Monday, August 23, 2010

8 21 2010 T-Town Velodrome Kilo Times


My modest goal this year was to achieve a 1:16 kilo time. My time above was 1:17.45 at the T-Town velodrome this past Saturday. I still think I can ride a time below 1:16 once I modify my training, at least I don't think this is an unrealistic goal. The whole point of goal setting is to set realistic goals which are achievable, this way you don't get discouraged and pack it in. I also believe that once the times go below 1:15 then one would have achieved a level of fitness and confidence to make even faster times achievable.

I used a 96 inch gear this time - 50 x 14. Last year I did a 1:19.8 in a 108 inch gear 52x13, obviously this gear was too large and I probably lost a couple of seconds just trying to get it started. I think I might need to go to an even smaller gear, probably a 92 or 94 in order to ride faster times. This would entail some leg speed workouts to maintain high cadence.

Full results at usacycling

5 comments:

Siraaj Khandkar said...

Question: Why use the old 27" diameter to calculate gear inches? It exaggerates the number and does not represent the speed/cadence relationship accurately.

The actual diameter of 700x23 tire is about 26.31", so why use 27" to calculate gear?

Siraaj Khandkar said...

And of course, congrats on the time improvement! There's still NY States left for a chance to break 1:17!

kissenatrackracing@gmail.com said...

Siraaj I am going by the gear chart which came with my chain ring case. Also wheel diameter would never be precise if you take into consideration tire thickness (19mm versus 23mm) and inflation pressures. I guess what is important is to stay consistent.

Siraaj Khandkar said...

You're right! That is why I feel its better to measure your actual tire rollout - this way you can make better sense of training and race data.

I always quote my gear based on those numbers, so my (currently favorite race gear) 99.6 is derived from my rollout of 2100 and chainring/cog 53/14 like so: 53/14*((2100/(Pi*2)/25.4)*2). Traditionally, with older wheels, 53/14 would be 102.2, but that paints a different picture. With correct rollout numbers I can calculate that for, say 12sec 200, I would need to average 126rpm cadence in that gear, push it up to 130 and I've got 11.6. Assuming 27" diameter means assuming 2155 rollout which at the same gear and cadences would give 11.7 and 11.3.... Misleading, me thinks...

kissenatrackracing@gmail.com said...

check this out

http://kissenatrackracing.blogspot.com/2009/10/useful-bicycling-apps-for-iphone-or.html