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Aerobars on Group Rides = Bad Idea

11.17.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

It seems that whenever I show up for an organized ride, the pre-ride announcements always include a caution not to use aerobars in a group. And then, a few miles into the ride, I usually get passed by riders down on their aerobars. That’s not a great idea, as this video illustrates:

In the slow-motion replay, it’s pretty clear that the rider who crashed was on his aerobars. They gave him a little edge in speed, and he was about to pass the second rider in line when the second rider moved slightly left, to pass the lead rider. Aerobar man couldn’t control his bike and grabbed the drops, but his momentum caused his front wheel to overlap the second rider’s rear wheel, and they touched. The rider behind always comes out worse in these situations than the rider in front.

In this case, Mr. Aerobars almost saved himself. It looks like he got things back under control until he veered off onto the gravel shoulder and did an endo. But that’s not the whole story.

In the slow-mo, we see that the two bikes touched wheels not once, not twice, but three times before the rider slowed enough to separate himself from the other bike. And the force of those touches — especially the third — was enough to do serious damage to the front wheel. Half the spokes on one side of the wheel had broken. In a blowup of the video, we can see how the third touch knocked the wheel askew. The rim is clearly out of line with the hub.

So, two no-nos are apparent after watching this incident:

1. Don’t use aerobars on group rides (or in a paceline).

2. Don’t overlap the rear wheel of the bike in front.

A couple of my biking friends also noted that riders should consider sturdier wheels, too. One suggested 36 spokes on the rear and a minimum of 32 on the front. I don’t know how many fast roadies would go for that, but after seeing the video, I’ll continue to be happy with my relatively heavy rims.

It looks like the rider was not seriously hurt, I’m glad to see.

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Categories // Safety, Technique Tags // aero bars, endo, overlap

Training With “Fartlek”

08.09.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

I was in the middle of my regular Tuesday ride at the Veloway today when it occurred to me that I had written about this ride early in the life of the Bike Noob blog. Tuesday is my “fartlek” ride. And since most current Bike Noob readers probably haven’t seen that three-year old post, I’m going to resurrect an edited version of it.

Back when I was a runner — okay, I was never anything more than a jogger — interval training was considered the way to go to train for a race. I entered my share of t-shirt runs, and sometimes I even got serious about training for them. But intervals put me off. They seemed too regimented — too serious.

Then I read about an alternative method of training. It’s called fartlek — from the Swedish for “speed play.” A fartlek trainer runs at a certain pace, or tempo, for awhile, and then turns on the gas and runs hard for awhile. The bursts of speed are not over set distances, and recovery times are always different. That’s the kind of training I enjoyed doing.

I thought about that on today’s ride. I had fully intended to do intervals. I even had the fast sections mapped out in my head. I knew approximately how long my recovery times would last. But when I started my first interval, I just couldn’t get enthusiastic about it.

Then it occurred to me — do fartlek. I started pulling on the pedals through a twisty inclined stretch, a little less than a mile. At the high point, I backed off. I rode through a relatively flat area without pushing hard.  On another twisty incline I stomped on it again, and held the fast pace for almost another mile.  On an ess curve that features a right-angle left followed by an acute-angle right, I laid the bike as far over as it would go without falling (great fun).  Then I coasted back to the start.

I did five laps, and did fartlek for four of them.  Each time, my fast and slow sections were different.  I got the training benefit without the regimentation that takes the fun out of biking.  Tonight, I can feel it.  I fell asleep in front of the TV.  I’m going to bed earlier than usual.  This might partly be because I slept poorly last night, but it’s also because I had a tough workout.  I like the feeling.  I plan to do it some more.

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Categories // Technique, training Tags // fartlek, speed

Falling Into Bad Habits

06.21.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was on a ride in the country on my own. I wasn’t worried about speed, although I maintained a nice average pace. I was just out to enjoy the ride before the day became oppressively hot.

As I rode, I started noticing something about the way I was piloting the bike. I felt like I was mashing the pedals going up hills. Every so often, the gears would crunch when I shifted — and it didn’t matter if I was shifting up or down. Hm, I thought — that’s odd. I haven’t been getting that on the bike lately.

And then it occurred to me: Sure I have. It seems like every ride I’ve done lately has had its share of crunching gears and mashed pedals. I know better. But I’ve let myself lapse into bad habits.

It didn’t used to be this way. I used to regularly do a ride where all I concentrated on was my cycling technique. But I haven’t done that for a while now, and I can tell.

So, what should I be doing?

Well, on the hills,I like to keep up my forward momentum by “pedaling in a circle.” That means applying even pressure to the pedal throughout the stroke. It’s a more efficient, and more powerful, way to ride. I know I’m doing it right when I feel a burn in both my calves and my quadriceps. Maybe that’s why I don’t concentrate on doing it as often as I should. I am pain averse.

But because pedaling in a circle stresses the big leg muscles, it makes you a better rider. You get up the hills a tad quicker, and you have the strength to power through tough spots on rides — even if they’re on the flats.

It’s something I have to remind myself about. I resolved (once again) to pay attention to my pedaling technique and make sure I pedaled in a circle more often.

The shifting thing is an easy fix, too. I knew the problem didn’t lie with my chain. I replaced the chain not too long ago. No, this had to do with something I learned way back when I was young.

Ease up on the pedals when you shift.

It’s tough when you shift while you’re stomping on the pedals. The chain makes a nasty noise as it scrapes across the cogs. When I was a kid and got my first English three-speed “racer” bike, I was told to pedal backwards while shifting gears. I think that was my father’s way of telling me to let up on pedal pressure.

From that point on, I concentrated on each shift. I kicked myself (figuratively) when I forgot to ease up on shifts, and congratulated myself (literally) when I shifted smoothly and noiselessly.

That was two weekends ago.

On today’s ride, there was the “crunch” again. And I caught myself mashing up a short, sharp hill again.

What’s the rule? You have to perform a new action for 21 days straight to break a bad habit?

I think I have several weeks of habit-breaking ahead of me.

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Categories // Technique Tags // pedaling, shifting, Technique

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