The biking thread

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Wout was pretty dang impressive. Win in the mountains, time trial, and sprint? Who else could pull that off?

Perhaps Mathieu Van Der Poel? I'm not sure if his sprint is on par with Wout's though. I look forward to many more years of the two of them slugging it out in any case. Its crazy to think that they've already been going at each other for a decade now.

I hope they both have long careers free of injury and illness, because they are incredible to watch. I mean, much was written about Van Der Poel's stage 5 time trial at this year's TDF, but Van Aert was 1 second faster.

 

[W3H5]

Who else could pull that off?

He who should not be named…

 

[girabyt3]

Who else could pull that off?

@Shaun could... If he still would have the legs for it

Anyway... Returning the Cityzen to the thread! Since I got paid after 5 unemployed months, I could finally throw away the horrendous worn-out stock saddle the bike had and swap it for an actual gel one 😍

A generic one, but still gel noneless... Just 15 bucks (60 soles) and with a 20gr weight penalty over the old one, but my bottom never felt so comfy before lol 😍

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Did my third 100k ride over the weekend. Didn't really set out to do 100k but the route I sort of made up as I was going end up being almost exactly 100k. Mercifully, this meant I didn't need to circle around my neighborhood for an extra 20 minutes just to hit the century mark like I did on the last 2.

As I didn't really plan on riding this kind of distance, I didn't pace myself very well at the start and it basically ended up being a 4.5hr tempo ride - 4400 calories. I took a few longish breaks along the way (one of them for a ham & cheese croissant 😍🥲) but my legs were feeling quite frail by the end.

I'm going to concentrate on better pacing going forward, even if it means going way slower than I feel like I should be going. One thing I've noticed is that for a given power output (tested on stationary bike, so take it with a grain of salt) my HR is considerably higher at lower cadence than it is at 90-95rpm, which feels most comfortable for me. Any efforts in the 60-70rpm range spike my heart rate fast. I wonder if this is typical?

 

[Shaun]

One thing I've noticed is that for a given power output (tested on stationary bike, so take it with a grain of salt) my HR is considerably higher at lower cadence than it is at 90-95rpm, which feels most comfortable for me. Any efforts in the 60-70rpm range spike my heart rate fast. I wonder if this is typical?

Hmm that's an interesting one and can't say I've ever noticed though it wouldn't surprise me as riding at a lower cadence is harder on the legs.

A stationary bike with a power meter is probably better to test it to be honest as there are less variables. When you noticed it was it during the same session as one of the biggest variables for heart rate is temperature?

I don't have a indoor setup anymore, as much as I tried with Zwift etc I just couldn't gel with it so I'll test it out on the weekend when I go for a ride next and report back.

I'll ride at a certain wattage (probably 3watts/kg) for 5min at a cadence of 90 then rest for 5min then repeat for 5min at a cadence of 70 and see the difference. Not totally scientific but should be sufficient to look for any difference.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Hmm that's an interesting one and can't say I've ever noticed though it wouldn't surprise me as riding at a lower cadence is harder on the legs.

A stationary bike with a power meter is probably better to test it to be honest as there are less variables. When you noticed it was it during the same session as one of the biggest variables for heart rate is temperature?

I don't have a indoor setup anymore, as much as I tried with Zwift etc I just couldn't gel with it so I'll test it out on the weekend when I go for a ride next and report back.

I'll ride at a certain wattage (probably 3watts/kg) for 5min at a cadence of 90 then rest for 5min then repeat for 5min at a cadence of 70 and see the difference. Not totally scientific but should be sufficient to look for any difference.

Yeah it was the same session - outdoors about 60F/15C (my Gym has a rooftop cardio area). I was riding at what I would call an "endurance" power level for me (like 2.2w/kg) so it was hardly a big effort. But every time I turned up the resistance and adjusted my cadence to maintain a similar power level, my HR would rise like 10bpm.

