Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Emma,
Congratulations, and it sounds like you had a pretty good day out,
some wins, which is great... boosts confidence, which is a key factor.
Am I understanding it correct, your running 48x16, 81 a great gear.
Now you have a foundation, gear, to build on, keep up the good work.
FME-When you train (track), work it, in a bunch or paced, get your
pedal rate right up there, hard work, will pay off.
Hope any info I give might be helpful, use it as a guide, listen to those,
you think you can trust, and learn as you go along, everyone had to do it.
My disclaimer-I am not a coach.
Will follow with interest.
Cheers,
BrentonO

Thanks Brenton...yes 48-16 seems to be about right for me at the moment...It assume the 81 you refer to is 81 gear inches?...am not up on the gear inches description, although I do understand it refers to the distance of roll out over one crank revolution...I just tend to use ratio terminology...

Am pleased to be at least a little competitive and a win here and there does help to keep one motivated...I have been road and crit racing for nearly 11 months now, and can see some large improvement when compared to the early efforts, but improvements in performance only seem to come in tiny increments these days...although I am getting more experienced and a little more bike fit, I am also getting older...I am a little reluctant to use the 'age' excuse though as there are riders older than me in the crits who still leave me in their wake...will see if I can come up with another excuse ...maybe I can use the 'only been riding track for 3 weeks' excuse...

Here is the report of Saturday's track meet

Thanks for your advice...

Em

Congratulations! IIRC you've not had the fixie long, so getting it tuned and winning in that time is doubly impressive.

Thanks Rus...we usually don't have a large field in each grade so at worst I will come 6th or 7th ...last Saturday there weren't riders enough to make a C grade, so that's why I was in 'B' grade...still, I was the only female there so I don't feel too bad about my performance...have been riding track for 3 weeks and hopefully it won't be all downhill from here...oh, that's right, there are no hills in track...

Em

Em,

understand it refers to the distance of roll out over one crank revolution

Talk about making something quite simple into something difficult...?
Yes, that's 81 inches, old-school measure, that's all I know.
6.41 metres, from the Australia Cycling, chart, took a look, wow!
Focus on the journey, not the destination
Enjoy your, Cycling.
Cheers
Brenton.

Em,
Your right on your ratios, 48x16 (which is 48 divided by 16) =3
So to make it simple,

In inches (27" wheel) ratio 3x 27= 81"
... (Just remember 27 x ratio)

For roll-out WHEEL DIAMETER 680mm has 2.14 metre circumference,
your ratio 3x 2.14= 6.42 metres (they quote 6.41)
... (Just remember 2.14 x ratio)

Hope that helps,
Cheers,
BrentonO

Thanks Brenton...that is much clearer now...(I think)...

Thanks for the explanation and the formulae...

Now I will be able to hold my own when engaging other riders in chat about gear inches and roll out...

Em

CoffsGal wrote:Thanks Rus...we usually don't have a large field in each grade so at worst I will come 6th or 7th ...last Saturday there weren't riders enough to make a C grade, so that's why I was in 'B' grade...still,
I was the only female there so I don't feel too bad about my performance...have been riding track for 3 weeks and

A win after 3 weeks is very impressive.

CoffsGal wrote:hopefully it won't be all downhill from here...oh, that's right, there are no hills in track...

haha, cute, I guess compared to the hills around Coffs the track must feel very different (not to say strange on the fixie)...

CoffsGal wrote:Thanks Brenton...that is much clearer now...(I think)...

Thanks for the explanation and the formulae...

Now I will be able to hold my own when engaging other riders in chat about gear inches and roll out...

Em

Now your learning tactics, baffle 'em with science. Smile.
Cheers,
B.

Hey...won my first prize money last night...$4.00 for third place in the 4 lap scratch...have had much better results previously, but there was no prize money on those nights...because there was prize money last night, the entry fee was up from the normal $5 to $10...so am now only $6 in deficit...

Should I keep the $4 as a memento or lash out and blow it all in one shop...

Emma

CoffsGal wrote:
Should I keep the $4 as a momento or lash out and blow it all in one shop...

Emma

Er.... it's a memento, and yea lash out in a lolly shop methinks.

Em,
You have now stepped into "Professional" ranks (at least in my day it was)
and now, you should keep tax records.

so am now only $6 in deficit.

No, you must think of it as deductable, and it can be deducted of your
regular income. True.
Smile.
This is said in jest, but it's basis, are set in fact.
(ask your accountant)
Great work, how did the gear feel?
Cheers
B.

brentono wrote:...how did the gear feel?

We had quite a few out of town riders this week and pace was quicker that previously, so found myself spinning near my maximum at times...possibly could have done with the 15 back on the rear...maybe I'm getting used to the track riding too and I might need to think about reverting to the slightly higher gear...probably a good sign and might help me reach the higher speeds required.

I didn't have an all out go at the track on saturday arfternoon either, as I needed to save some strength for the crit yesterday morning at 8:45...averaged 35.5 for the crit with a strong headwind...another crit this afternoon...

Em

Em,
Jusy my thoughts, get a 50 CW, you couldn't go wrong.
50x16 will give you a nice 84, which will help in the
move to 86 (48x15) and a bit later will give you the
opportunity, with the right race and conditions to try 90.
90" dead (50x15)... 7.1333333333333 metres runout.
Have a think about it, ask around, and you will find out.
Hope that helps. With strength and cadence, the day will
come when you will move around any of them, at the club,
on a 90 (it's a very versatile gear, when your used to it)
Keep up your training,
Think positive, and go for it.
Cheers,
B.

Thanks Brenton,

A good suggestion...will be a good intermediate ratio...

Em

Hiya

Well done Emma, your doing a really good job keep up the good work. Tactics is very important when using different gears,
it all helps.

Oxx32

Oxx32 wrote:Hiya

Well done Emma, your doing a really good job keep up the good work. Tactics is very important when using different gears, it all helps. Oxx32

Thanks Oxx...track racing commences in a week or so after the holiday break, so will look forward to once again working on the technique and tactics.

Emma

Nice report emma!
I'm going down to the track tonight so the coaches of my local club can watch me. Hope to impress

I'm running a 6.6 metre roll out, 10 cm off the max for my age group. I was thinking of dropping it down to maybe 6.3 or 6.4 metres to raise up my cadence. Because with the current roll out I don't think I'm hitting my max cadence.

Well what do you know...today I won my first cycling trophy...the Errol Ellis Memorial trophy...a perpetual trophy awarded towards the end of track season each year...was a 4 lap handicap...I had only one rider ahead of me so went hard to quickly round that one up early on...went straight past, but I should have passed on the straight instead of the turn...had to go the long way around...then just put everything into it to keep ahead of the others and win by about 6 metres...

I also won three other races on the night, a three lap scratch, a 2 lap scratch and another 3 lap scratch...in the elimination I got trapped on the inside lane and couldn't get out...bad tactics on my part...but was a successful outing all in all...





Emma

Congratulations Emma, that's a decent trophy.

CONGRATS!!!! Enjoy, great job!

Good on you. The best thing about those trophies is, your name stays on them for good.

Gary

Emma,
Great stuff,

...went straight past, but I should have passed on the straight instead of the turn...had to go the long way around

Every experience a lesson, till it becomes second nature.
And later, you will find winning is not a sometime thing; its an all the time thing.
You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.
Winning is a habit.
All the best, the effort you put in, will be rewarded, not by trophies, but personal satisfaction.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
BrentonO