I found riding a heavy winter bike with full length mudguards on and long distance rides on Sunday was a helpful , full winter cycling kit, also just ride at a easy pace , being a manual worker ease off properly only do 300 miles a month then slowly build the mileage in the new year come April you get that feel good feeling in your Legs over to your summer bike , which is a lot lighter than the winter bike ,
@@jollygoodveloI'm fairly new to road cycling, do certain size rings come into play using this method or does it not matter? My bike is equipped with 2x9 speed Sora group set. Thanks
I’ve got a cyclocross crankset on my winter bike. Sounds posh but it’s really just two chainrings with fewer teeth than a typical compact. Having a grinder gear well below granny gear is nice for beating uphill in a sleeting gale in December around the mountains of Eryri. You definitely don’t need 52x11 in winter 😂
You have to remember that was with 13T at the back, so 42 x 13, where we now have 36T with a semi-compact chainset, but 11T at the back 36 x 11 is practically exactly the same gear. So no excuse for not being able to do 20mph on the flat!
Always used to go to a low fixed gear, about 62 inches, in the winter. Much better in the wet, frost and snow. Doesn't ruin the gears with grit and salt either. But I guess that's all old fashioned.
The small ring is useful for other things besides off-season riding. One of my bikes has 53/39 chain rings and an 11-21 cassette. At 64, I ride that bike on the small ring quite a lot.
Good idea, haven’t heard this suggestion before. I’ll give I a go this autumn-winter. By the way I can relate readily to your phrase; the hardest part of a winter ride is getting through the front door.😀👍
Great advice 👍 the main thing is as you said is to keep getting out during the winter except in icy weather. Works wonders for overall fitness and its character building 🚴👍 Treat that headwind as a steady gradient hill don't race the hills unless it's on a specific race or event 🚴👍
Actually cycling against the wind especially up hills is crazy good for your fitness levels......last weekend I was speeding home from a Club run and battled the wind up a long climb.....when I got home I was staggered to see on my heart rate monitor watch that my heart rate went up to 181 bpm and i'm 56 !!
I’ve well and truly fell off the cycling train..lost my fitness, put weight on, feel like crap, zero motivation, even in the good weather.. The mere thought of getting back in the saddle has me out of breath.. Last ride I did was 9.5 miles on the flat and I was absolutely shot.. Have to say kudos to you for your continued persistence..
I have come back from the same thing. My advice even though you didn't ask for it: Baby steps and no expectations. Just get outside. Accept your age related performance decline. Ignore the youngsters passing you. It DOES come back; even if slowly. I promise.
I prefer cold weather riding too. It is far easier to layer up and stay warm over sweating it out in the heat and sun. Throw on a ski mask, use some handlebar mittens and go with it.
I've had so many conversations with younger riders over the last 3 years or so about "Zone 2 training" they all seem to go the same way. They "explain" to me (again) what it's all about, and I say "That's just base training" then they follow with "NO because xyx ...etc" and I say "That's still just base training" we go around like this for a while then they walk off. I live in hope that one day one of them will drop the relevant bit of new info that makes it not just base training, but until then IT'S JUST BASE TRAINING 😅😅
@@jollygoodvelo Joking (kind of) aside, I do think the good old base training method is better than Zone 2 for "normal" riders because all those who think they are doing it probably aren't because the way Z2 is prescribed by coaches involves holding a pretty narrow power range for a significant amount of time, and slipping out of that range for more than a few min' wastes your effort and you have to start again. This is near impossible to do in the real world on active roads or twisty, undulating country lanes. And who wants to sit on a turbo for 5 months?
Ah, yes. The newbie who knows more about cycling the someone who's riden for 60+ years. Gotta love that youthful naivete :-) Reminds me of a recent vid on this channel about climbing, and a related story. Moved to a new area and went to the local shop ride to meet people and see where they ride. One ride was up a hill, long but not steep. The gung ho leaders attacked and all the young bucks tried to follow. Within minutes I was out of sight last; I was just spinning away at a sustainable rate. Ten minutes later I passed the first one, then another, then half the bunch. After 30 minutes of climbing I arrived fourth, as the rest struggled in. Another triumph of age and experience over youthful dash. Mind you, I wouldn't mind having a bit of that youthful dash at present!
GCN made a good video about how to identify Zone 2 without a power meter or heart rate monitor. Although I have a pm this helps a lot. Basically it is about how heavy you are breathing and how easily you could talk if you wanted to.
Yep. That's what we did. Stayed in the 42t all winter until the Spring training races started. Some would also remove the rear wheel and derailleurs and run fixed all winter.
24-44 chainrings work great for me! I quit group rides for safety reasons. You can put any cassette on, and still climb reasonably hilly routes. With a 34 tooth cassette even heavily laden.
3x mountain bike crankset would be the next hot tech in cycling if they weren't relics of the past. 24/34 x 26 = 18 gear inches. 44/11 x 26 = 104 gear inches. How much do you have to spend to get that kind of range out of a modern 29er? And people are practically giving them away. Seriously, I just got one free with a Trek Hybrid I bought.
I like the analogy of the scary hard ride before you start . The. Night before a ride I come up with a plan . I wake up have a bite to eat and get ready to go . Hop on the bike and throw out the plan as it became mentally overwhelming. Sometime I throw it out with the trash when I began to ride and thought I just did not have it . The funny thing I might get half way with the new plan and felt pretty good and think to myself I should have stuck with the plan . Most times you can't forecast how your physically or mentally will be before or during a ride . I think the key is not getting locked into any one routine as variety is the spice of life . If you don't have much time or the weather is lacking than a shorter higher intensity ride can be productive. With better weather a longer lower intensity could be more appropriate. I think we get locked into training and that gets scary which you can loose motivation.
Good one! ...about the small ring - as I do gravel in forest I have low gears already - som for me it to choose an easier route. But the the psyko; when I plan a really hard ride - and maybe tell others i will do a 3hrs - its very hard to do it ... its a pressure - but going out without any big ambitions - just to get out is a success - then you can feel good about it and as you get into it you can make it a long good ride. Now I will cycle as much as possible last weeks while its more than 0 and no snow/ice - then there will be som weeks with tread-mill before ski-season.
