Why do so many people not change gear?

[Kermit power]

My commute to work has lots of traffic lights. I was speaking with another cyclist this morning who rides the same route, but extends it another mile or so into Moorgate, and he has counted 107 sets of lights on his ride home.

Now, on a ride like this, I would've expected most people to adapt their riding style to the ride. I certainly change down from large to front ring on the front when I'm approaching the lights, as this makes it so much easier to get away when they go to green.

Lots of people don't do this though, and I can't understand why not? I know my wife wouldn't, because she doesn't understand how her gears work, but it's Lycra boys riding good bikes who are most noticeable. The process goes something like this...

1. Light goes green and we pedal off.
2. I get well in front of them whilst they slowly build up speed.
3. Their superior fitness and inferior weight means they overtake me.
4. We get to the next set of lights.
5. The process repeats.

This means we're both completing our journey in the same length of time, despite the fact that they're faster and fitter than I am, and will have a higher cruising speed once they reach it. If they changed gear for the lights, then they'd be much faster than me from A to B. I don't understand why they don't change gear!

[Kermit power]

Garlick said:

I usually stay in gear too, a harder pedal from the lights but you pick up the pace soon enough and pass the other chap as he's changing gears

If you've got your geartrain properly set up, then there's no reason you'd be slower through the gears overall, is there?

I've always understood that best practice is to pick your cadence, then vary the gears to keep that cadence across varying terrain?

[Kermit power]

I tried experimenting with higher cadence on the way home this evening. Not accurate, as I've not got a cadence computer yet, but from counting off, I was able to maintain around 90-100rpm for pretty much the whole way home, apart from the hill right near the end which slowed me down, and downhill into Balham, where I'd have frankly been insane to do the sort of speed which would've resulted.

Very interesting! I was definitely running at a far higher heart rate than usual, and breathing a lot harder, but my legs felt like they were putting in less effort. I only used the big ring on the front twice on downhill stretches, as opposed to previously using it all the time on the flat and most light inclines, but still shaved 6 minutes of my previous fastest time home.

I think I shall be doing rather more of this!

[Kermit power]

mchammer89 said:

One of the great things riding fixed does is smooth your pedal stroke to a point where you can maintain very high cadences for quite long periods of time.

Spinning/RPM classes are great for that too.

I did a few at the gym to get my legs used to the idea of cycling again before starting to commute again. When I started, I thought they were insane to suggest riding at peaks of 140-150rpm, but within a few weeks, it wasn't a problem. As a result of this, maintaining 100 rpm on the commute - gearing up hills permitting - is easy, as the technique is just the same.

[Kermit power]

mchammer89 said:

Spin classes use bikes which are similar to standard exercise bikes but like fixed you can't suddenly stop pedalling. The pedals are directly connected to the flywheel which, like riding fixed, means you have to pedal at high cadences quite a bit. This in turn smooths your pedalling stroke and making you a faster and more effecient cyclist. Most gyms should run them.

Exactly. They generally live in a corner of the gym or a separate studio, and will appear on timetables under something like Spin, RPM or Keiser (one of the biggest manufacturers of the bikes).

The classes are usually 45-60 minutes of high intensity. It essentially combines a geared bike with a fixed wheel. The instructor will call out the cadence you should be aiming for, and whether seated or standing, then you just vary the gearing to let you match the cadence, hence why it's useful for getting into higher cadence riding.

[Kermit power]

TonyHetherington said:

Nice one - I've found "group cycle" at my local gym, going to give them a call and find out more.

I'm pretty sure that's what they call it at David Lloyd Hampton. I didn't bother trying it for ages, as I go there sometimes on the way to one of our other offices, and assumed that meant everyone turned up on their own bikes and went out cycling on local roads as a group!

[Kermit power]

I'm finding two really odd things as a result of having upped my cadence over the last week.

Firstly, my ride in used to be around 5-6 minutes faster than my ride home, whereas now they're taking the same time, or the ride home is marginally faster.

Secondly, my legs have been feeling more tired off the bike (I really didn't feel like riding this morning, having accumulated 105 miles so far this week), but once I'm actually on the bike, I don't feel as tired as I was previously by this point in the week.

[Kermit power]

TonyHetherington said:

Just to make sure I understand right - you're all advocating a lower gear but pedalling faster to maintain the same speed?

Correct.

There's an article here which does a decent job of explaining why.

Basically, it's all to do with slow and fast twitch muscle fibres. The former are designed for endurance and burn fat, which we all have plenty of, whereas the latter are designed for explosive short bursts and burn glycogen, which we have a limited supply of.

High cadence uses slow twitch fibres, whereas low cadence uses fast twitch. You'll use the same amount of total energy, as you can't escape the laws of physics, but the difference comes in how long you can sustain the energy spend, and how long it takes you to recover afterwards.

[Kermit power]

TonyHetherington said:

I do find myself on the big ring on the far left at the back though too much :s

Just experiment a bit. You'll find small ring somewhere in the centre-right will give you pretty much the same gearing as big ring and far left, and let's face it - it's always better to be centre right than far left!

[Kermit power]

TonyHetherington said:

I assume it's just practice, but anything on the small ring, even centre right, still feels weird like i'm not doing enough work/speed

I'm still getting used to that too, but it's an illusion. Obviously it depends on what gearing you've got, but if I look at my bike, which has 53/39 tooth front rings and a 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-24 cassette on the rear, then big ring and rear left moves the wheel round 2.21 times for every revolution of the pedals, and small ring front, dead centre rear (39/17) moves the wheel round 2.29 times for every revolution of the pedals.

In other words, the work you put in is almost identical in terms of power and cadence on either of those settings, but the small ring option is much better for the bike, as you're keeping the chain much straighter, which will minimise wear.

TonyHetherington said:

Has been an interesting coupple of days tho! Any more tips? I have more time to shave from my commute

I'm exactly 2 days ahead of you in this whole high cadence commuting lark, so I've pretty much exhausted my knowledge now!