- Hello and welcome to Ask GCN Anything.
- Well, we say anything but actually, we've got lots
of questions and answers about training today,
cause that's what you guys sent in as questions.
- Yeah and also, some tech ones as well, let's put those
on the table as well, Emma.
We need to address those.
- Right, OK we will do our best to answer.
- We will indeed. Right, first question.
This one comes in from LorenzoS
and this is a training question.
So Lorenzo has asked: "How do two riders with disparate
levels of strength, fitness, form, yet who ride together
frequently cause they like to,
actually influence each other's form?"
Specifically, he's saying, he worries about accumulated
fatigue of the less strong rider,
cause obviously forced to try harder to keep up,
and then with the stronger rider, detrain effectively
by having to ride at someone else's pace.
So, it's a good question that.
- Yeah, cause of for lots, I think, you know,
a lot of people like to ride with their friends,
and that's a good thing, it makes it more fun.
And I used to find that training with other people
actually made me train better because, you know,
having other people to compete against a bit on the hills.
But if you, it's just two of you, and you're riding next
to each other and one's stronger then obviously one person's
gonna be training harder relative to their threshold
or whatever measure you choose, than the other rider.
So you could end up with one rider getting too tired
and the other one taking it too easy.
And so there's one simple way of cycling
which is that the weaker rider sits behind,
and then you'd benefit from the draft.
But that kind of defeats--
- Less sociable, isn't it?
- It is a lot less sociable, it's hard to have
a conversation when you're shouting over your shoulder.
(laughs)
- Yeah, personally, I think there's no problem
when one rider going off and doing intervals or whatever,
as long as you sit down before hand and say,
you know what, on this climb I'm going to go and do this
and I'll wait for you at the top.
So that's definitely one way of doing it.
- And, in fact, both riders can do intervals,
cause you can do your intervals at your own pace
then regroup for the warm-down and it,
and then got your sociable bit and your anti-social bit.
- Yeah, hey we used to do this cool things actually
on training camps, years and years and years ago,
where the stronger rider would do like
a four minute interval, and then the less strong rider
would hang around halfway up the climb
and do a two minute interval,
but because they were fresher, they would then end up
putting the stronger rider under a lot of pressure.
So, you'd then end up, obviously, you have to do two minutes
as opposed to four minutes but you could end up
having quite a lot of fun together, cause the less strong
rider really puts the hurt on the strong rider.
- Yeah, and now I think that's what's great
about training with other people.
Is it, you know, pushing people,
as long as it's friendly, it's really fun.
It's way more fun and it's better training often.
- Yeah, use your imagination, I think.
But, conveniently, you made a video about it, didn't you?
- Yeah, we did. How to train in a group
without being too anti-social.
I do think it's also important to remember that,
not every ride has to be like thick zones,
you know, three and a half minutes at this cadence
and this power or whatever.
- No, thank goodness.
- No, exactly, you know, a lot of cycling is riding,
and you don't have to do something specific in every ride,
so riding with someone who's a different pace
to you is not a problem, mostly.
But maybe, if you're trying to train
for something specific, maybe not every ride.
- Yeah, anyway, some more tips check out the vid behind us.
- It's only a little bit of cobbles, Emma c'mon.
- No, I don't like those.
- But you can be sociable and considerate,
it's just a bit bumpy.
- I just, bumpy, bumpy, bumpy.
- C'mon.
(slow guitar music)
- Now to a question about what sounds like a training injury
or almost a training injury from monkeynkl.
So this is Ballard T. Edwards, V, good name.
And he says, "Here I sit after two days
straight riding vigorously with power.
Today I'm in pain, my right leg is
a half an inch shorter than the left.
The inside and outside of the leg are very stiff.
I can feel like a stiff ligament on both sides."
Doesn't want just a band aid solution.
"How can I compensate for the discrepancy
you gurus of the cycling world."
Well thanks for calling us gurus, first up.
- Yeah, right, OK, well the first thing is
if it is like a biomechanical issue like a leg length
discrepancy, I don't think either of us
are actually qualified to advise you on that.
