Thanks for this video.
It reinforces the concept behind this pedal:
https://pedalinginnovations.com/
I switched over to this pedal in 2019 for use in ultras. I find it just as effective as cleats.
Any cyclists here?
- Thread starter Keith_W
- Start date
It reinforces the concept behind this pedal:
https://pedalinginnovations.com/
I switched over to this pedal in 2019 for use in ultras. I find it just as effective as cleats.
Here's a few shots from this Fall, near Minturn, CO. The 2nd shot is an automatically processed shot. All taken on My Samsung S21.
At 58 and still with a penchant for very technical trail riding, falling down holds decidedly less appeal these days. I equip myself with the best tools for the job these days in order to minimize the risk and likelihood of falls, while still doing the same sort of MTB riding I was doing 25 years earlier. Yet even with those precautions, sh*t happens...
Three weeks ago I had an awkward slow speed front wheel washout and fall after approaching a frost-slicked log-over at too much of an angle. As my forearms and chest hit the ground withought incident during the fall I thought I was gonna be fine, but then my left quadriceps muscle thumped down onto a large pointy rock.The bone-deep bruise and softball sized knot of inflammation is only just beginning to ease up now, but the injured muscle still won't allow enough range of motion to pedal comfortably. It will likely be a full month before I can get back on my bike.
The moral of my reply @rando is that while I still take risks, I manage those risks and I don't take "Johnny Knoxville-dumb" risks.
Best wishes for a full recovery! Almost 2 years ago I had a bad crash, broke the glenoid in my right shoulder and injured my quad. I thought my quad would be fine but later that evening it got more and more painful, and I went to the ER as it fit the description of compartment syndrome. At the ER they rushed me in and started prepping for emergency surgery, sent me for a CT scan and decided surgery wouldn't be necessary. If the leg swells up and becomes very hard then surgery is needed but luckily the bleeding wasn't that bad. But it took 3 weeks for the quad to fire again and a full year for it to regain normal strength.
Injuries suck and it's hard to recover mentally as well as physically:
I've watched his vids occasionally to see if he's made any progress overcoming his crippling fear and anxiety, I don't think he ever did and this is why he doesn't enjoy riding. In all the years he was making YT vids he's really never progressed beyond being a below-average rider, and you can see the fear infecting his riding in many of his vids.
I think everyone, especially after an injury, has these mental issues but I also think overcoming them is an important skill in life. Trauma is only traumatic because we perceive it as an affront to our ego. But, it's also an opportunity to better ourselves. If we don't create these opportunities then life will provide them for us, like it or not. Riding a mtb is a blessing, and it's too bad he doesn't recognize it as such but otoh who's to say what's right for him but himself. If mtb was too much there will be other opportunities and maybe he'll find something that fits better with where he's at right now.
Yup that first month post-op really sucks! The doc explained it as you having functionally had an amputation insofar as the bones and the trauma to the surrounding tissue goes.
By the 6th month the day-to-day discomfort is gone. The absence of the gnawing arthritis pain and limp associated with it is liberating! However you remain very much aware of the alien feeling mechanical nature of the new knee until the surrounding muscle tissue fully heals and the bulbous inflamation disappears to leave your knee looking more like a normal knee. That was around a year post-op for me.
Many years back I decided I really needed to improve my hill climbing. I am a reasonably sized guy at 6ft 2in, 200 pound so of course I was getting smoked by the smaller “bird body“ cyclists on the hills. For training, besides all the other endurance type of work, and work on the bike, I did a lot of explosive lunges straight up, launching a heavy ball into the air as fast and as hard as I could from a deep squat position. A couple sets of those, with a 15lb heavyball, several times per week had a huge impact on my power output. The bird body guys still beat me to the top, but sitting round having a brew afterwards I was complaining my climbing still needed work some of the smaller guys complimented me saying I kept them in the pain cave and they were amazed a big guy climbed so well.
Now to get back to that for next season! Ugh! Turned 65 a couple months back, but retiring soon (other than my current gig hosting auditions in the music room), so perhaps see if I can’t best my prior time up Hurricane Ridge.