I question how well calibrated the power meter is on the bike I was riding though - it's like generic gym equipment rather than any sort of specialty spin bike. The actual spin bikes typically reflect something like 10-15% less power for the same perceived effort so who knows how its even calculating power. But, even if it is wrong, I would hope that it's consistently wrong regardless of resistance level so at least the comparison is valid.

I will say that on my actual bike its very rare for my legs to give out before my lungs do, I always seem to be limited by cardio. I'm not sure what that means in terms of how I should train or what cadence I should aim for.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Yeah it was the same session - outdoors about 60F/15C (my Gym has a rooftop cardio area). I was riding at what I would call an "endurance" power level for me (like 2.2w/kg) so it was hardly a big effort. But every time I turned up the resistance and adjusted my cadence to maintain a similar power level, my HR would rise like 10bpm.

I question how well calibrated the power meter is on the bike I was riding though - it's like generic gym equipment rather than any sort of specialty spin bike. The actual spin bikes typically reflect something like 10-15% less power for the same perceived effort so who knows how its even calculating power. But, even if it is wrong, I would hope that it's consistently wrong regardless of resistance level so at least the comparison is valid.

I will say that on my actual bike its very rare for my legs to give out before my lungs do, I always seem to be limited by cardio. I'm not sure what that means in terms of how I should train or what cadence I should aim for.

So I decided to mix it up today on my morning gym session and mash some potatoes. Set the trainer to a 4-3 interval and cranked the "on" resistance to as high as the thing would go. I don't think these stationary bikes are made for cyclists, because it still wasn't that high, but it provided a useful level of resistance in any case. I ended up pushing about 60-65rpm (which was translating to 180-210w) and trying my best to control my breathing. At the end of each 4 minute interval my HR was approaching 180 but for most of it I was hanging in around 165. So not too bad. First time in a while I could actually feel the legs burning...which is, IMO, a lot more pleasant than feeling like I'm going into the red. Hopefully adding these low cadence intervals to my routine will get me off this plateau. I think my body got so used to spinning 90-95rpm @ 160-200w that I haven't been building any strength...and worse, when I've been confronted with a situation where that isn't a possible cadence (like any hill greater than 7% on my somewhat tall lowest 36/28 gear) I've been blowing up quickly due to lack of low cadence power.

 

[Shaun]

So I decided to mix it up today on my morning gym session and mash some potatoes. Set the trainer to a 4-3 interval and cranked the "on" resistance to as high as the thing would go. I don't think these stationary bikes are made for cyclists, because it still wasn't that high, but it provided a useful level of resistance in any case. I ended up pushing about 60-65rpm (which was translating to 180-210w) and trying my best to control my breathing. At the end of each 4 minute interval my HR was approaching 180 but for most of it I was hanging in around 165. So not too bad. First time in a while I could actually feel the legs burning...which is, IMO, a lot more pleasant than feeling like I'm going into the red. Hopefully adding these low cadence intervals to my routine will get me off this plateau. I think my body got so used to spinning 90-95rpm @ 160-200w that I haven't been building any strength...and worse, when I've been confronted with a situation where that isn't a possible cadence (like any hill greater than 7% on my somewhat tall lowest 36/28 gear) I've been blowing up quickly due to lack of low cadence power.

As a rule of thumb high cadence (90 and up) will improve your cardio and mashing on the pedals absolutely builds strength.
As a cyclist you want both for the exact reason you mention at the end of this post, if you hit a climb where you can't sustain a high cadence due to gradient there is no option but to grind it out.
I've a few climbs around me even though they are short in comparison to alpine climbs there are pinches of 20% gradients for 10-75 meters, nobody is spinning up those at 90 rpm.

I got out today for the test we mentioned previously.

