Well I took the advice of some ST members and started riding with the roadies to try and get some biking legs, this resulted in me building a cannondale CAAD3 frame up with some parts laying around the house and doing some 40 mile group rides on Saturday morning, where I was dropped like a bad habbit on the same hill at mile 18 every week. This ride was probably over my head as the average speed is in the 20’s and this is a pretty hilly route, for the first time in my life I was dropped going “down” a hill! boy was that a bad day.
I had so much fun that I bought a newer CAAD 5 from a ST member and started doing at least three group rides a week with the Saturday morning ride at 60 miles and I have to say that in less than 6 weeks I have become a faster rider than I have ever been, I knocked 10 min off of the 30 mile loop that I have been doing for the last 3 years.
I still get dropped on the same hill every Saturday but I’m getting closer every ride.
I get dropped on decents regularly. I ride w/ very fast triathletes/roadies, but I weigh ~130, and they weigh ~160-175, (but are in great shape, very low BFP). Gravity has a greater effect on them. It is a total pain in the ass b/c I have to pedal down hill to not get gapped >then> dropped once it levels out.
Sounds like real fun. I do 90 % of my training with roadies, they are cat 1 riders. It´s real good if you want to be a better cyclist. I can´t imagine doing all rides on my TT bike alone.
Hang in there and you might be able to drop those guys on “The hill” some day!
but, with the gap you open up on them on the climbs, shouldn’t they be chasing you on the downhills?
I get dropped on decents regularly. I ride w/ very fast triathletes/roadies, but I weigh ~130, and they weigh ~160-175, (but are in great shape, very low BFP). Gravity has a greater effect on them. It is a total pain in the ass b/c I have to pedal down hill to not get gapped >then> dropped once it levels out.
Thanks for the post, bigring. I am going to “become a roadie” this off-season to improve my biking in preparation for my first ironman (if I can get signed up?!) in 2008. Your post is encouraging.
Not significantly. What you are looking at is having gone from watts per kilo (climbing) to a watts per frontal area. The bigger person is just likely to put out more watts. You can get more aero or get more power. Good cornering can make up for a lot.
Not significantly. What you are looking at is having gone from watts per kilo (climbing) to a watts per frontal area. The bigger person is just likely to put out more watts. You can get more aero or get more power. Good cornering can make up for a lot.
Bigger riders can go significantly faster downhill, everything else being equal, for the following reason: body mass, and thus gravitational force, goes up as the cube of body length (volume). However, frontal area goes as the square of body length. So, as you get bigger, the drag force/grav force ratio decreases, meaning bigger riders have an advantage on downhills, not even considering rider power output, which tends to go with the bigger rider.
There are plenty of lightweights that are great at descending.
Improved cornering can make a big difference. Things like countersteering and picking a more “efficient” line. Learning when to pedal and when to tuck. Learning how to tuck. Fearlessness, which often comes with more experience, also helps. Also, learning to sit in that sweet spot just behind another’s wheel to get the most benefit of their draft.
Most good descenders get there because they practice descending.
As a lightweight (140lb) rider I find on the downhills you have to be very attentive to avoid getting stuck behind gaps going downhill. I dont get dropped going down because I basically draft close off larger riders on the descents and tuck down low and small on the bike.
Since starting to road race again, and doing a fair amount of training with roadies, it’s finally paying some dividends in the bike splits. I’m still working on the TT side, since I’m much stronger in a draft legal format, but I’ve started breaking my bike PBs in duathlons recently. This weekend was interesting though, I race an international distance duathlon on saturday, and then did a 40km crit on sunday. Now I’ve got a recovery day ahead, since I’ve got another crit tommorrow night.