It's odd how we refer to "on season/off season" ... here in FL USA, October brings the high temperatures down from 99-101F/37C with a Feels like temp of 109F/42-43C ... to a more tolerable 85F/30C! Looking forward for my on season during your off season! LOL. Great video as usual Leonard
In the winter I ride my hardtail. Its smallest chainring is 24 teeth. With 34 teeth in the rear, it feels like I could ride up Big Ben without getting out of the saddle.
Thanks Leonard, never gave much thought of going to the small ring, most if not all my riding has been on the medium ring. At 91, I sure ain't gonna ride any Tour de France events but maybe I can improve just a bit using what you have presented here. By the way, I live in the flat lands of Florida, so no excuses.
Nice video, well done! A big alternative for the winter that wasn't mentioned is using an indoor trainer. That's a whole other world of cycling fitness strategy, but one that should be considered if you have a serious goal for the next season. (BTW, I don't use an indoor trainer. I'd much rather be out, even in miserable weather.)n :)
Yes! It's that (apparent) paradox that training at an easy pace eventually makes everything easier (as long as you commit, put the time in and stay disciplined)
Us old guys…I’m 72….. have to have the discipline to go out all the time all year round. If you lose fitness at my age there is a very good chance you’ll never recover it. My answer is as usual every year…..I go south to Florida for the winter and keep cranking out the miles. That is assuming Florida isn’t under after this hurricane season.
To be honest Leonard it’s been like that most of the year in the West of Scotland. Winter bike full mudguards from Oct to end of April. Some days it’s tough to get yourself out the front door, but once you’ve been out the sense of satisfaction hits you when the Kettle gets switched on 😬
great video! The air is denser in the winter = less speed than in the summer when the air is "lighter". Talking about the small chainring, I am the biggest fan of 1X bikes (I have on 1X fitness hybrid bike, a 2X road bike and a 3X MTB). My canyon pathlite 6 with a 36T chainring and a 10-51T 12 gears cassette is both easy to use for everything and it has a decent speed 'cos of the 10T smallest sprocket. It's more roadie version the Roadlite 6, has a 46T chainring and the same 10-51T 12 gears cassette and it's both a speed demon and can climb faily well
For me there is no “off season” but I must admit recently having an indoor trainer and being able to zwift has its advantages when it is snowy or icy, high winds or torrential rain 😂
I ride a fat bike. When the weather gets bad, I switch from 4.0 tires to 4.8 fully studded ones. I can ride on pure ice without any issues at all. I also switch from a 32 to a 30 chainring. I have a 9-46 cassette so there is no problem.
I'm going to try your suggestion. If it's cold, windy, rainy snowing blizzard in Utah, then I go to the basement and I can still do the same small chain ring technique with the Rouvy system.
I was just reading a 1973 issue of Velonews, an American publication. The article was about riding for conditioning. The author insisted these rides should be 25 miles daily on a fixed gear bike. The fixed gear was very important to building cadence. Zone 2 fixed gear in 1973. Maybe this old guy has a new low tech bike in his future! Enjoying your videos!
@@davidburgess741 I've wanted a track bike forever. Back when I raced I wanted it so that I'd become better at pedaling at higher cadence. Now its because of how clean and purposeful they are.
@@parrisgeorge9708 They're typicaĺly harsh riding, simplest possible machines. Best on flat rural roads. Builds amazing strength uphill and anerobic capacity downhill. One with the machine.
Since I ride a fixie all year I learned this last year as well. The difference is, that I am switching to a bigger cog instead of smaller chain ring. Herr in Germany it can get icy and snowy quite quickly, so that I run spiked tires in Winter, which increases the load on my legs even further.
I raced back in the late 70's early 80's and riding in a small chainrings for the first month or so at the beginning of the year was the way we did it. Bikes had nothing battery operated in those days. It was all by feel. We called it LSD training. This was not the drug. It stood for :Long Slow Distance training. One thing about small chainring riding in those days is the smallest ring on a Campy crank was 42t. Now days with the 36 or 34 small chainrings it can gets a bit spinny. With the 11 & 12 sp cassettes having way larger cogs than the freewheels we used back in the olden days a 50x? or even a 52x? might be a smaller gear than a 42x? was.
Really struggled to keep in Zone 2 when out in the real world so now ride on rollers in garage for better control, and still difficult to keep BPM in range. So now when out I just keep steady / easy gear. Found this worked for me when recovering from Femoral Nerve Injury at start of this year. Thanks for some more interesting info.
Yeah I struggle too (sometimes you need to rush for a green light or passing a stopped bus or other traffic issues, there are climbs etc) but the joy of riding for me is moving, getting from one place to another using only the power of my legs is my reward (it's very personal and that is the cool part, we all love to ride in our own way)
Hi Len. Suppose I am old school 70 now and this has been my way of riding for over 40; years now lol. Come mid October every year then the winter winter bike comes out and I ride predominantly in the small ring or occasional spin in the big ring on flat and warmer rides. Makes me laugh when I see riders in midwinter on expensive bikes no mudguards absolutely covered in muck it's a personal choice but I will carry on as I have done . Enjoyed the video content.
Interesting! - never heard of that before (but then I know nothing about cycling!). Didn't the old guard have harder gear ratios than we have now though? I'm still in the big ring 99% of the time at the moment but I might try it as the winter approaches.
@@GeorgeEvans-lk1wc try using some larger rings in the cassette. Myself I like to have as large cassettes as possible within the limits of what works smooth mecanically.