I’m so envious of your Colorado autumn cycling. Spectacular place to be on the trails!
Yeah, I've seen best gains from that type of workout as well. I think lifting heavy (5 rep range) is also good to improve overall strength but high reps and explosive leg work is best for climbing. For that I generally do body weight Bulgarian split squats, but adding a jump at the top. I'm 6ft / 200 lbs, at ~16% body fat I could afford to lose a little weight too, lol.
I am very glad you are well again. Count your blessings and be happy you missed that one. A fasciotomy is NOT fun.
Thanks for the beautiful pics!
That is an amazing story. Glad to hear you are back in action.
And to think I "didn't feel like going on a bike today...". Gives a perspective.
Keep it up!
Yeah, no doubt. Surgeon said they would have operated on me in the past but said it doesn't seem to help and is a "bloody mess", it's better to let it heal on it's own if the bleeding and pressure aren't too bad. It was very strange not having a working quad muscle for a few weeks. Definitely a fairly painful injury.
The broken glenoid turned out to be very lucky too, I needed shoulder surgery for a couple minor issues and had put it off for too long, so while the glenoid was put back together they fixed the other issues. I just had to wait 4 weeks for the surgery due to covid, that was the worst part!
UPDATE ON TIRE WIDTH
After looking at some videos of bikes being used at TDF 2023. It does appear that tire width is creeping up.Empirically about as much as 25mm front and as high as 28mm rear. (tire width was measured with a digital caliper.) There could be any number of reasons. It could range from :That's what the sponsor gave them . They are more reliable against puncture. Better able to go tubeless. Better traction. Speed is everything. They bikes are definitely not slower. There were no discussion on the relative speed. Moreover, any speed could be overcome by other significant advances. Gravity and wind remain the major obstacles.
After looking at some videos of bikes being used at TDF 2023. It does appear that tire width is creeping up.Empirically about as much as 25mm front and as high as 28mm rear. (tire width was measured with a digital caliper.) There could be any number of reasons. It could range from :That's what the sponsor gave them . They are more reliable against puncture. Better able to go tubeless. Better traction. Speed is everything. They bikes are definitely not slower. There were no discussion on the relative speed. Moreover, any speed could be overcome by other significant advances. Gravity and wind remain the major obstacles.
Think it's been a fair while since the Pros have ridden less than 25mm, the majority are now 28mm and tubeless. Better rolling resistance and more aero on the wider rims more favoured these days. Even in MTB it appears the XC racers are going larger, Nino has been on 2.4s for the most part. Again, counterintuitively they role better over non smooth surfaces.
I finally pulled the plug on old school. Had been ridding a Cannondale SS Black Inc that at one stage was under 6kg, these days with with deeper wheels and power meter more like 6.2kg, still very light. Tires, 25mm tubular run at circa 100psi. The bike's comfortable and fast and a whippet on the hills. Been riding it since early 2016 and got close to 20k summer miles. Love it
Roll on spring this year. The SS has done a lot of miles, couple of big events coming up, time to check out a more modern design. I notice weight when climbing so looked for a lighter aero design and came down to a choice between Factor Ostro Vam or Canyon Aeroad CFR of those that were going to be available in the Spring. It was a tough call, the Factor a little lighter but not as aero, the Canyon more Aero, a touch heavier but a really nice set of Zipp NSW454 wheels. In the end I went for the Canyon on the basis I'd keep the lightweight SS for the hills and long days in the saddle.
Preconception - the Aeroad with it's higher weight and fatter tubes would feel dulled and less explosive accelerating, relatively uncomfortable on longer rides but would hold higher speeds for less watts. Exactly what's required for a couple of 100m, 25mph+ road races due this year.
