault
Yep, many a ride I get to the finish and wish Id gone harder at various spots. The key for me is to not got bat shit crazy too early. Then hopefully the brain takes over and remember to go harder when others do. Too many times ive put the clutch in and spun when could have easily stayed in same gear and cranked over.
So definately a head thing I think most days.
Heres me Pantaniing a KOM point in a race. It was a brutal headwind and I'm convinced the fact I can climb in the drops helped me win that one. Plus I look fantastic, please excuse a couple of minor rule transgressions.....
@VeloVita, @Owen
The VMH rides some compact bars and loves them. Small hands, rides a 53cm vs my 61cm and I think in comparison it offers her the same proportionate drop between tops and drops as I get. So I think they are bars that make sense for sure, but you do lose the benefit of having a third stage between tops and drops at the hoods. Maybe they should make shorter levers for that?
@Stephen
There is one hill in particular where I really use this and the focus has to be 100% on maintaining the tempo. It is just long enough and just steep enough at the top that you will get fucked if you ease off at all. Staying in the drops really helps but you have to focus focus focus on the rhythm.
And yes, anyone who shifted will be fucked. At least until they catch back up to you just over the crown as you gasp and wheeze trying to regain your composure and can't pedal because your legs are shaking so much.
I can't take it any longer. Frank I don't know what dilusional drugs you are on but come off the grass! Riding in the big ring is certainly NOT giving you a mechanical advantage over the small ring beyond losses due to the chain bending a tighter radius. The lever (crank arm) is less efficient when in the big ring since you have moved the mass closer to the work end of the lever. Don't believe me? Go and get a stick, put one end on a table, hold the other end and hang a mass on it. The closer the mass is to your hand the more force you have to apply to the stick to keep it level to the point where the mass is at your hand and the lever is doing nothing. At the other extream, when the mass is at the pivot point of the lever, the force at your hand is zero (ignoring the mass of the lever) If you want to ride in the big ring because it's pro fine, but that's the only reason to.
Which brings me to cadence. I will say at the start that I am firm believer in people finding their own natural cadence, be it high or low. Having said that, why would you want to load your muscles up when your form (fitness) is poor? If you do that your muscles will fatigue fast (and recover slowly) and your lack of fitness become obvious a little later down the road. I am of the opinion that spinning is the solution in that case. Your legs will survive the pace much longer and your cardiovascular will recovery significantly faster so why not load them? I have shown this to be the case on numerous occasions chasing faster wheels up hills. I will give you this is dependat on the ride. I will conceed that on a slowe(er) ride where folks are powering up short, lower gradient hills to keep the speed stable, your legs will have time to recover since the pacer after the hill is low. If the power is the constant, ie power up hills, and continue to do so on the other side with no reprieve, loading you legs will see you in trouble fast.
@geoffrey
I'm so glad someone took the bait. Do both and get good at both. But climbing in the big ring is very good for building leg strength and that pays off on the long run.
As for gear inches is gear inches, read the literature - this simply is not the correct physically. There are gains and losses in chain tension, friction from bending the links (horizontally and radially, leverage, and a multitude of other factors that play into it. All the math says the gains are negligible at best, but also that if there is an advantage, it is riding big-big versus small-small to get to the same gear length.
Man, I don't know. There's very few people that can assume this position for an extended period (pro or amateur) effectively. I'm not saying don't try it on for size for awhile, and if it helps, fantastic. I suppose it's about showing people options that they haven't thought of before to break up the glorious monotony that's being a "climber". I've put some considerable time into trying to emulate Pantani, and it just doesn't work for me.
On the tops, or hoods worked for these guys, so it goes for me.