Back in the seventies, we ( my now wife and I) were taught to pedal at 90 rpm and upwards to improve the speed and stamina. Now, with 69 years, I seldom get past 85 rpm, but I definitely go faster at 80 rpm than I do at 60, even with the same felt effort. I remember the Dane Bjarne Ries, who rattled my chain because his cadence was so slow. I suppose (apart from the epo and steroids) it gave him a psychological advantage. I don't think it helped him go faster.😊
Why all this obsession with reaching for high levels of fitness? If your not planning to ride the Tour De France next year just ride your bike and enjoy being out in the fresh air as often as you can. You'll get fit without even thinking about which gear you're in or what zone you're in!!
Having a good fitness level means you can lose more without it impacting you independence. Have a minimum level required to for example walk up stairs so as you age / if you are unwell for a while then higher base fitness means more you can lose while still making it up stairs
I use a 50-34 chainset now with a 11-30 cassette. I can't go to a 32 tooth cassette because the Dura-Ace rear derailleur isn't compatible. I wanted to go 1X on the front but I need that 34T chainring for climbing because I live where the terrain varies a lot. I even spin out at times with the 50T. I wish I could find one ring to do it all. It makes that Classified Hub really attractive but I can't afford that. I have some really good ASSOS Winter Kit but for the most of my fitness it's going to be done on the indoor trainer.
When i was in my prime 😀 i used to ride 42-53 with a 13-28 black 10 spd NOW i ride 14-29 miche block 11spd with a 39-52 thi im in a much hillier area and have used a 36 inner & 34 too and they're certainly different! tho strangely similar.. 🤔
When I got my first road bike, the shop owner (who was also a bike coach) told me not to use the big ring for about 3 months (it was a compact double). Think that was good advice.
Back in the day that road chainring would surely have been a 39T? I'm on 30/46 for both my winter bike and the gravel bike, coupled with 11-36 it's low enough for most things here in the Cairngorms. If I want a challenging MTB terrain day off road and keeping it Z1/2 I'll take the KTM E-MTB....!!!! But being realistic with myself, it'll be Zwift mainly by the end of the month.... Just so much easier to have that sleeveless base layer, pair of shorts and ankle socks and none of the faff of kitting up wrongly and suffering.... The pain cave is a nicely controlled environment....!!
Always remember that although "back in the day" most people were running standard chain rings and a small block, the "old boys" mid-brag conveniently forget to tell you that block at the back often started at 13 or even 14t, to put that in perspective Merckx's hardest/fastest gear combo was a 53-13. That's slower/easier than the 46-11 combo you have at your disposal !
@@Bikey_McBeardface And at 56 the 46/11 is more than enough for my needs, only got into it briefly coming down the Bealach Na Ba a few months ago lol.... I'd be happier with a 13 or 14 to 36 range !!!
I personally do most of my riding in zone 2 (or even zone 1 if I'm lazy). However, most of my riding is very flat so I am almost always in the big ring even though I have a 53/39, and I still maintain a decent cadence.
Yes I also think that zone 2 is max fatburning zone, but I can burn even more fat in zone 1 because I can ride much longer in zone 1.I also thing less recovery is needed after zone 1 rides, which allows us to hop on the bike already the next day. I usually mix zone 1 and 2, and some days I also throw in the harder zones.
The moment it gets to an hour before dark and I haven't gone riding... My bicycle from the garage starts shouting nasty names at me until I take it riding. There are days when I wish I could take a day off from riding, but my bicycle won't let me.
@@jollygoodvelo I just don't like dealing with my bicycle calling me names all night long. I'm afraid if I buy a new bicycle, that bicycle will call me even worse names, possibly in British English.
Long before the hipsters came and went away again with the fad, winter fixed gear riding made for a fun off-season, rebuilt a resilient base fitness and pushed the legs outside comfortable cadences. Low gears- 42x 16 or 18, no power meters, just ride. Then fly in the spring, and wonder what to do with all the extra gears, and did the hills actually get flattened some?
So i remember most of my club back in the 1990s would ride a single speed with a gear of below 69 inches i used to ride a geared bike but tired not to change gear on the flat to higher than a 52/19 i.e 70 inches.
I always understood that cadence should always be between 90-110 and your gear selection changes to keep your pedaling within what is considered to be this most efficient range. I regularly pass inexperienced cyclist chugging along at 12mph on 53x12 because they think the bigger the gear the faster you go. As for zone 2, i've read few articles recently challenging the value of this. Who knows whats best !! Pogaca apparently only trains in Z2. I believe he has something else in his mussette other than slow-ish training. I am old school and i believe that if you are going to race hard you need to condition mind and body by training hard. You can't expect to race at 30mph if you train at 15mph. That said, October to December, when i was, always the social season. Winter bike, mudguards, fat tyres, lower gears and long, low intensity saturday and sunday rides with cafe stops, mainly to allow the body to recover from the previous 8-9months of hard training and racing.
@@thecodfater3748 there is a well established goldilocks window of pedaling efficiency and I am pretty sure it's 90-110, if the aim is riding faster and efficiently.
@@jollygoodvelo Why would colder temps and rain mean you have to use the small chainring? Not saying you're wrong, and great if it's working for you. All the best.
Isn’t it better to just ride in the high gear increasing the effort per stroke and getting the heart rate rate up quicker to shorten the warm up stage in colder weather..!?, just a question, trying to get my head around this one..!? I find it quicker to warm up especially, up hill in winter. Within about a minute of hard pedal strokes in mid to top gear gets the heart pumping that warm blood around nice n toastie.
@@TheLion-b3h It’s not a bad idea but this is more about how to use a slightly higher cadence and slightly lower gears to build a fitness base over winter rather than building leg strength
I like the essence of the idea, but I believe we should avoid crosschaining. I am on two-by 2x11. I think avoid the three largest cassetterings on the big chainring, and avoid the two smallest casseterings on the small chainring is good. So I will translate Leonards advice to experiment with gearing two gears lighter than usual and rise my cadence. I have great gear-range, my largest cassettering is 20% larger than my smallest chainring, which allows me to climb 8,5% in zone two at 5 km/h.