Not totally scientific due to being outside with wind etc but I rode at around 200w so a little below 3w/kg at 90 rpm for 5mins which the heart rate averaged about 137bpm.
Rested for 5min then lower the cadence to 70 but with the same power and the heart rate averaged around 145bpm so yeah I reckon with even just this little test a lower cadence at the same power could produce a higher heart rate.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

As a rule of thumb high cadence (90 and up) will improve your cardio and mashing on the pedals absolutely builds strength.
As a cyclist you want both for the exact reason you mention at the end of this post, if you hit a climb where you can't sustain a high cadence due to gradient there is no option but to grind it out.
I've a few climbs around me even though they are short in comparison to alpine climbs there are pinches of 20% gradients for 10-75 meters, nobody is spinning up those at 90 rpm.

I got out today for the test we mentioned previously.

Not totally scientific due to being outside with wind etc but I rode at around 200w so a little below 3w/kg at 90 rpm for 5mins which the heart rate averaged about 137bpm.
Rested for 5min then lower the cadence to 70 but with the same power and the heart rate averaged around 145bpm so yeah I reckon with even just this little test a lower cadence at the same power could produce a higher heart rate.

Interesting observation...I wonder if this is typical? Perhaps cadences that low are just very inefficient. The HR curve for any given power level must be somewhat inverse bell shaped, with the tippy end suggesting the most efficient cadence for a given cyclist. If GCN Does Science ever did: a, useful tests; and b, actually scientifically sound tests, this would be an interesting one to see some results on.

I will say that a day after my low cadence intervals, my feet hurt like hell. I was in my trainers that are somewhat old and lack proper arch support so that's on me I guess. Time to get some new gym shoes.

 

[Touring Mars]

The Men's Road Race in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics took place this morning in and around the Fuji International Speedway Circuit and it was a brilliant race, lasting just over 6 hours.

Results/medals:

🥇 Richard Carapaz (ECU)
🥈 Wout Van Aert (BEL)
🥉 Tadej Pogacar (SLO)

 

[girabyt3]

Dang it... I wanted us to win...

 

[Shaun]

The Men's Road Race in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics took place this morning in and around the Fuji International Speedway Circuit and it was a brilliant race, lasting just over 6 hours.

Results/medals:

🥇 Richard Carapaz (ECU)
🥈 Wout Van Aert (BEL)
🥉 Tadej Pogacar (SLO)

Yeah great race, because we are currently in lockdown I had nothing else to do so watched the whole lot. . 😆

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

The Men's Road Race in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics took place this morning in and around the Fuji International Speedway Circuit and it was a brilliant race, lasting just over 6 hours.

Results/medals:

🥇 Richard Carapaz (ECU)
🥈 Wout Van Aert (BEL)
🥉 Tadej Pogacar (SLO)

Ah I missed it. I watched the highlights, but it didn't really explain how Carapaz got such a big gap on the main group. What happened?

That Van Aert vs Pogacar sprint was mega. Pogacar has got some serious sprint chops to keep up with and nearly pass WVA.

 

[Shaun]

Ah I missed it. I watched the highlights, but it didn't really explain how Carapaz got such a big gap on the main group. What happened?

He and the American (forgot his name) guy went off the front with about 12km to go from memory. The group looked to think they had it covered. He then rode away from the American on a slight incline on the circuit and never looked back. Just too strong.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Relatively unknown Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer solo'd to victory at the women's road race because the Dutch Team (heavily favored) didn't realize she was out front. Oops.

 

[girabyt3]

The olympics' trails look so gnarly ♥

 

[Shaun]

It's been an interesting week of cycling for me. It's been windy as hell, so much so that I normally wouldn't ride in at as the wind is my least favorite adverse weather condition.

Anyway we went into a two week snap lockdown (thankfully over now) but one of the reasons allowed to go outside was exercise within a 5km limit of home for a maximum of 2 hours.

On the windiest day the winds were 40km/h gusting up to about 55km/h. My preference when it's that windy is to keep the crosswind riding to a minimum so it was mostly head/tailwinds for the ride.

On the headwind sections I was in the 36/23 combo at 90rpm, 200 watts for about a speed of 16km/h.
The tailwinds on the other hand was 52/11 combo at 90rpm, 150 watts for about 56km/h.

