Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 82)

Dirk-

Thanks for the update on your dad. I will continue to keep him in my prayers.

Dina- If I didn't have a regular job and I wasn't sick, I would so go and demo some Felt bikes, sounds like fun and the sho is on the north side of Tally, very close to KArl.

I am still miserable with this stomach bug, which seems to have lots of people droppping like flies around here. I have enough energy to sit and think about doing something and everytime I stand up it hits me how awful I feel. I was supposed to join Karl and Pam at the St. Mark's duathlon this Sunday, but have decided to drop out-- even if I feel decent, I will not have all my strength back.

Dirk, I hope everything goes as well as it could for you and your dad.

Karl, let us know how your duathlon goes!!!  I am especially curious since I want to do my first in May.  I'm curious how your legs feel after the first run.  Your du is going to be a run-bike-run right?

Samantha, yes it is run bike run. It is short  and i'm disappointed in that.  Last year it was 3.1 miles, 18 miles and 3.1 miles.  This year it is 1.8 miles (I've seen both and not sure on the biking, said 27K and 27 miles, probably 27K) then finishes w/ 5k.

This is just a warm up for our 1st tri which is March 30.

I'll let ya'll know.

Simple answer - For the first question, the numbers simply mean how many teeth are on the different rings.

For the second (Pedal stem/arm length), it depends.  This isn't really about speed as much as picking a length that fits you and is comfortable and won't cause injury.

The details:

In the case of the front chain ring, it will usually be something 52-39, or 50-34.  This means that there are 52 teeth on the larger ring and 39 on the small ring.  The 52-39 combo is a very common standard crank, and the 50-34 is the most common "compact" crank.  The reason it's called compact is very geeky and I won't go into it here, but allows for smaller number of teeth on the smaller ring.  There are also triples, which are common on mountain bikes but also can be found on road bikes.  These allow for climbing very steep hills even by "normal" humans, like me.  My road bike has a triple 50-39-30.  (there, I admitted it!).

For the rear cassette, you will usually see something 11-24.  This  means the smallest ring on the rear cassette has 11 teeth and largest ring has 24 teeth.  In the case of the rear ring, for hillier terrain it is better to have more teeth, making it "easier but slower".  A typical cassette for major hills might be 11-27 or 12-28.  Sram even has some 32 tooth cassettes, but these require very special derailleurs for reasons I also won't discuss here.  Contador has used a 32 tooth cassette during the tour, by the way and as a nice bit of trivia.

If someone says they were riding 52-16 gear combination, that means they were on a front ring with 52 teeth and a rear ring with 16 teeth.

The choice of gearing is not really a question of better, but rather picking the right combination for the terrain you are riding and the speed you can produce and the cadence you want to maintain.  In terms of terrain, if you are riding on lots of hills you might want a smaller tooth count in the front and a larger tooth count in the rear.  This would be "slower but easier".  In terms of speed at the same cadence, bigger in the front and smaller in the back at the same cadence means faster, but requires more effort.  Here and here are two super geeky sites to explore the different gearing options and how they affect speed and cadence.

Crank arm length (I think what you mean by pedal stem length) is also a factor in the above geeky links, so you can play with that variable also.  The length affects the gear ratio if you use the same gearing.  Boiled down, the optimal crank arm length is really a function of your inseam length, but is also defined by economics of what is available since we cannot get every conceivable length at a reasonable cost.  Incorrect crank arm length can cause knee pain and other issues. Here's an interesting discussion on crank arm length and how it affects everything.

And yes, I love reading Sheldon Brown.  Sorry if this is a bit more than you wanted, but it can be a little complicated once you get past the first description.

Warren, thanks, that is a lot of info... it was supposed to be simple...lol  I've got to have a degree in geometry, calculus and trig to figure that stuff out...lol  It did help a lot and I appreciate you taking the time to write it out.

When you measure the crank, where do you measure from, end to end or what?

So tell me if I'm wrong, here in FL with just rolling hills but some good one but nothing like TN or Oregon I need a 50 -12?

Again, thanks, that was some interesting info...

The length of the crank should be imprinted on the inside of the crank near the pedal.  Both of my bikes have 170 mm cranks.

My road bike has a compact 50/34.  The cassette (in back) has a 12/27.  Since I have to get a new cassette, I'm going to upgrade to a 12/28.  That's what most people around here run for our big, ugly hills.

My tri bike has an 11/25 cassette.  I can climb some hills with it but it's not pretty.  For really flat courses, I change it to an 11/23.

I hope that helps give you an idea of what you might like.

He went to the doc a week ago because he gets short of breath extremely easily and has been dealing with it a little more frequently than he had been.  They wanted to do a stress test and they got through about half and he couldn't complete it.  Following that the doc decided the heart cath was needed to make checks on his bypass grafts.