That's why I'm on Rouvy a lot lately. On a low carb diet to lose weight (gone from 92kg to 75kg since June) and get blood glucose out of prediabetic range. Doing lots of fasting and zone 2/3 on the turbo. Use triple chainsets on my bikes, 40/32/22 on my commute drop bar 90's mtb.
I ride an mtb and have a 11-51t cassette matched to a 32t chainring so, don't very often have to dismount to push the bike. Also the bike is muscle powered (not an e-bike, yet)! At the age of 65 I don't think I'm doing to badly. I love your videos, so 'stright to the point' and inspiring too! John Calstock, Cornwall
@@garyboyle695 I think you are mistaken. You can easily choose a gear ratio to suit your local needs. I live in the mountains, and I have no trouble riding a fixed gear. The thing is, you need to do it a bit and you soon discover that gears are a bit crap.
I don't agree. When I was a junior category back in the late 70's we got restricted to some kind of absurd gear ratio - 86" or something. I hated it, and I was always faster turning bigger gears. I select whatever gear feels right for the conditions, even winter. I've never found :"whipping" improved my performance. The biggest improvement to my performance came from .. hard brutal training - especially interval training. Sorry, but I think I'll pass on your advice. Thanks anyway.
Good plan. My problem has typically been adding bodyfat in the autumn and early winter, but I have probably solved it now because I bought an indoortrainer and that keeps me going when the weather gets tough.
I think I have a BETTER idea. Get a trainer for your bike, a laptop, then go online and check out the hundreds of videos that roadies and mtb'ers have put up on the internet, and ride races, tour the world, or do training sessions indoors! The weather is always good! And I haven't even gotten to all the devices besides bike trainers, that one could use. Nordic Trac Peloton, Zwift, etc.
I found riding a heavy winter bike with full length mudguards on and long distance rides on Sunday was a helpful , full winter cycling kit, also just ride at a easy pace , being a manual worker ease off properly only do 300 miles a month then slowly build the mileage in the new year come April you get that feel good feeling in your Legs over to your summer bike , which is a lot lighter than the winter bike ,
The right message at the right time of the year. Cheers!
@@jotapi4010 Glad to help.
@@jollygoodveloI'm fairly new to road cycling, do certain size rings come into play using this method or does it not matter? My bike is equipped with 2x9 speed Sora group set. Thanks
I’ve got a cyclocross crankset on my winter bike. Sounds posh but it’s really just two chainrings with fewer teeth than a typical compact. Having a grinder gear well below granny gear is nice for beating uphill in a sleeting gale in December around the mountains of Eryri. You definitely don’t need 52x11 in winter 😂
I remember those times , but inner rings were 42T then maybe 39T later , so inner ring could still do 20mph on the flat.
I thought the same , i think inner rings may even have been 44tooth when that fad started , modern inners in the low 30s will just spin out.
You have to remember that was with 13T at the back, so 42 x 13, where we now have 36T with a semi-compact chainset, but 11T at the back 36 x 11 is practically exactly the same gear. So no excuse for not being able to do 20mph on the flat!
My fat bike has those small rings. Feels ridiculously easy on pavement but once you hit some snow you’re grateful to have them
Maybe try it on the road as well, Kevan.
Always used to go to a low fixed gear, about 62 inches, in the winter. Much better in the wet, frost and snow. Doesn't ruin the gears with grit and salt either. But I guess that's all old fashioned.
The small ring is useful for other things besides off-season riding. One of my bikes has 53/39 chain rings and an 11-21 cassette. At 64, I ride that bike on the small ring quite a lot.
56 YO and ride the small ring on a compact chainset almost all the time. There comes a time in your life when you need to preserve your knees.
39 isn't that small especially as 42 was the norm, 34 is the modern normal for the inner chainring.
53/39 11-21 sounds flipping daft even on a road bike. 😂
Good idea, haven’t heard this suggestion before. I’ll give I a go this autumn-winter. By the way I can relate readily to your phrase; the hardest part of a winter ride is getting through the front door.😀👍
Great advice 👍 the main thing is as you said is to keep getting out during the winter except in icy weather. Works wonders for overall fitness and its character building 🚴👍 Treat that headwind as a steady gradient hill don't race the hills unless it's on a specific race or event 🚴👍
Yes, definitely stay at home in icy conditions. A fall can potentially keep you off the bike for weeks.
@@jollygoodvelo yep been there 🚴🙃
Actually cycling against the wind especially up hills is crazy good for your fitness levels......last weekend I was speeding home from a Club run and battled the wind up a long climb.....when I got home I was staggered to see on my heart rate monitor watch that my heart rate went up to 181 bpm and i'm 56 !!
I’ve well and truly fell off the cycling train..lost my fitness, put weight on, feel like crap, zero motivation, even in the good weather.. The mere thought of getting back in the saddle has me out of breath.. Last ride I did was 9.5 miles on the flat and I was absolutely shot.. Have to say kudos to you for your continued persistence..
I have come back from the same thing. My advice even though you didn't ask for it: Baby steps and no expectations. Just get outside. Accept your age related performance decline. Ignore the youngsters passing you. It DOES come back; even if slowly. I promise.
I should be super fit by now, then. I always ride in the small ring. The big one is just for going downhill surely?
I'm kind of in the opposite camp. I consider autumn and early winter the best time to enjoy those "trash miles" without feeling guilty.
I prefer cold weather riding too. It is far easier to layer up and stay warm over sweating it out in the heat and sun. Throw on a ski mask, use some handlebar mittens and go with it.
@@JoeBMancoYes, it's easy to put off riding when the weather is not ideal. But that is not the way for fitness, or the true cyclist!
