Cycling in wind.. which ring?

dannomyte said:

My question is, am I a wimp for dropping out of the big ring? Should I be able to keep trudging along in the 53T ring? How do you PROs handle this?

You should be pushing whatever gear gives you the most comfortable cadence. Grinding along in the big ring going into that kind of wind isn't going to make you any faster. It's just going to beat your knees up.

I hate wind. 😠

dannomyte said:

My question is, am I a wimp for dropping out of the big ring? Should I be able to keep trudging along in the 53T ring? How do you PROs handle this?

Would you ask the same question about climbing a steep hill in a different ring than some other rider? Because wind or hill, all you're talking about is producing a certain number of watts of power with a cadence that's sustainable and comfortable for *you*. Do you think Lance Armstrong used to glance over to Jan Ulrich while going up a HC climb and think to himself "gee, am I a wimp for not mashing a larger gear like the Kaiser?"

Berend

MichaelB said:

I hate wind. 😠

Chew your food more and don't drink when you're eating. That should cure it.😄

dannomyte said:

My question is, am I a wimp for dropping out of the big ring? Should I be able to keep trudging along in the 53T ring? How do you PROs handle this?

It doesn't matter what the pros do in this type of situation. Use a gear that allows you to keep your cadence. Same is true for going up a hill. If your optimum cadence is 80 RPM keep it there. If it is 100 keep it there. Wherever you are producing your best wattage bang for the buck.

dannomyte said:

My question is, am I a wimp for dropping out of the big ring? Should I be able to keep trudging along in the 53T ring? How do you PROs handle this?

It's totally determined by speed. At 27kph I'd probably be riding in the small ring.

Now, a Pro would probably handle the situation by riding much faster under those same conditions, and would therefore be using the big ring instead. 😉

You should try our afternoon sea breeze, 30knots, I have used the 30t chainring into that! :eek:

squidwranglr said:

Would you ask the same question about climbing a steep hill in a different ring than some other rider? Because wind or hill, all you're talking about is producing a certain number of watts of power with a cadence that's sustainable and comfortable for *you*. Do you think Lance Armstrong used to glance over to Jan Ulrich while going up a HC climb and think to himself "gee, am I a wimp for not mashing a larger gear like the Kaiser?"

Berend

I suppose the only diference with hills and wind would be the length of the hill, and then the question becomes "do you or don't you want to get out of the saddle?". On a short climb, I would opt for using larger ring, but may get out of saddle to increase power and keep cadence. On a longer gentler climb, I would probably consider dropping to the small ring and stay in the saddle as long as possible.

I guess it really is all about cadence, power, and endurance.

Thanks for all the input folks

dannomyte said:

I suppose the only diference with hills and wind would be the length of the hill, and then the question becomes "do you or don't you want to get out of the saddle?". On a short climb, I would opt for using larger ring, but may get out of saddle to increase power and keep cadence. On a longer gentler climb, I would probably consider dropping to the small ring and stay in the saddle as long as possible.

I guess it really is all about cadence, power, and endurance.

Thanks for all the input folks

Approaching long steep climbs here, I usually look up, then go to my granny ring. Not much "consideration" is generally required 🙂

Seriously, believe many recreational riders don't use enough cadence. When I ride with racers and ex-racers, they always seem to be spinning 90-100 rpm, not pushing any big gears. Thing is, when the road turns up, or the pace heats up, their cadence stays the same....they just seem to magically go faster without effort.

Read that Lance used a 39/27 on the TdGeorgia Brasstown Bald (12.8% avg grade for 2.7 miles); and that Tyler Hamilton used a compact to win the Mt. Washington Hillclimb (at an amazing avg speed of nearly 9 mph). Since I don't have a sustained W/kg output anywhere near theirs, it follows I need gears a lot lower to perform best on these kinds of mountains.

Say there Dannomyte, is their any chain overlap problems with your big ring? Like, a significant angle created by the chain from being stretched from one side of the chainring to the opposite side of the cassette? Or am I just used to the big gap of the front chainrings on my triple?

AmpedCycle said:

Say there Dannomyte, is their any chain overlap problems with your big ring? Like, a significant angle created by the chain from being stretched from one side of the chainring to the opposite side of the cassette? Or am I just used to the big gap of the front chainrings on my triple?

G'day AmpedCycle, not sure what you mean by chain overlap, but the rear derailleur doesn't seem to have any problem adjusting for change in chain 'length' regardless of which front ring/ rear sprocket combination I use... even the extremes. I have a 9 speed cassette with Shimano 105 front/ rear derailleurs. I tune it myself and she's a finely oiled machine..

dannomyte said:

I ride in the wide open prairies of Manitoba and have no choice but to have to deal with wind during most of my rides. I have a Guru Flite road bike with 39/53 front ring combination and find that in strong headwinds, I need to drop down to the 39T ring to keep a steady pace.

For example, yesterday I went on a 30km ride (15km out and 15km in), and on the 15 km stretch coming home I had to battle against a 24km/h dead on headwind. I find it easier to locate my maximum power range given the wind resistance using the small ring since the change in gear ratio is less from one gear to the next on the 39T ring. In this case, I was able to keep my pace at 27km/h against a 24km/h wind, for a distance of 15km. Not sure what my cadence was as I don't measure this.

My question is, am I a wimp for dropping out of the big ring? Should I be able to keep trudging along in the 53T ring? How do you PROs handle this?

Other stats for this ride:

On the way out I was able to keep pace at 42km/h all the way. Could have pushed higher but I knew I would have some issues with wind coming home.

Once I was almost back, I sprinted up to 37km/h using the gearing ratio I used to fight the wind.... and then I was pooped!

56t on the front.......no problem