London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

It does sound like you need a week off riding rpm

I guess it's difficult though if you need to ride for work, maybe try to maximize your recovery for a week ? Stay in and relax after work, early nights, no beer etc, no racing or specific training

a race massage helps to restore the body too- the process is tear and repair, and can be a cause of the right foot problem, something's torn and not gone back as should.

What gear do you all commute on ?

From last winter I started riding a 71" on my commuter, and I like to think it's improved my pedaling and leg strength. Certainly seems easier to get on top of my track gear (90") this year, and I'm much more fluid with my pedaling.

Now the track season has started is there any benefit in upping my commute gear ? (76 or 81"). I normally get in a few sprints, some downhill max revs and seated uphill strength efforts on my commute

I've been using 69-70 for a couple of years now, don't like much over 71 on 165 cranks for the road because it gets tedious grinding into the wind or doing lots of stop/start.

means you get to spin a lot if you ride with gearies!

hitting around 180rpm max at the moment, (though I've only had a computer for a week and only tried a sprint once) I'd like to be able to hit 200 on the road, if possible

Tried a 81" on the road for some intervals today. While it had the desired effect for the intervals, it felt horrible warming up and down. Back to 71" methinks for commuting.

Keep meaning to buy a cheapo computer for my commuter, be interesting to work out what revs i'm doing

yeah best to use a flip flop and change to the heavier gear once you are warmed up

I've just dropped back down to 69 from 74 on the road.
Even my chunky legs were struggling to maintain a healthy cadence when tired into the wind, hence the drop back to old faithful.

I'm thinking of entering a new era. The era of the 43t chainring. My new do-it-all solution. Typical that the number I painstakingly arrive at appears to be a bit hard to find.

Does anyone know if Gebhardt do a 43t in their 130BCD track line-up? I'll be giving Sonic Cycles a call anyway, but someone might be able to put my mind at rest...

I've got a 43T here. As usual, I'm ahead of the curve*.

*pre-emtive "shutup bmmf" for the fat joke you'll write now ;)

I know I can get 3/32" 7075 T6 jobbies by Stronglight or TA (not much between them I suppose), but I'd prefer 1/8".

Are you saying your 43t is a 1/8" Gebhardt?

Nope. It's a Sugino and it's 144bcd so no good for you.. unless you buy the cranks off me to suit :)

Well fuck off then.

You think it's that easy? Ha!

You appear to have forgotten the pre-emptive 'shut up, Oliver' for the inevitable spelling correction that was always going to come from me. ;)

I'm getting wors and wors wiv my spelling these days.

Old age? Lack of care? Doing too many things at once? What do you reckon it might be?

Unconscious desire for cruel punishment?

Fuck it, I think I'll just order a 44t and be done with it. Right at the shortest extreme of my track-ends though; bit of a kerfuffle getting the chain off when removing the wheel...

Interesting, eh.

but the 43 gives you that elusive 89 GI

with all the bravado surrounding 90, and the understated popularity of 88, it might just be what you need to win

I think I'll leave my 90 on for track league tomorrow, if its not too windy. See what happens. Failing any improvement in performance I'm sure it'll at least make me feel more like a man.

I'm a bit more focussed on the hillclimbing end of the 44t's potential. Track's are for training on.

My gearing yesterday, 48x14 gave me 90 GI and it was the nicest gear I had ridden at HH thus far.

92.

47x14 is 90

ohh your arcane measurements! Means I was on 94.5 before I changed. No wonder I sometimes struggled in the wind

Old school! My 90 = 50x15

47x14 FTSP*

*For the second place, I'm always happy with second so shut up.

After getting some advice from Lee, my gym does not have a trap bar to do t bar deadlifts.

Any one else do anything another way? I was thinking that I could use the large dumbbells instead to get a similar effect? Think me gym has 45kg so that would give me a 90kg deadlift in pretty much the same form as using a t bar?

Same here. Sheldon reckons I have a 88", while British Cycling reckon I have a 90"

Maybe when refering to gear inches have an AS or BS suffix. 88"AS (After Sheldon) or 90"BS (before Sheldon)

why T-bar d/lifts?

and how can you use the dumbells, even if you hold the bar the same way, there will be half the weight stuck up under your gooch, won't there? I'm trying to visualize how you are gonna do this and failing

You stand inside a trap bar with hands by your side, as though you are holding shopping bags.

Swap shopping bags for dumbells.

oh TRAP bar..