I've had so many conversations with younger riders over the last 3 years or so about "Zone 2 training" they all seem to go the same way. They "explain" to me (again) what it's all about, and I say "That's just base training" then they follow with "NO because xyx ...etc" and I say "That's still just base training" we go around like this for a while then they walk off. I live in hope that one day one of them will drop the relevant bit of new info that makes it not just base training, but until then IT'S JUST BASE TRAINING 😅😅
@@Bikey_McBeardface Base training is exactly what it is!!
base training that improves your mithocondria ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i guess
@@jollygoodvelo Joking (kind of) aside, I do think the good old base training method is better than Zone 2 for "normal" riders because all those who think they are doing it probably aren't because the way Z2 is prescribed by coaches involves holding a pretty narrow power range for a significant amount of time, and slipping out of that range for more than a few min' wastes your effort and you have to start again. This is near impossible to do in the real world on active roads or twisty, undulating country lanes. And who wants to sit on a turbo for 5 months?
Ah, yes. The newbie who knows more about cycling the someone who's riden for 60+ years. Gotta love that youthful naivete :-)
Reminds me of a recent vid on this channel about climbing, and a related story.
Moved to a new area and went to the local shop ride to meet people and see where they ride. One ride was up a hill, long but not steep. The gung ho leaders attacked and all the young bucks tried to follow. Within minutes I was out of sight last; I was just spinning away at a sustainable rate. Ten minutes later I passed the first one, then another, then half the bunch. After 30 minutes of climbing I arrived fourth, as the rest struggled in.
Another triumph of age and experience over youthful dash.
Mind you, I wouldn't mind having a bit of that youthful dash at present!
GCN made a good video about how to identify Zone 2 without a power meter or heart rate monitor.
Although I have a pm this helps a lot.
Basically it is about how heavy you are breathing and how easily you could talk if you wanted to.
Yep. That's what we did. Stayed in the 42t all winter until the Spring training races started. Some would also remove the rear wheel and derailleurs and run fixed all winter.
24-44 chainrings work great for me! I quit group rides for safety reasons. You can put any cassette on, and still climb reasonably hilly routes. With a 34 tooth cassette even heavily laden.
3x mountain bike crankset would be the next hot tech in cycling if they weren't relics of the past. 24/34 x 26 = 18 gear inches. 44/11 x 26 = 104 gear inches. How much do you have to spend to get that kind of range out of a modern 29er? And people are practically giving them away. Seriously, I just got one free with a Trek Hybrid I bought.
I like the analogy of the scary hard ride before you start . The. Night before a ride I come up with a plan . I wake up have a bite to eat and get ready to go . Hop on the bike and throw out the plan as it became mentally overwhelming. Sometime I throw it out with the trash when I began to ride and thought I just did not have it . The funny thing I might get half way with the new plan and felt pretty good and think to myself I should have stuck with the plan . Most times you can't forecast how your physically or mentally will be before or during a ride .
I think the key is not getting locked into any one routine as variety is the spice of life . If you don't have much time or the weather is lacking than a shorter higher intensity ride can be productive. With better weather a longer lower intensity could be more appropriate. I think we get locked into training and that gets scary which you can loose motivation.
Good to know my instincts are on track. I drop to smaller chain rings every winter. I have a set of 34-36-38T rings I switch out as needed.
Pretty cool that you actually change the rings.
Great idea!
Good one! ...about the small ring - as I do gravel in forest I have low gears already - som for me it to choose an easier route. But the the psyko; when I plan a really hard ride - and maybe tell others i will do a 3hrs - its very hard to do it ... its a pressure - but going out without any big ambitions - just to get out is a success - then you can feel good about it and as you get into it you can make it a long good ride. Now I will cycle as much as possible last weeks while its more than 0 and no snow/ice - then there will be som weeks with tread-mill before ski-season.
It's odd how we refer to "on season/off season" ... here in FL USA, October brings the high temperatures down from 99-101F/37C with a Feels like temp of 109F/42-43C ... to a more tolerable 85F/30C! Looking forward for my on season during your off season! LOL. Great video as usual Leonard
@@mshowers5246 Yes, odd thinking that you are actually looking forward to the temperatures coming down.
Some of my local rides had snow on them last week!
Thanks you got me out on the bike this morning 37 steady miles non stop.Was going to do a turbo session much better on the road.
In the winter I ride my hardtail. Its smallest chainring is 24 teeth. With 34 teeth in the rear, it feels like I could ride up Big Ben without getting out of the saddle.
I suppose you would have a hard tail if it had 34 teeth in it. Have you considered surgery?
I ride with the effort/cadence I prefer anytime in the gears needed considering the chainline. (any season)
@@karelvandervelden8819 Enjoy!
Thanks Leonard, never gave much thought of going to the small ring, most if not all my riding has been on the medium ring. At 91, I sure ain't gonna ride any Tour de France events but maybe I can improve just a bit using what you have presented here. By the way, I live in the flat lands of Florida, so no excuses.
@@billwilliams9527 Well done for still cycling at 91. Long may you continue.
@@jollygoodvelo Thank you sir, still trying.
@@billwilliams9527 If you are still riding at 91 you are my hero. I'm 68 and few signs of slowing down but I hope I'm still doing if I make it to 90.
@@Raymond-FartsSame age, same ambition. Ride for life! Live to ride!
Nice video, well done! A big alternative for the winter that wasn't mentioned is using an indoor trainer. That's a whole other world of cycling fitness strategy, but one that should be considered if you have a serious goal for the next season. (BTW, I don't use an indoor trainer. I'd much rather be out, even in miserable weather.)n :)
Yup, 42x16 was pretty much the biggest gear in winter. But with an 11/21 cassette we still had to work very hard on the climbs.
Yes I used to ride a 42-18 fixed gear in the winter
Yes! It's that (apparent) paradox that training at an easy pace eventually makes everything easier (as long as you commit, put the time in and stay disciplined)
fab video Lee appreciate the advice back in naughty 90s i used to spin on my bikes but not done that in over 24 years lol ❤
Hey Joanne, spin to win!!
Us old guys…I’m 72….. have to have the discipline to go out all the time all year round. If you lose fitness at my age there is a very good chance you’ll never recover it. My answer is as usual every year…..I go south to Florida for the winter and keep cranking out the miles. That is assuming Florida isn’t under after this hurricane season.
Hopefully never say never, Mark.