So, I would seek out a very reputable and experienced
bike fitter because when you start messing around
with things like a bike fit, particularly if you're trying
to offset a leg length discrepancy, then you can end up
doing more harm than good, because I think that a lot of
people probably do have leg length discrepancies
and they never know about it because
it's never actually the cause of a problem.
So, I wouldn't necessarily pin all the blame on that,
there could be other factors at play here as well.
- Yup, I agree.
And the other thing is that everyone's different,
so while there are ways to sort out
a leg length discrepancy, it doesn't mean
that it's right for everyone, so I actually always,
don't anymore, but I used to use shims
to help my shorter leg be a bit longer.
I even got a, I think more than
an inch's difference in leg length, so--
- Wow, I always wondered why you walk around in circles.
(laughs)
- Yes, well, yes exactly, so yes.
So, you can compensate for it but would
go into your bike fitter first.
And then to the immediate problem, to me it sounds
like you need to see a physio and possibly another thing
that could help you is doing some strength training
because most injuries, especially on the bike
are actually caused by weaknesses
and with the right kind of strength training,
which doesn't have to take very long,
you can really help yourself to avoid those injuries.
- Yeah, I guess the only other thing I would add to that
is that it's kind of a warning to all of us out there,
and I'm not saying you have done this,
but I certainly have in the past,
and that if I suddenly start doing loads and loads
of riding, particularly long hard rides,
vigorous, and with power, then actually
that's when you end up with injuries, because you kind of
need to build up to a certain level of fatigue,
or certain hardness of ride, should we say.
So yeah that might be the cause of the problem actually,
is that you've just simply gone too hard, too soon,
and your ligaments and your tendons just aren't up to it.
But if you want a little more info
on the whole bike fit thing, then Emma did a cracking video
with the Shimano bike fit guys, and so I would definitely
check that one out as well to give you an insight
about what goes on in a proper bike fit.
- So here I see that your left leg is a little bit longer.
I see this by just looking at
the position of your ankle bone.
It's, let's say a four or five millimeter difference,
something we will almost certainly see back on the bike.
- Right on to the quickfire round
that is never quick, but anyway here we go.
First one, xtd 8865: "I'm training for a fairly flat
100-mile ride I'm aiming for an average of 20-21 mph.
Apart from structured training on a turbo trainer,
my weekend rides are mostly hilly.
Shall I focus more on flatter routes at higher speed
or hilly routes at lower speed,
will they prepare me equally well?"
- Well, this is quick an interesting one,
we don't often get asked this.
We normally get worried questions from people
who live somewhere flat, doing lots of flat training,
but they're training for something in the mountains.
So it's like a sort of obvious problem.
But I actually think this is a really good point,
because it's not so much the average speed
that's the problem, it's the duration of sustained power.
So when you're doing your 100-mile ride on the flat,
you won't get many opportunities to rest,
unless you're sitting behind someone.
You won't get any downhills, basically,
whereas when you're on a hilly training ride,
you could probably put out more power on the climbs,
and then you have a bit of a break.
I found that I like training in the mountains
and I got really bad at riding on the flat,
because I felt I have to put out power, sustained power,
the same power level, for four hours.
I can't do it anymore, I really don't like it.
- Yeah, it definitely is a specialist skill,
just like being able to ride up hills really fast,
the bonus about riding on flat roads of course,
is that you can eat as much as you like
because weight is much less of an issue
than it is when climbing up hills.
But I would say and answer your question, that you will
get prepared really well from training in hilly roads,
but it's definitely worth doing specific work as well.
Now, your turbo trainer, as long as you've got the
resistance backed off, that's gonna be really good,
because your actual peddling style changes
when you're riding on flat roads as well.
But then do some longer rides on flatter roads
as well, if you can, just so that you're ready
for that kind of effort, like Emma said,
without any kind of recovery.
- I think it depends on the person, so some people
are just physiologically suited to riding a long time
at a steady power, and some struggle.
So if you do a few rides like that in your training,
you'll know for yourself how you feel
and also if you get a sore back,
because you change your position less
when you're on the flat than you do going up and downhill.
So you might find that you need to sort of get up
every now and then and jiggle around.
- Yeah, absolutely. Told you this wasn't gonna be quick.
Right, what's next, Emma?