I thought you meant T-bar, power wanks..

couldn't see how those could help!

but yes, see what you mean, yeah I've used lightweight dumbells to do jump squats and deadlifts where you would usually use a trap bar, but you can't get enough load, or the same balance if you really want to go big

I've always used t-bar lifts for upper back, not legs. I think there is some confusion on my part.

Forgot about balance on the trap bar. Oh well.

resurrecting an old thread, but it's winter over here in New Zealand and I need some advice.

I started going to beginner sessions halfway through last season and had an awesome time despite not really knowing what I was doing. Some time passed and I gained some understanding of the different race types and distances. So far my strengths have been in the sprints. I'm looking to expand on this, and so far this winter I have been riding 45 to 70 kms a week (excluding commutes), and attend the gym at least three times a week. I try to get in one day of hill sets a week.

I guess I'm looking for advice in improving my sprint, am I missing any important gym exercises (typically have two days of squats and deadlifts, and a day of chest tri's back etc with a days rest between each). More importantly am I wasting my time in the gym?

Definitely get some overspeed stuff included whilst out on the road - obviously fixed gear is de rigeur for this. Find a route with some descents on which you can uncomfortably sustain a +180rpm descent. Or just find one hill to repeat on.

And make sure your 'one day of hill sets' is being performed in an effective manner.

I'll let the bona fide coaches take over at this point...

Hills (up and down) and plenty of miles in the winter are good. You may want to include something more specific for the hamstrings (straight led deads )and a bench pull type exercise into you workout.

As bmmf said over speed work either on the rollers or down hills is importent as are starts, personally I wouldn't do much hill work and I would limit the road bike work to 2hrs at a time 2-3 times a week. Gym I would do 2 total body sessions a week

cheers

You guys are awesome.

Gizmond I get you on the deadlifts, but for bench pull exercises do you mean things like rows and flys?

Dino are you saying I should cut to two gym sessions a week, mix my days to include full body exercises, or add two days of full body?

also bear in mind the type of racing you are doing. the longer the races, the more endurance training you will need.

Wintergreen, just two gym sessions a week is enough, whole body in each one, mainly legs with one push and one pull upperbody exercise, You only need to be so strong upperbody, too much and its just extra bulk to shift that slows you down.

dulwichrider did you read Wintergreen's first post......

it's the old HH endurance blinkers!

only joking Tom ;)

I'm now retired so am allowed to only see the things I want to see!

Oh dear. Until next season? Or forever!

probably til next season ... I hope!

?!???!!!

That's not enough info.

What's happened? Are you OK?

Oh, I think he's fine really. I heard something about things to arrange for some important future date, change of priority for now, etc.
All good, right Tom?

hey yeah no panic. I always planned to ramp down my training in August so as to focus on new work stuff. I also got engaged a few weeks' back and that's been a little distracting! hope to come down the track a couple of times before end of the season. and maybe Newport again in October?

Sounds good. Is there another Fasttrak coaching session in october?

Oh and congrats on the engagement. Have said in person but would look uncaring if didn't write here :-)

OK, so the way I see it, with a sprint biased for winter training I need to be doing something along the lines of:

per week:
2 weights sessions (atm I am doing 5x5 just above bodyweight squats and deadlifts)
2 road rides (2 hour) but what kind, geared or fixed and hills or not?
2 cadence sessions on rollers? (atm I am doing intervals with a 69" fixed gear on rollers for core stability and leg speed)

I'm sure there's more, but even if I do the rollers after the weights sessions, that's still 4 times a week. Sometimes with work I am lucky to get two training sessions of anything in, if I have a program I will miss things due to work being odd times and short notice (and pretty tiring in itself) At the moment I operate a "grab it when you can" policy (no rude jokes please! ) but still have trouble recovering. My peaks are very short and it seems as soon as I feel strong, fit and fast, a day or two later I am on the downslope which is steep and long then the long drag back up to fitness.
I suppose a turbo would help?

Any thoughts? (cough) Lee (cough) anyone?

Where is your active recovery? It's no wonder you're 'crashing' a few days after a high.

I'd recommend 2 of those types of sessions a week, so that would dictate how you approach e.g. a road ride and a rollers session.

Tom

Being engaged means that you have someone to team up with for the Rolla evening on Friday.

Congratulations.

I try to have a recovery day after each training session/ride/race, but yes I am lacking on recovery rides/roller sessions, they just end up as another training session.

I "should" be doing something now, but I fell asleep sitting in the chair today and woke up 3 hours later, I was so exhausted. Can't face anything but rest.

I am managing only one weights session per week (with a brief spin on rollers afterwards) and one ride/track session at the moment because of work. I can't race on that, but when I do get time for more I find it difficult to get enough food down and have no time for the chores of life!