I think that's right Mark. I lost fitness during Covid and it's taking some serious work to recover it.
To be honest Leonard it’s been like that most of the year in the West of Scotland. Winter bike full mudguards from Oct to end of April. Some days it’s tough to get yourself out the front door, but once you’ve been out the sense of satisfaction hits you when the Kettle gets switched on 😬
great video! The air is denser in the winter = less speed than in the summer when the air is "lighter". Talking about the small chainring, I am the biggest fan of 1X bikes (I have on 1X fitness hybrid bike, a 2X road bike and a 3X MTB). My canyon pathlite 6 with a 36T chainring and a 10-51T 12 gears cassette is both easy to use for everything and it has a decent speed 'cos of the 10T smallest sprocket. It's more roadie version the Roadlite 6, has a 46T chainring and the same 10-51T 12 gears cassette and it's both a speed demon and can climb faily well
For me there is no “off season” but I must admit recently having an indoor trainer and being able to zwift has its advantages when it is snowy or icy, high winds or torrential rain 😂
I ride a fat bike. When the weather gets bad, I switch from 4.0 tires to 4.8 fully studded ones. I can ride on pure ice without any issues at all. I also switch from a 32 to a 30 chainring. I have a 9-46 cassette so there is no problem.
Where do you live, the artic?
I'm going to try your suggestion. If it's cold, windy, rainy snowing blizzard in Utah, then I go to the basement and I can still do the same small chain ring technique with the Rouvy system.
I was just reading a 1973 issue of Velonews, an American publication. The article was about riding for conditioning. The author insisted these rides should be 25 miles daily on a fixed gear bike. The fixed gear was very important to building cadence. Zone 2 fixed gear in 1973. Maybe this old guy has a new low tech bike in his future! Enjoying your videos!
Interesting that it was being called Zone 2 back then.
If you're not aware back then a fixed gear was a track wheel with no freewheel capacity.
That was me! Still ride a track bike now and again.
@@davidburgess741 I've wanted a track bike forever. Back when I raced I wanted it so that I'd become better at pedaling at higher cadence. Now its because of how clean and purposeful they are.
@@parrisgeorge9708 They're typicaĺly harsh riding, simplest possible machines. Best on flat rural roads. Builds amazing strength uphill and anerobic capacity downhill. One with the machine.
its the slow miles builds the base. Usually a fixed wheel too
Since I ride a fixie all year I learned this last year as well. The difference is, that I am switching to a bigger cog instead of smaller chain ring. Herr in Germany it can get icy and snowy quite quickly, so that I run spiked tires in Winter, which increases the load on my legs even further.
I raced back in the late 70's early 80's and riding in a small chainrings for the first month or so at the beginning of the year was the way we did it. Bikes had nothing battery operated in those days. It was all by feel. We called it LSD training. This was not the drug. It stood for :Long Slow Distance training.
One thing about small chainring riding in those days is the smallest ring on a Campy crank was 42t. Now days with the 36 or 34 small chainrings it can gets a bit spinny. With the 11 & 12 sp cassettes having way larger cogs than the freewheels we used back in the olden days a 50x? or even a 52x? might be a smaller gear than a 42x? was.
Really struggled to keep in Zone 2 when out in the real world so now ride on rollers in garage for better control, and still difficult to keep BPM in range. So now when out I just keep steady / easy gear.
Found this worked for me when recovering from Femoral Nerve Injury at start of this year.
Thanks for some more interesting info.
Yeah I struggle too (sometimes you need to rush for a green light or passing a stopped bus or other traffic issues, there are climbs etc) but the joy of riding for me is moving, getting from one place to another using only the power of my legs is my reward (it's very personal and that is the cool part, we all love to ride in our own way)
When I got into cycling, there was a lady I rode with she was a firm believer of small chainring in the Winter
Hi Len. Suppose I am old school 70 now and this has been my way of riding for over 40; years now lol. Come mid October every year then the winter winter bike comes out and I ride predominantly in the small ring or occasional spin in the big ring on flat and warmer rides. Makes me laugh when I see riders in midwinter on expensive bikes no mudguards absolutely covered in muck it's a personal choice but I will carry on as I have done . Enjoyed the video content.
Thats what we all did back then and it works. Trust me I'm 54 and i still do it now.
Great tip, my only concern is that back in the 80's a 42 tooth chainring was common, 34 is more common now.
Great video.
Interesting! - never heard of that before (but then I know nothing about cycling!). Didn't the old guard have harder gear ratios than we have now though? I'm still in the big ring 99% of the time at the moment but I might try it as the winter approaches.
I do the opposite. In winter i do short punchy rides to keep me warm. The idea alone of riding slow in winter makes me a popsicle 😂
Don’t blame you.
You have a point, but with modern chainsets and cassette ratios, it's not as simple as just riding in the small chainring.
Thanks!
@@gabscar1 Today, most bikes only have one ring up front. Now what? 😳
It’s always going to make whatever gear you are riding in much lower, though.
@@GeorgeEvans-lk1wc Only "gravel" bikes. Road are still 2 x.
@@GeorgeEvans-lk1wc try using some larger rings in the cassette. Myself I like to have as large cassettes as possible within the limits of what works smooth mecanically.
The right gear relationship goes a long way!
Back in the seventies, we ( my now wife and I) were taught to pedal at 90 rpm and upwards to improve the speed and stamina. Now, with 69 years, I seldom get past 85 rpm, but I definitely go faster at 80 rpm than I do at 60, even with the same felt effort.
I remember the Dane Bjarne Ries, who rattled my chain because his cadence was so slow. I suppose (apart from the epo and steroids) it gave him a psychological advantage. I don't think it helped him go faster.😊
@@gubsak55 At the moment I am trying to mix it up a bit; 90rpm in the off season and 80 rpm in the summer
This is the way!
You may notice after doing this that your resting heart rate will go down a bit.
