I don’t make the rules… I just research them! The first rule from Lost art of the group ride
“To ride for months each year in the small ring.”
Wow! Really? Yes! The SMALL ring??
But... Why is this a rule? What is the point? What is the science?
The Point: Well, let’s go back a in time. Remember when Lance was a stage winner? A world champ (1993)? Maybe not, but that was YEARS before 1999 and the first Tour win. He was an accomplished cyclist. Pushing generally big gears. Very strong. Great on shorter climbs. Terrible time trialist. Not so good a extended climbs either. Then the cancer and the whole body change thing happened. But more important, his cadence increased almost 20% in some events later in his career. You think he did could do that by training in the big ring all spring? You think he mashed high wattage potatoes in Spin class in the winter? No way. Lance became better in all areas of cycling by becoming more efficient and more durable.
The Science: Spinning faster lowers required torque. The formula for torque in lbs/ft is
T = 5252 x HP
rpm
5252 is a constant derived from the stated force of one horsepower and ½ Pi. With this formula, you can see how, all else being constant, a higher RPM means less torque. The basic torque calculation is the same as for Work. Work = Force x Distance. Sooooo… less Torque means less Work. Are you starting to get the picture? If you use the right gear often enough you work less and increase your time until fatigue. You now have more endurance. End of the engineering story!
What else? Well… this rule is NOT saying you should avoid using the big ring. Choosing the right gear, especially in groups, is the more appropriate message. It is saying that spinning, in any gear will make you smoother. Less surging. More consistent effort on hills. This makes you easier to ride with in groups.
So what is the downside? There is one. You still need to build strength. Big gears do that... not small ones. But hold on there… the place to mash is not in a group ride pack or a pace line. Before you know it you’ll have everyone yo-yo-ing or you will demolish the pack. Not good. Mashing is for your solo rides. You do ride solo, right? Better yet… weights and weight machines help. And a recent issue of Bicycling magazine concurs. If you want strength, leg extension machines work great.
Meanwhile... when riding in your groups... keep it smoooooooooth. : )