- The next one is, oh this is and interesting one, I think,
this is from Apit Segan, his question is
about power meter versus heart rate monitor.
- Oo, good one.
- So, not just the simple one about how to train
with a heart rate monitor, no, "for those that are using
a power meter as a training tool, they'll see
the improvement in their increased FTP.
But for those using heart rate monitors,
how do they track their improvement?"
That is a really good point.
- It is a very good point, and actually the answer
is brilliantly simple, isn't it?
Old school, just time yourself over the same section
of road, I always used to use the same climb,
and you just keep going back to that at regular intervals.
Make sure that you freshen up beforehand
to a similar extent so you're not too tired.
And basically ride up it as fast as you possibly can.
- Yeah, exactly, so the complicated thing is
you'll see probably a change in your time
and your heart rate as you get fitter.
Because say if you rode at the same heart rate,
and you were getting fitter, you'd probably
do it quicker for the same heart rate.
But as you get fitter you might be able
to raise your heart rate higher.
So when you're really fit, you might find that you can
both ride the climb quicker, and get your heart rate higher.
But essentially at the end of the day,
the game is not to get more power or to change
your heart rate, the game is to do it quicker,
so that's the thing you should measure.
- It's not bob-on accurate, of course,
you know, whether variation is the main problem,
if anything, isn't it?
- Yeah
- You'll know full well when you've got
a tailwind going up a climb and
when you've got a headwind going up a climb.
But, if you do it often enough,
you will definitely get a feel for it.
One other thing here actually, and it's just an aside,
but we were talking about it in the GCN show this week,
about heart rate variability, which you've actually
dabbled with training using that as a tool.
- Mm-hmm, I have.
- And it actually rather than measuring
number of beats per minute, it measures
the time gaps between each heart beat.
Because there is a degree of variation there
and it changes depending on your fatigue levels.
So actually you can use super accurate heart rate monitors
to get a real gauge of how tired you are,
and therefore you can change your training load.
How good is that?
- It's fascinating, I looked into this last year,
and yeah, worth it looking into.
- And didn't it tell you you were really tired.
- Yeah, but I kind of knew that already
because I kept falling asleep all the time.
(laughs)
So I could have probably guess, but yeah.
I was fascinated to find out about heart rate variability,
I had no idea that it was measurable at that,
because it's a very tiny difference.
And also I was confused to find that the more fresh you are
the more your heart rate varies.
Which I thought was the wrong way around.
- Yeah that is pretty counterintuitive.
- Yeah so it means that your body is reacting more
to the level of oxygen in your blood.
So actually over the course of breathing in
and breathing out, your heart rate changes ever so slightly,
even though you might have only a few beats.
- I feel a video coming on.
- Yeah, it's fascinating, it really is.
- Right, OK, watch this space.
Heart rate variability coming up soon.
Right, next up: sitting up in the wind, from Mail.
"If you have a strong tailwind, should you sit up
and use your body as a sail, effectively,
to help push you along, or keep in an aero tuck?"
- Depends on how fast the wind is
and how fast you're going, I suspect.
- I would agree with you there, I guess.
If you're not going very fast and you've got
a strong tailwind, then you would definitely
be advised to make yourself as big
as possible and act as a sail.
- But if you're going pretty quick,
it has to be a very strong wind,
or a very fast wind I should say, to be useful.
So yeah if it's blowing a howling gale
and you've got a tailwind, sit up and take advantage.
- I guess you know, don't you at that point,
where wind noise in your ears kind of stops,
and you get that beautiful sensation of riding
in like a silent bubble.
That's the point where you can just sit up on the tops
and be like, ah yeah check it out.
But yeah there we go then, I think that's our answer.
Right then, metabolic differences.
- This is from Michael Hancox:
"Should riders with fast metabolisms take out more food
than those with slow, or should it be
the case of simply eating to hunger?"
Well I think eating to hunger is always
a bit dangerous, frankly.
(laughs)
I mean, it's great to eat when you're hungry, but often
when you're riding that's a bit too late to be eating.
- Yes, very good point.
But the amount that people do eat,
well when they're on the bike and then when off the bike,
varies massively from person to person, doesn't it?
And indeed from the person over time.
We were just talking about this before we started filming.