@@Nehpets1701G Yes, that’s another big sign that it’s working,
Why all this obsession with reaching for high levels of fitness? If your not planning to ride the Tour De France next year just ride your bike and enjoy being out in the fresh air as often as you can. You'll get fit without even thinking about which gear you're in or what zone you're in!!
@@keithevans7996 I am with you! I am happy just to be outside and active.
I ride for fitness as well as fun.
Having a good fitness level means you can lose more without it impacting you independence. Have a minimum level required to for example walk up stairs so as you age / if you are unwell for a while then higher base fitness means more you can lose while still making it up stairs
I use a 50-34 chainset now with a 11-30 cassette. I can't go to a 32 tooth cassette because the Dura-Ace rear derailleur isn't compatible. I wanted to go 1X on the front but I need that 34T chainring for climbing because I live where the terrain varies a lot. I even spin out at times with the 50T. I wish I could find one ring to do it all. It makes that Classified Hub really attractive but I can't afford that. I have some really good ASSOS Winter Kit but for the most of my fitness it's going to be done on the indoor trainer.
When i was in my prime 😀 i used to ride 42-53 with a 13-28 black 10 spd NOW i ride 14-29 miche block 11spd with a 39-52 thi im in a much hillier area and have used a 36 inner & 34 too and they're certainly different! tho strangely similar.. 🤔
Back in the day I think gears were generally a fair bit higher.
I'm going to have to try this
Give it a go!
When I got my first road bike, the shop owner (who was also a bike coach) told me not to use the big ring for about 3 months (it was a compact double). Think that was good advice.
@@axessdenyd Probably very good advice.
Back in the day that road chainring would surely have been a 39T? I'm on 30/46 for both my winter bike and the gravel bike, coupled with 11-36 it's low enough for most things here in the Cairngorms. If I want a challenging MTB terrain day off road and keeping it Z1/2 I'll take the KTM E-MTB....!!!! But being realistic with myself, it'll be Zwift mainly by the end of the month.... Just so much easier to have that sleeveless base layer, pair of shorts and ankle socks and none of the faff of kitting up wrongly and suffering.... The pain cave is a nicely controlled environment....!!
Yes, when the weather is really bad I’ll be on the turbo as well.
Always remember that although "back in the day" most people were running standard chain rings and a small block, the "old boys" mid-brag conveniently forget to tell you that block at the back often started at 13 or even 14t, to put that in perspective Merckx's hardest/fastest gear combo was a 53-13. That's slower/easier than the 46-11 combo you have at your disposal !
@@Bikey_McBeardface And at 56 the 46/11 is more than enough for my needs, only got into it briefly coming down the Bealach Na Ba a few months ago lol.... I'd be happier with a 13 or 14 to 36 range !!!
Poggi is zone 2 most of his training. He's doing 340 watts in zone 2..mind for 5 hours 😮😮
@@gmrtbwrmtbs Yes, I did wonder about his zone 2.
Noticed The Near Miss With The Passing Car At The Beginning Of The Video. Lot Of Rude And Careless Drivers.
@@TexasNightRider For the most part they aren’t too bad. It might just look like a close pass due to the wide angle distortion on the camera.
Yes. Too close.
What about single speed over the winter? Or even fixed wheel?
Some old school cyclists rode fixed gear over the winter. They said it improved their pedalling technique
Unless it's a good winter's day then it's hello Zwift.
Try to keep your knees together rubbing the frame
You could add smaller cranks that could add 5-15% more watts. We dont need 172 but try 160 and you will see what happens. Cheap changes
Smaller crankarms allows more bent over aero-position. I guess thats where the watts are added.
I personally do most of my riding in zone 2 (or even zone 1 if I'm lazy). However, most of my riding is very flat so I am almost always in the big ring even though I have a 53/39, and I still maintain a decent cadence.
Spin to win
"Feeling you're not getting any benefit whatsoever"
(Shows picture of gorgeous countryside)
☝ Found the benefit
i have a 34 inner ring (compact). That's a bit smaal for the flat.
Zone 2 is the max fat burning too, isn't it? Bonus - with all those mince pies coming up 😆🤣😆
Yes I also think that zone 2 is max fatburning zone, but I can burn even more fat in zone 1 because I can ride much longer in zone 1.I also thing less recovery is needed after zone 1 rides, which allows us to hop on the bike already the next day. I usually mix zone 1 and 2, and some days I also throw in the harder zones.
The moment it gets to an hour before dark and I haven't gone riding... My bicycle from the garage starts shouting nasty names at me until I take it riding. There are days when I wish I could take a day off from riding, but my bicycle won't let me.
@@nathanwoodruff9422 You are definitely the most consistent rider I know.
@@jollygoodvelo I just don't like dealing with my bicycle calling me names all night long. I'm afraid if I buy a new bicycle, that bicycle will call me even worse names, possibly in British English.
@@nathanwoodruff9422 British English? Surely you just mean English?
@@jollygoodvelo _"British English? Surely you just mean English?"_ Calling someone a "Wanker" or an "Arse" is not American English.
😂
Does this apply to the indoor trainer as well? I do prefer outside though
@@geraldinecoupland4162 I think riding on a turbo is usually a relatively short ride so it is probably best to ride normally.
Long before the hipsters came and went away again with the fad, winter fixed gear riding made for a fun off-season, rebuilt a resilient base fitness and pushed the legs outside comfortable cadences. Low gears- 42x 16 or 18, no power meters, just ride. Then fly in the spring, and wonder what to do with all the extra gears, and did the hills actually get flattened some?
If it weren't for the snow I'd be out riding all year.
Why use this technique just for the winter?
Why not all cycling season long - mostly spring summer and fall?
as a 1x rider I'll have to solely rely on cardio haha
So i remember most of my club back in the 1990s would ride a single speed with a gear of below 69 inches i used to ride a geared bike but tired not to change gear on the flat to higher than a 52/19 i.e 70 inches.
In my world there is only the small chainring ! Oh and big cogs at the back.
