Why do so many people not change gear?
Discussion
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!
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!
They're morons.
And, like most people on the roads, have no ability to anticipate the blindingly obvious.
I share your observations but would add a huge number of people who decide to change down on the off.
This causes horrendous grinding and mashing as they put their full force through the chainset as they start up.
Despite the 107 lights on every commute they do, they never learn.
I guess somebody has to keep the LBSs in business replacing chains and cassettes etc...
ETA: it's fine if you have made a deliberate decision to do it. I am talking about the planks who start to pedal and appear entirely surprised that it's really hard; like, much harder than when they were braking and free-wheeling just before the lights. How weird.
And, like most people on the roads, have no ability to anticipate the blindingly obvious.
I share your observations but would add a huge number of people who decide to change down on the off.
This causes horrendous grinding and mashing as they put their full force through the chainset as they start up.
Despite the 107 lights on every commute they do, they never learn.
I guess somebody has to keep the LBSs in business replacing chains and cassettes etc...
ETA: it's fine if you have made a deliberate decision to do it. I am talking about the planks who start to pedal and appear entirely surprised that it's really hard; like, much harder than when they were braking and free-wheeling just before the lights. How weird.
Edited by walm on Friday 8th July 17:29
"inferior weight". Love it, you lard arse!
I have 20 gears, and in London I use one (50x15, unless I'll ill with severe man-flu. Then, after having used my powerful build to kill the doctors who are trying to confine me to hospital, I will get on my bike and move the chain one sprocket to the left).
Mainly I use one because (a) I don't need to use a lower gear to pull away fast, and (b) because I'm lazy (c) because London is basically pancake flat. I find that if I want to hold someone who is pulling away in 39x19, I have to give it some track-start-stylee gas off the line, but then after 20 or 30 metres it's all over as they fumble with their gears and I wind it up.
I'm fecking ace, me, btw.
I have 20 gears, and in London I use one (50x15, unless I'll ill with severe man-flu. Then, after having used my powerful build to kill the doctors who are trying to confine me to hospital, I will get on my bike and move the chain one sprocket to the left).
Mainly I use one because (a) I don't need to use a lower gear to pull away fast, and (b) because I'm lazy (c) because London is basically pancake flat. I find that if I want to hold someone who is pulling away in 39x19, I have to give it some track-start-stylee gas off the line, but then after 20 or 30 metres it's all over as they fumble with their gears and I wind it up.
I'm fecking ace, me, btw.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th July 17:32
walm said:
They're morons.
And, like most people on the roads, have no ability to anticipate the blindingly obvious.
I share your observations but would add a huge number of people who decide to change down on the off.
This causes horrendous grinding and mashing as they put their full force through the chainset as they start up.
Despite the 107 lights on every commute they do, they never learn.
I guess somebody has to keep the LBSs in business replacing chains and cassettes etc...
In fact, you will wear out a chain and cassette far more quickly by riding with a crossed chain (big ring + blunt end of the cassette or small ring + pointy end of the cassette) or not lubing it than you will by running s straight chain. And, like most people on the roads, have no ability to anticipate the blindingly obvious.
I share your observations but would add a huge number of people who decide to change down on the off.
This causes horrendous grinding and mashing as they put their full force through the chainset as they start up.
Despite the 107 lights on every commute they do, they never learn.
I guess somebody has to keep the LBSs in business replacing chains and cassettes etc...
But hey, ignore me. I'm a moron.
Sooner or later though I'll get to a set of green lights that will change to red before Mr. All-the-gears gets there, and then I'm gone - adios, vamoose, sayonara, gear-user-loser!
Christ Greg 50:15 is MASSIVE!
What sort of speed to you cruise at???!!
I run on 48:16 and even that feels like I am spinning way too slow on cruise.
Starting up from the lights I have to give it some serious beans to get up to speed with any alacrity.
Ben - on the wearing down of the dura-ace surely it is better to use MORE gears since more time on one sprocket will wear it down far faster than the others and you have to replace a cassette all at once... no?
What sort of speed to you cruise at???!!
I run on 48:16 and even that feels like I am spinning way too slow on cruise.
Starting up from the lights I have to give it some serious beans to get up to speed with any alacrity.