The 50% number I used refers to a number that reflect the efficiency of his heart.  His actually isn't as bad as I originally stated after doing a little bit of research myself.  

Basically, the ejection fraction is a term that is used to refer to the amount of volume (blood) the left ventricle of the heart empties following each heart contraction.  Our hearts do not eject 100% of the blood that fill the chambers with every contraction.  A normal 150lb man would expect to have an ejection fraction of about 50-55% but it's not uncommon to have higher values.  It is only after your fraction is below 50% that the docs become concerned.  My dads fraction is about 40% or about a 20% reduction in efficiency.  40% is the typical line at which a person is considered to have an increased risk of life threatening irregular rhythms.

This problem can occur when a persons heart has become weakened due to a heart attack( we are not sure if he's actually had a minor one or not), a problem with the valve in your heart (which he does have a leaking left ventricle) or high blood pressure.

I am absolutely STARVING and you post this?!?!?!?!  What are you doing to me??

I know it was a lot, so I included that first part for the simple answer!

As Tracy says, the crank length should imprinted on the inside somewhere.  To measure, it's from center of the crank bolt to the center of the pedal spindle.

Without any real hills, I would say you're good with a 52-39 and a 11-24 cassette.  In the easiest gears (39-24) you will be going 11.7 mph at 90 rpm, or 7.8 mph 60 rpm.  60 is pretty low, but I bet there aren't any hills you have to slow down to 7.8.

Maybe a little inappropriate but....

  The other day while staring at myself after a swim (I do that a lot) I noticed that I no longer have moobs!  Probably 1st time in 15 years I can say that.  I know it was mostly from the workout and such, but it is still an accomplishment!

......Carry on

that just made me chuckle. Congrats on the accomplishment .

Awesome!  I'm not surprised.  You've been working very hard. 

Hahahaha!!!!  Sorry! 

Drivers around here SUCK!  Yep......another one.  I didn't know him but I'm upset because he was just a 13 year old kid.

I don't know what to say.

I've lived all over the country (west coast, east coast, mid-america).  The drivers around here have their heads up their butts.

I really LOVE my bike trainer and treadmill!

Hilarious! 

All the hard work "appears" to be paying off ehh?  So will you be carrying a mirror around with all the time or just standing in front of one most of the time?

Tracy, sorry, especially a 13 YO.  How sad!

Matt, congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, my tri bike has a 50/34 written on it.

My very starter road bike was not written so I counted 48 on the big front and 32 on the big back.  Does that sound reasonable.  Is that good or bad.  If bad, how expensive would it be to change it out?

Both bikes have a 175 crank (Thanks Tracy for telling me where it was written on there)

HAHAHAHahahahahaha..... I know what an awesome feeling that has to be, so congrats and thanks for sharing.

I hope to have a similar moment in the future, but I realize that the "proof" from growing two babies inside me (not at the same time) may never go away. Considering I am only 5' tall and my hubby is 6'1" meant that I had big babies too, not chunky ones, but they were both long little girls at 21" and 21.5" at birth.

Karl - I'm officially out for the Duathlon. I'm finally able to eat, but still woke up with a cold sweat this morning. This stomach bug is bugger.

I set my alarm for 4:30, thinking I might be able to get a 30 minute session in on the trainer before getting ready for work, but felt awful when I got up. HHmmm... Haven't worked out since Saturday, was hoping to get back on track today, but think my body might need more rest.

Really starting to wonder where my base will be after this bug passes.

Tracy I'm very sorry to hear that and it is no different out here. I get up every morning to take my daughter to work and I feel like I have to take my life into my own hands every morning. I'm so tired of driving with all these reckless a-holes. It's the same story every morning and I have absolutely come to hate driving. I thought it was just here on Long Island but I guess I was wrong. Sorry for the rant it just gets old dealing with this and I hate coming home every morning feeling like I want to just take somebody out.

Matt I almost spit my coffee out when I read this HAHA! But to echo what everyone has already said it is a testament to all the time and effort you've put into doing this. Congrats!

Your 50/34 teeth chainrings indicate that you have what's called a 'compact crank'.  That's certainly what is best for you.  (It's best for almost all triathletes)

So keep that crank.  Since you are in FL, you have less need for a wide gear range.  You won't need very easy gearing since you don't have mountains to climb and you won't need very 'tall' gearing because you also won't have any mountains to ride DOWN.

Your rear cassette has a smallest cog that's probably 12 teeth.  So your hardest gear (50x12) will let you ride far faster than you can typically ride anyway.  While your easiest gear (39x??) will be easier than you probably ever need, with the exception of going in to a stiff Florida headwind maybe.

How many teeth are on your largest rear cog?

Matt, you're awesome dude!  ahahaha....now to the next goal...how to keep your wife off of you so you have time to keep running!!!!

Too much??