Managed to still get about 275km for the previous 5 days so pretty happy with that.

Still hate the wind though. 💩

 

[TB]

Managed to still get about 275km for the previous 5 days so pretty happy with that.

Without leaving a 5km circle? That is impressive enough!

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Without leaving a 5km circle? That is impressive enough!

There's a cul-de-sac like little neighborhood near where I live that has an almost exact 1 mile loop with basically zero traffic, good pavement, and no 4-way intersections. I've done well over 100 miles of riding in that neighborhood.

 

[Shaun]

Without leaving a 5km circle? That is impressive enough!

Yep know every pebble on the roads.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Yep know every pebble on the roads.

On the subject of riding great distances in small geographies, how common are velodromes in Australia? There are, as far as I can tell, four in the entire state of California. So that'll be 10 million people per track then. (SF does have a neat little flat track in golden gate park)

 

[Shaun]

On the subject of riding great distances in small geographies, how common are velodromes in Australia? There are, as far as I can tell, four in the entire state of California. So that'll be 10 million people per track then. (SF does have a neat little flat track in golden gate park)

I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head just in Melbourne and the surrounding areas.

Track cycling is pretty popular here, Australia's past success rate at the Olympics for a country with our population proves that.
Having easy public access to velodromes and crit tracks goes a long way towards that.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head just in Melbourne and the surrounding areas.

Track cycling is pretty popular here, Australia's past success rate at the Olympics for a country with our population proves that.
Having easy public access to velodromes and crit tracks goes a long way towards that.

Track cycling seems to be a totally foreign concept in the US.

Crit racing, though, is starting to gain traction on the west coast, mostly on the incredibly charismatic shoulders of Justin Williams. I could see a uniquely American, gritty & urban version of bike racing taking off here that may not be all that compatible with the "continental" version of the sport. At the same time, I would love to see Justin Williams in a sprint with Europe's best. I could see Peter Sagan signing up for a California style crit race, but I'm not sure about anyone else in the pro ranks.

 

[W3H5]

The Red Hook Crit has been a staple of many pro race team calendars for some years now. Although it’s now international but has its roots in the States.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I really wanted to watch the TT, but the whole Olympics watching thing is a total mess, at least here in the US. Even with Peacock Premium, I was only able to watch Men's basketball. 🙄 I also find the Olympics website itself to be pretty poorly designed.

In any case, very well done Primoz Roglic...that was quite a performance and I'm sure it will be a huge boost to his morale after a tough couple TDFs.

 

[girabyt3]

Guys, one question??

I want to swap my current CST 29x2.1 tires to some Skinwalls (Either Maxxis or Vittorias). I know the models (like Mazzos or Ardents, Minions, and Ikons) but I don't the width the frame can allow...

I know there are Minions 29x2.5, but those seem too wide. 2.30 seem good but I found 2..40 Ardent Race... Which width do you guys think would work?? 😊

I know threads play a huge roll in the tire width... Hence I'm open to low threads/wide width 👍

Yes, I know my wheel looks decentered too... That's because of the brake...

---

Oh yes... I swapped my pedals to some awesome silver Xions 3-bearings ❤️... Man, talking about grip! 😁

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Wow, Neilson Powless won the San Sebastian Classic...first pro victory for the young American. For those who don't know, he's Oneida Native American, making him perhaps the first native American to win at the continental level.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Looks like Tadej Pogacar will not contest the Vuelta after all. That's a shame...really was hoping to see him Bernal and Roglic battle it out as they seem to be all in good form at the moment, which I don't believe has happened before. (Bernal was technically competing in the TDF 2020, but he was obviously dealing with a lot of health issues in that race and had to drop out)

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

The Hope Lotus Track bike is quite something.

I would love to ride one just to feel the aero.

 

[girabyt3]

Writing to Mongoose love, threat and request letters to come officially to Peru as we speak ♥... I need this in my life ♥