I see the thread is closed and was reading through it and trying to understand it. If not allowed to continue on it, I understand but of ok...
The one point that bothers me, throughout the thread people keep saying it takes very little effort to pedal even in the alps??
First I really can not understand how that can be true, meaning what gear are they riding in?? When I ride up even small hills, I find that even in low gears I feel strain in my legs, even when I gear real low and spin with a higher cadence. Infact I somtimes feel more comfortable going in a higher gear, keeping a good speed and lower cadence. The pros have to be able to spin at the cadence I use for lower gears in a much higher gear...true?? That takes power?? What speed are they going up these hills?? My small 15mph must be a joke for them...they are probably jamming at 20mph or more on a bad day.
I can not see how muscles can not help you ride in higher gears at higher cadences. I mean I can hack squat 18 plates fo 20 reps on a bad day so telling me that it takes little power to spin up hills seems crazy as I ride with a trainer now and find hills on my bike tougher.
I read a few books and yes muscles puts on more weight especially upper body but the real concern should be body fat not your weight unless you are some crazy big body builder. Power has to make a difference...
Comments are appreciated...I am trying to get my max hr higher and see how it can help but without the muscles...I can not see how you can spin fast in those high gears...
The funny thing while riding for years as part of fitness...i want to do my first race next year and I have found that with my trainer bike handling is so much more important that all the spinning and power in the world. Not having to grab break and handling the bike during sprints is so much more important than I ever knew...
-john sirabella