The reality. New bike is a different ballgame, it feels faster, much faster, far more comfortable and no penalty on the climbs. Seems to be stiffer which offsets any weight penalty. I've a couple of local test routes to check fitness, the new bike is going around those 1-2mph faster! Where I'd manage 20+ mph over 50m in lumpy terrain on the CFR it's now 21.5 - 22, remarkable! Might not sound like much but increasing an average over that distance by only 0.5mph is a significant effort. The wheels are hookless, set up tubeless with max tire pressure of 75psi. Guess that's where the comfort comes from and the Conti GP5000s TR tires roll superbly. First time on Conti and very impressed
I'll keep the SS but it'll be for old times sake and the odd spin. The new modern aero machine beats it hands down in every department. Very surprised
There must be more at play. The laws of physics dictates greater width means increased surface area. That means greater rolling resistance. 28mm is not common In this years' TDF. A few rear tires went to 28mm. That vas considered extreme. Of course, I am talking about the TDF. There are a lot of pros out there. I have no idea what they are doing. All things being equal those European roads require a hefty tire. I can't imagine riding a 23mm over the pave'(cobblestones). An untimely puncture can ruin your race.
Studies show a wider (to a point) tire on a wide(r) rim creates a shorter, wider contact patch (rather than long and narrow) which requires less force to roll. Higher pressure in tires is great on a perfect surface, in the real world, studies also show that lower tire pressures, again up to a point, roll over imperfect surfaces with less force required.
The trend toward wider rims that allow air to flow better means a wider tire is usually required so there's less bump in the airflow where the tire meets the rim. The Zipp wheels are 28mm outside diameter therefore a 28mm tire (real width) will usually offer best airflow.
28mm seems to be a bit of a sweet spot for aero vs weight
Yeah I know. But where the rubber meets the road proving skinnier tires have less rolling resistance is trivial. Not to mention less pressure means tires defelct under load (downward pedal stroke).. My videos and some of those studies have already been discussed here. For me thinner tires with high pressure yields the most speed.
That being said you can't argue with science or the pros.
That being said you can't argue with science or the pros.
Yes, agree it's hard to get one's head around, one of the reasons I held off so long. Can't argue with the fact that I'm a lot faster, really substantially so, despite not being at peak fitness on the new bike, a clutch of KOMs to prove it
It's not just down to a slipperier frame, I'd guess the tire/wheel combo have a good deal to do with it. Nino Schurter was one of the hold outs both in terms of 29r wheel size and then fatter tires on an XC race bike. Even he now rides Maxxis Aspen in a 29 x 2.4, they're fast. In MTB within their brand loyalty they can go with what they want, much more freedom than on the road. Remember a few years back he did a lot of testing ending up on the 2.4s as the fastest compromise, big surprise at the time as a 2.4 was getting into fatbike territory!
Wider tires can have a smaller contact patch. Wider, but not as long. So if properly inflated, they can have a lower rolling resistance.
Something to keep in mind about tire pressure- narrower tires require greater pressure to avoid pinch flats. A rougher ride results: energy is being used to lift the bike and rider into the air rather than forward. With a wider tire a lower pressure can be used so less energy is expended lifting the bike into the air with each little bump. More energy is thus used to make the bike go forward. When you ride a wider tire, it might seem at first that its slower since its so much more comfortable. Timing a known route reveals the truth of the matter. One thing not mentioned is how important it is to be more comfortable- you can ride faster for a longer period of time!
Because the front tire carries less weight, it should be inflated to a lower pressure than the rear.
Figuring out the right pressure is the tricky bit. The better the pavement, the higher the pressure you can run. The heavier the rider and associated gear you're carrying, the higher the pressure you need to run. It takes some fiddling to sort out what is right.
"Wider tires can have a smaller contact patch. Wider, but not as long. So if properly inflated, they can have a lower rolling resistance."
Raph [text omitted]
Interesting. The video I posted clearly demonstrated the narrower tires were faster. Same bike, rider, distance and conditions. I saw one video where the other suggested the contact patch surface area remains constant even if you change the other dimensions.
Hopefully there will be another video of the time trial bikes where everything counts.
I'll keep looking for a comparison of the time trial bikes.
Raph [text omitted]
Interesting. The video I posted clearly demonstrated the narrower tires were faster. Same bike, rider, distance and conditions. I saw one video where the other suggested the contact patch surface area remains constant even if you change the other dimensions.
Hopefully there will be another video of the time trial bikes where everything counts.
I'll keep looking for a comparison of the time trial bikes.
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