Ben - on the wearing down of the dura-ace surely it is better to use MORE gears since more time on one sprocket will wear it down far faster than the others and you have to replace a cassette all at once... no?
walm said:
Christ Greg 50:15 is MASSIVE!
What sort of speed to you cruise at???!!
I run on 48:16 and even that feels like I am spinning way too slow on cruise.
Starting up from the lights I have to give it some serious beans to get up to speed with any alacrity.
Ben - on the wearing down of the dura-ace surely it is better to use MORE gears since more time on one sprocket will wear it down far faster than the others and you have to replace a cassette all at once... no?
Ahem <blushes>What sort of speed to you cruise at???!!
I run on 48:16 and even that feels like I am spinning way too slow on cruise.
Starting up from the lights I have to give it some serious beans to get up to speed with any alacrity.
Ben - on the wearing down of the dura-ace surely it is better to use MORE gears since more time on one sprocket will wear it down far faster than the others and you have to replace a cassette all at once... no?
I usually wind it up to 38-42kmh and hold that. Obv I use continental kmh because the numbers are all bigger. But in old money, I tend to wind it up to around 25mph and sit there for commuting. Some days the legs feel a bit stronger, and it will be 42-44 kmh. There's a fair bit more in the tank if anyone tries to come past and accidentally calls my bidon a poof.
On a longer (2+hour) ride outside London I aim for an average of 20mph/32kmh.
When I were a lad, I used to roll around on 53/15... Those were the days!
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?
walm said:
I have just done the math.
Assuming you are on 23s and cruising at 25mph (old school) then I think that's about 95rpm on the cadence.
F#ck.
I feel like a hero if I can keep much above 80 for commuting... if I break 100 I feel like I am about to take off and people look at me funny.
But a lot of it is technique. Once you wind it up, it's all about using as little effort per revolution of the pedal to maintain that cadence and speed. Which comes down to timing. Assuming you are on 23s and cruising at 25mph (old school) then I think that's about 95rpm on the cadence.
F#ck.
I feel like a hero if I can keep much above 80 for commuting... if I break 100 I feel like I am about to take off and people look at me funny.
Old skool training is to ride in the 39 all winter long around 100 rpm to train the muscle memory in your legs to be efficient at at cadence. Then come late winter early spring, you wind up a gear at a time, maintaining the cadence.
Unless you were Sean Yates, you reckoned using the 39 would rob his of his power, leaving him weak like a jellyfish in the spring. He had (so the story goes) two training tempos: 'ard and feckin' 'ard.
I start bobbing around 120-125 rpm. One of my mates can hold 160 rpm though and not look like he is about to explode. It's quite a sight.
Iceman82 said:
Off topic a little but could someone point me to a decent guide regarding gears on a roadbike. I am a total newbie and whilst I understand the need for gears some assistance on things such as 50x15, big ring etc would be useful!!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/If you read some/most/all of that site you will know more than 99% of cyclists.
50 = number of teeth on the big ring (which is the largest of the 2 or 3 cogs you have on the front, you know, the ones the pedal attaches to).
15 = number of teeth on the cog at the back attached to the rear wheel.
To be honest on my roadie I have no idea how many teeth the rear cog has at any given time.
I only know I am on 48:16 because it's a fixed wheel and you order those parts individually.
Iceman82 said:
Off topic a little but could someone point me to a decent guide regarding gears on a roadbike. I am a total newbie and whilst I understand the need for gears some assistance on things such as 50x15, big ring etc would be useful!!
At the front: standard gearing these days is 53 teeth on the outer ring, 39 on the inner. Compact gearing is 50 teeth on the outer ring, 34 or 36 on the inner. At the rear: an all round 10 speed cassette is 12-25. The number of teeth on each sprocket in the cassette goes 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25. A racing cassette is 11-21 (one extra per sprocket); a tourer might look for a 13-26 or 13-29.
So 50x15 is big compact ring at the front plus fourth from bottom at the back on a 12-25 cassette.
Compact gearing is useful for hills and old farts (like me). Sheldonbrown.com has a gear inch calculator where you can wile away the winter evenings working out how tough any front/rear combo is compared to another.
Kermit power said:
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?
I do prefer it though, not sure why. Stand up to get the pace up then settle in as you were.
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