Official Road Cycling Thread

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by chassis

Agreed, seat too low is uncomfortable, to say the least.

Does the cadence data come from a power meter?

You can get cadence from a power meter, but you can also get just a cadence and speed sensor kit. There are several brands, but here's one from Wahoo.

https://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-Cycling...dp/B01E0YRQIA/

Garmin also has a kit.

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by M_Six

A good bike fitting is crucial if you're going to spend hours in the saddle. So many times I see people struggling along because their seat is way too low. It wreaks havoc on your knees. Your pedaling cadence is also critical. If you're pedaling less than 70rpm, you're taxing your knees. Ideally, your cadence should be around 80rpm and as constant as possible. Higher cadence can be hard to get used to, but it's worth it once you get the hang of it. Of course you also need the gearing required to allow for higher cadence. Here's my cadence from today's 34 mile ride. The dips in the cadence are mostly gear shift changes and road crossings.

Attachment 3571057

Wow, I did not know this. Going to pick up a cadence sensor today. Any you recommend?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

Wow, I did not know this. Going to pick up a cadence sensor today. Any you recommend?

Do you use a bike computer? If so, does that brand have a cadence sensor? You can use either the Garmin sensor or the Wahoo sensor with most programs. Is that Strava you use? Check to see if your phone will connect to a Bluetooth sensor. Both the Garmin and the Wahoo are Bluetooth and ANT+, but iPhones won't connect ANT+. They will connect to Bluetooth, though.

[chassis]

#wahoospeedandcadenceenabled

Thanks for the tip @m_six! Function confirmed. Need to squeeze 40 miles in tomorrow because of a work call in the afternoon.

[M_Six]

Very cool.

[chassis]

32 miles, nice ride. First ride with the Wahoo sensors, they seem to work well. Mid-50s at the start, low 60s at the finish, mostly sunny. Moderate to heavy trail traffic. I usually do not ride at mid-day and the difference in traffic was noteworthy.

74.1 rpm avg cadence
12.6 mph avg speed

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Do you use a bike computer? If so, does that brand have a cadence sensor? You can use either the Garmin sensor or the Wahoo sensor with most programs. Is that Strava you use? Check to see if your phone will connect to a Bluetooth sensor. Both the Garmin and the Wahoo are Bluetooth and ANT+, but iPhones won't connect ANT+. They will connect to Bluetooth, though.

I do have a bike computer, a cycplus unit which does have a cadence sensory accessory available for $30. Not sure it will help me for this race but I might mix it in for our next one. Thanks for directing me to this.

34 miles this morning in cool weather and virtually no wind. Average speed was exactly what we were targeting. Marfa 100k is next Saturday.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by chassis

32 miles, nice ride. First ride with the Wahoo sensors, they seem to work well. Mid-50s at teh start, low 60s at the finish, mostly sunny. Moderate to heavy trail traffic. I usually do not ride at mid-day and the difference in traffic was noteworthy.

74.1 rpm avg cadence
12.6 mph avg speed

Great start. Try one gear easier and see if you can get your cadence average to 80. Don't worry if it doesn't work. 74 is close enough. But you might find you can get used to 80+ and not have sore knees or legs. The big thing is you don't want your cadence down around 60 or lower, so you're looking good already.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Great start. Try one gear easier and see if you can get your cadence average to 80. Don't worry if it doesn't work. 74 is close enough. But you might find you can get used to 80+ and not have sore knees or legs. The big thing is you don't want your cadence down around 60 or lower, so you're looking good already.

Thanks, I will try it next ride.

[chassis]

Weather looks promising for 40 miles on Saturday!!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by chassis

Weather looks promising for 40 miles on Saturday!!

I got outside to ride today for the first time in about 10 days. Did 32 miles. Was a bit chilly to start, but then I warmed up and was fine. The next few days are supposed to be sunny and in the 70's, so perfect for more riding.

[M_Six]

Quick 18 miles today to get me to my weekly goal of 100. Two more days to bank some miles towards my yearly goal of 5000. This ride put me over 4000, so I should be able to hit my goal.

[chassis]

40 miles, great ride. Perfect autumn day - sunny and around 70F the whole ride. Light-moderate wind. Moderate trail traffic.

Cadence 75
Avg speed 11.8mph

I geared lower (easier) but cadence didn’t increase. I am at a fork in the road with my bike. It is a mountain bike with deeper gearing than a road bike with taller gearing. I want to keep the speed as high as possible and that means using the tallest gear but lower cadence. I don’t want to buy a new bike nor chase my tail on this. So I will gear for highest comfortable speed at the expense of slightly lower cadence.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by chassis

40 miles, great right. Perfect autumn day - sunny and around 70F the whole ride. Light-moderate wind. Moderate trail traffic.

