What if you can't spin?

I wouldn't have minded this lot jumping out at me on Oxford Street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwldGmw4yDo

"how about you just scrap you're bike and get a moped." = Delstar

http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/TheWorstBeers.asp

CHEERS!

i shall hold you to that.

BringMeMyFix and dogsballs, No, not everyone can maintain a high cadence. I have asthma, so my lung function is defective. I cannot spin/maintain a high cadence.

"spinning is actually easier, than trying to grind a big gear". No its not - certainly not if you can't do it at all.

I used to be a courier (here in London), and cycled 10-12 hours a day, but could never spin. Not everyone in the world is blessed with average lungs. I was asking specifically for advice for me, because I can't spin. I wonder how many more people are going to tell me "spin, its easy"?

My knees were f*cked playing American Football (outside linebacker for those that know such things), so I don't worry too much about cycling and knee damage.

dude, it's plain physics and physiology.
there is way more risk for your knees running a huge gear and grinding away, than using a lighter gear to spin through. higher cadence has no impact on lung function. in fact your doctor would be prescribing you do more exercise to elevate those problems.

sorry, but sounds like you're making excuses to me. then when people give you a perfectly reasonable answer, you refuse to accept or even acknowledge it. in thay case why post at all.

48:15 is a medium size gear on the track, for what it's worth.

"Is there a (medical) Doctor in the house?!"
doca, whatamidoing?

48:15 is a medium size gear on the track, for what it's worth.

But quite high for street riding IMO... Too high for me anyway...

"Is there a (medical) Doctor in the house?!"
doca, whatamidoing?

I would expect dogs to have more specialized knowledge in this department to be honest.

its not knowledge I'm disputing tommy, it's the bedside manner! ;-)

You can do what you want GA2G, I'm just sharing a bit of knowledge. I worry about people pushing 80+" in town, because the lack of acceleration from a very slow/standing start can leave you in some dodgy situations, let alone the longterm stress on your joints. I ride an 87" to and from Herne Hill occasionally, and it's not very conducive to efficient city-based riding. I've also ridden back from hillclimbs on a 51", and that's not very good either. There are happy mediums.

I've seen plenty of posts where people say 'oh I'm going to do this or that thing' and a lot of posters advise against it for assorted widely acknowledged reasons. I don't think me or Dogs were being out of order, or overly-subjective. I've regularly ridden with a number of people with asthma who follow similar advice, in the context of wanting to be a bit nippier in town. In a 25 mile TT, I'd take a different approach - I'm not into spinning (which I'd call anything above 90rpm) for the sake of it.

I have a naturally slow leg turn over speed. Though I've always been heavily built, I was more comfortable doing a mile (track running) than 100 meters (where I was the slowest). I have powerful quadriceps, and I don't normally feel strained when pushing a heavy gear. Fast rotation of any gear leaves me breathless.

I do intend more exercise, which is why I got back on the bike. Incrementally, I will extend my journey lengths as I get fitter. I intend do this at 3 month intervals, or six months if I've hit a plateau.

Ngffdb

i've been on 66 ( 48:19) for a while, due to the hills, but it's just not right for me. when i stand up and put my weight down, there's just not enough resistance.just changed back to 48:18, gonna try it out and ride the oxford ride on that

BringMeMyFix, I wish I could spin, then I could get into the anaerobic workload that burns fat, but sadly I've got to do it another way. Cheers for the explanation though. I know that everyone here is glad to see people trying to keep/get fit, and doing it ss/fixie. I accept that different people approach things differently.

nimhbus.....you're a penis.

point is, that if you rode that lighter gear and just spun faster, even though it will feel wierd and you may be out of breath for the first few days or even a week. but your body will adapt and be better of for it. been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

i've been on 66 ( 48:19) for a while, due to the hills, but it's just not right for me. when i stand up and put my weight down, there's just not enough resistance.just changed back to 48:18, gonna try it out and ride the oxford ride on that

I'm the same when it comes to out-of-the-saddle climbing - always a gear or two higher than my peers... and always a few hundred metres further up the road :p

Oh Nimhbus, before you blow a gasket, its just a joke. Remember when I first joined this forum, and posted a list with off the peg bikes? You said.....don't be a penis. Funny eh?

i've been on 66 ( 48:19) for a while, due to the hills, but it's just not right for me. when i stand up and put my weight down, there's just not enough resistance.just changed back to 48:18, gonna try it out and ride the oxford ride on that
with a lighter gear, you can stay in the saddle a lot longer, there is less need to get out of saddle. you should be able to keep pedalling.

48:19 & 47:18 for me

49x16 over here...i prefer a big gear,it allows me to keep a smooth rhythm.

Word, 49-16 for me too.

with a lighter gear, you can stay in the saddle a lot longer, there is less need to get out of saddle. you should be able to keep pedalling.

There's also a horrible 'too light to stand, too heavy to sit' point in the gearing.. which is often around the mid 60s, for typically rolling English countryside. I'm usually sitting down in the high 50s or standing up in the low 70s.

You can't climb for shit, Dale, so stop telling everyone what to do ;)

well, personally i need to get out of the saddle when climbing, or it just don't happen. but then, i'm not a skinny little hipster waif, am i?

Oh Nimhbus, before you blow a gasket, its just a joke. Remember when I first joined this forum, and posted a list with off the peg bikes? You said.....don't be a penis. Funny eh?

way to bear a grudge, dude

There's also a horrible 'too light to stand, to heavy to sit' point in the gearing.. which is often around the mid 60s, for typically rolling English countryside. I'm usually sitting down in the high 50s or standing up in the low 70s.

You can't climb for shit, Dale, so stop telling everyone what to do ;)

i wouldn't mind coming out for a play on the hills one day :)

dogsballs, at the moment this 48x17 is really good, and I can go up gentle inclines without standing, but I think that if I have to head up Pentonville Road, I'd probably walk up.......til I've lost some weight, and increased my leg strength. But its flat speed I'm after. Anyway, hills are for mountain goats http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/cgi-bin/pod/PhotoOfTheDay.cgi?day=21&month=4&year=05