I always understood that cadence should always be between 90-110 and your gear selection changes to keep your pedaling within what is considered to be this most efficient range. I regularly pass inexperienced cyclist chugging along at 12mph on 53x12 because they think the bigger the gear the faster you go. As for zone 2, i've read few articles recently challenging the value of this. Who knows whats best !! Pogaca apparently only trains in Z2. I believe he has something else in his mussette other than slow-ish training. I am old school and i believe that if you are going to race hard you need to condition mind and body by training hard. You can't expect to race at 30mph if you train at 15mph. That said, October to December, when i was, always the social season. Winter bike, mudguards, fat tyres, lower gears and long, low intensity saturday and sunday rides with cafe stops, mainly to allow the body to recover from the previous 8-9months of hard training and racing.
@@thecodfater3748 there is a well established goldilocks window of pedaling efficiency and I am pretty sure it's 90-110, if the aim is riding faster and efficiently.
I am not sure that 100 rpm is for everybody. Myself I am born slow, so I am probably more efficient at lower cadence.
How cold is it there as you look really wrapped up? Surely still in double figures C?
The b roll of this video is from a much colder time!
Off season lol if anything I end up with more miles
I would not call that Zone2 unless you are below 85rpm
Zone 2 is an expression of heart rate or power, not cadence.
I still don't get it. Why does it matter if it's summer or winter?
@@Dani-El. The different weather?
@@jollygoodvelo Why would colder temps and rain mean you have to use the small chainring? Not saying you're wrong, and great if it's working for you. All the best.
What if I already spend most of my time in the small ring?
Maybe try and raise your cadence?
My 12yr old bike still has 3 chainrings (30, 39, 52), and I won't buy a new one that has only one or two. I can easily ride 10% incline in zone 2.
That sounds good. What is your rear chain set? How old are you? And what is your weight? I'm 64/100 kg.
No fancy stuff for me, I will ride a Vintage 80's bike with friction shifters / 42/53 with a 12/25 rear end with tubular tires
Nice!
What do you do when you have only got one chainring just change your cadence? Cheers all the best
Basically, yes. Just use lower gears and a slightly higher cadence than usual.
spin to win
Isn’t it better to just ride in the high gear increasing the effort per stroke and getting the heart rate rate up quicker to shorten the warm up stage in colder weather..!?, just a question, trying to get my head around this one..!? I find it quicker to warm up especially, up hill in winter. Within about a minute of hard pedal strokes in mid to top gear gets the heart pumping that warm blood around nice n toastie.
@@TheLion-b3h It’s not a bad idea but this is more about how to use a slightly higher cadence and slightly lower gears to build a fitness base over winter rather than building leg strength
@@jollygoodvelo OK like cardio, I’m doing leg strength for power short bursts, 🤭 I heat up real quick with power moves..!?
I like the essence of the idea, but I believe we should avoid crosschaining. I am on two-by 2x11. I think avoid the three largest cassetterings on the big chainring, and avoid the two smallest casseterings on the small chainring is good. So I will translate Leonards advice to experiment with gearing two gears lighter than usual and rise my cadence. I have great gear-range, my largest cassettering is 20% larger than my smallest chainring, which allows me to climb 8,5% in zone two at 5 km/h.
i already do this
If I ride my E-bike along the Downs-Link, (40 miles) and stay in eco. Would this achieve the same results ?
Probably
So basically what you are saying is lower the resistance ( easier gear ) and increase the cadence
@@longlivefreedom9853 Exactly.
Very difficult when living in Cornwall. 😂
It’s a bit hill down there but they still have small chain rings!
That's why I'm on Rouvy a lot lately. On a low carb diet to lose weight (gone from 92kg to 75kg since June) and get blood glucose out of prediabetic range. Doing lots of fasting and zone 2/3 on the turbo. Use triple chainsets on my bikes, 40/32/22 on my commute drop bar 90's mtb.
I ride an mtb and have a 11-51t cassette matched to a 32t chainring so, don't very often have to dismount to push the bike. Also the bike is muscle powered (not an e-bike, yet)! At the age of 65 I don't think I'm doing to badly. I love your videos, so 'stright to the point' and inspiring too!
John
Calstock, Cornwall
@@Xerp4Life Impressive weight loss! I'd like to lose 15 kg as well. Just low carb diet, or also other things?
Much easier to just ride single speed. A cheap setup is easy to maintain and saves your good bike from the weather.
Unless you live in a hilly area and then good luck.
@@garyboyle695 I think you are mistaken. You can easily choose a gear ratio to suit your local needs. I live in the mountains, and I have no trouble riding a fixed gear. The thing is, you need to do it a bit and you soon discover that gears are a bit crap.
This maybe a stupid question/comment but if you're going out for a ride for 2-3hours why not just cycle as normal? Steve
Because you may end up riding a bit too hard.
Aka LSD: long slow distance
I don't agree. When I was a junior category back in the late 70's we got restricted to some kind of absurd gear ratio - 86" or something. I hated it, and I was always faster turning bigger gears. I select whatever gear feels right for the conditions, even winter. I've never found :"whipping" improved my performance. The biggest improvement to my performance came from .. hard brutal training - especially interval training. Sorry, but I think I'll pass on your advice. Thanks anyway.
Zwift.... with a good smart trainer
Drop body fat over the winter and do everything better.
Indeed.
Good plan. My problem has typically been adding bodyfat in the autumn and early winter, but I have probably solved it now because I bought an indoortrainer and that keeps me going when the weather gets tough.
But all the Guys will know, they can see it. It's right there! Track Bike some improvised brake or not maybe.
I start getting depressed when the temperature gets below about 72F/22C.
Don’t move to the UK. The weather is nearly always below 22c.
For me 17 to 22C is ideal.
I think I have a BETTER idea. Get a trainer for your bike, a laptop, then go online and check out the hundreds of videos that roadies and mtb'ers have put up on the internet, and ride races, tour the world, or do training sessions indoors! The weather is always good! And I haven't even gotten to all the devices besides bike trainers, that one could use. Nordic Trac Peloton, Zwift, etc.