Cadence 75
Avg speed 11.8mph

I geared lower (easier) but cadence didn’t increase. I am at a fork in the road with my bike. It is a mountain bike with deeper gearing than a road bike with taller gearing. I want to keep the speed as high as possible and that means using the tallest gear but lower cadence. I don’t want it buy a new bike nor chase my tail on this. So I will gear for highest comfortable speed at the expense of slightly lower cadence.

75 is perfectly reasonable, especially on a mountain bike. If your knees and quads aren't getting sore, then 75 works for you. I just see people struggling with their bikes sometimes and I can see that their saddle is way too low and they're grinding away in a low gear that has their cadence at 40 or something like that. No way they're ever going to enjoy cycling when it's that difficult.

I know what you mean about chasing your tail with bikes. At one point I owned 6. Two pure road bikes, a gravel bike, a mountain bike, a hybrid cruiser, and a dedicated bike for my indoor trainer. I sold the mountain bike and the trainer bike, and gave the cruiser to my brother. My former gravel bike is now on my trainer, so I have just the two road bikes in the garage.

[chassis]

^thanks^ Knees and quads feel great. Seat post feels in the right position - I raised it about 3/4" a few weeks ago. I sit as far rearward as I can on the saddle, that helps with knee and ankle comfort. I have a 33" inseam which isn't super long but I find it would be helpful to have more rearward saddle adjustment. Bike frame is size "L" in Cannondale parlance. XL would probably be right, if I was buying a new bike.

I am in the best cardio shape of my life and cycling is the reason. I will finish this season with everything as-is, and think over the winter if I want to change anything.

[erickonphoenix]

Completed the Marfa100k yesterday in 5 hours. Weather was sunny and mile 72˚F with a brisk 15-20 mph East wind.

The Marfa 100 a reciprocal course composed of two 31 mile (50K) sections. You roll out to a mild 10 mile uphill climb section with undulating sections. There are two moderate climbs until you spill out into a twisting downhill section where we hit speeds of 38 mph. That deposits you into the last four mile into the turn around at the 31 mile (50K) mark.

After the turn around another set of mild climbs then you hit six series of very difficult uphill sections. We were barely able to maintain 5mph on most of them. Then a long 15 mile down hill undulating section allowed sustainable speeds of 25 mph with a few moderate climbing sections in between. Finally the last 10 were mostly flat but the Easterly headwind became the issue and average speeds were hard to keep over 10 mph.

It was a great, well supported event. I activated Strava leaving the staging area and didn't turn it off until coming back to the staging tent so my indicated difference was around 13 mins. Ready to do it again

[chassis]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

Completed the Marfa100k yesterday in 5 hours. Weather was sunny and mile 72˚F with a brisk 15-20 mph East wind.

The Marfa 100 a reciprocal course composed of two 31 mile (50K) sections. You roll out to a mild 10 mile uphill climb section with undulating sections. There are two moderate climbs until you spill out into a twisting downhill section where we hit speeds of 38 mph. That deposits you into the last four mile into the turn around at the 31 mile (50K) mark.

After the turn around another set of mild climbs then you hit six series of very difficult uphill sections. We were barely able to maintain 5mph on most of them. Then a long 15 mile down hill undulating section allowed sustainable speeds of 25 mph with a few moderate climbing sections in between. Finally the last 10 were mostly flat but the Easterly headwind became the issue and average speeds were hard to keep over 10 mph.

It was a great, well supported event. I activated Strava leaving the staging area and didn't turn it off until coming back to the staging tent so my indicated difference was around 13 mins. Ready to do it again

Great ride! Congrats.

[M_Six]

Nice! Looks like it was a great day for it, headwind notwithstanding.

[M_Six]

The awesome weather continues. 34 miles today.

[M_Six]

40 miler today. I was planning on 50, but the winds really started picking up and I nearly got blown off the trail in a few of the open areas. Crosswinds were topping 30MPH, so I ended up cutting it short.

We're in for two days of steady winds of 25-30 with gusts near 40 starting tomorrow, so I'll be stuck inside on the trainer. Too bad, because the temps are suppose to be in the 80s, which is crazy for this time of year.

[erickonphoenix]

Back in the saddle again. Cool and overcast but heavy 15-20 mph winds from the NW. 30 miles in the bank.

[M_Six]

Got 27 in today. Hopefully this relatively mild weather lasts a bit longer so I can keep riding outside.