When I was 18, 19 years old, I used to really struggle
through rides over four hours long.
I used to stuff my face, but I'd always blow.
Whereas now my metabolism, I assume it's down to that,
has slowed down to the extent where I don't need to eat
half as much to ride, but I can ride
for an awful lot longer without blowing.
Slower, but--
- Endurance training over the years, as well.
- Yeah yeah, and old age, creeping up a bit I guess.
Also, interesting story, for an anecdote
from an old team physiologist, who said that,
I'm probably not allowed to name names here,
he said he didn't want to at the time,
even though that was four years ago.
But he worked with one rider in particular
who could basically ride the whole Tour de France
just with water in his bottles and maybe one energy bar
to get him through a stage, literally.
And he said he worked with another rider on the same team
who needed an energy gel every 10 minutes to stop blowing.
And that gives you an idea
of the discrepancy between individuals.
- Yeah there is a huge amount of variability,
and I think you'll know as a rider,
because you should find this out in training,
what you need to eat and how much.
It is interesting when you meet people
who are new in cycling and they do blow up
quite a lot because they don't have the endurance base.
There is some dependence on body shape
and how much fat you store basically.
Very skinny people really struggle,
they're not storing as much, but it's also, you can train
yourself to metabolize far better.
So it basically, yes.
Eat depending on how much you need to eat.
- Yes, basically.
(laughs)
Right then, anyway we've got a video on that--
- Yes, yes.
- Not specifically on metabolic rates, but the basic
principles about what to eat when you're on a ride.
I think we should check that one out.
- Yeah well let's leave aside restricting carb intake
to try and improve your training response
to endurance training, let's talk about
what you need to eat to enjoy riding
and get the most out of it.
- Right, couple of cheeky little tech questions for you now.
First up from pastafari Fsm: "what is the benefit
of road bike pedals over mountain bike pedals?"
Now, this is a tricky one actually.
I suspect, in performance terms, there is no real difference
between road bike pedals and mountain bike pedals.
But on feel, I personally prefer the feel of road bike
pedals because your foot is kind of more secure.
Now it doesn't mean you can't move it
and it doesn't mean you can't get out.
But it means that the shoe doesn't rock on the pedal,
it's a much bigger contact area for cleat on pedal.
- Yeah much bigger contact area,
which gives you the feeling of security.
- That's it, yeah, it just kind of feels
more positive really whereas on a mountain bike
you've got these little metal cleats
and they rely on the shoe for stability as well.
Which you never notice when you ride, indeed,
but it's just kind of in the back--
- On the other hand, it's easier to walk in those shoes
- True
- So you could use mountain bike shoes
and pedals on a road bike and it'd be a lot easier to walk
when you get off for coffee or whatever.
But it's less aero, and you do look
a bit like a mountain biker.
- Less aero, and you look like a mountain biker,
yeah two very important points there are the end.
But yeah I reckon in a blind testing
I wouldn't notice the difference.
Actually no--
- It would be extremely hard to do that blind, because--
- In a blind testing I could tell the difference
but I think if you suddenly drop me in the middle of a ride
and I was peddling and looking at the view,
I wouldn't notice the difference.
I think that's what I mean, yeah, anyway, there we go.
What about this one, Emma, Avenz Llanto?
- Asks "is it possible to convert
from clamp brakes to disc brakes?"
- No. No, unfortunately it's not.
You need a different fork and a different frame
in order to be able to go from rim brakes to disc brakes.
And indeed different wheels, as well.
- So, can I ask GCN something now.
Is it possible to buy, or does anyone
make a frame or fork that does both?
- I believe that they do, but the trouble is you then
end up with a frame that over-engineered for rim brakes
and then you wouldn't necessarily get all
the benefits of disc brakes either.
You would have less tire clearance in order
to get a rim brake on there, whereas obviously
with disc you don't need that problem.
So no, it's not, I don't know.
Depending on where you live, it wouldn't be worth
selling your bike just to get disc brakes I don't think.
- Depends what you're using it for really.
- Yeah, that is true.
But I mean the difference between them
is pretty major at times.
Certainly here in the UK where we put up with
rain 364 days a year.
- But actually we've got a video on disc brakes
verus rim brakes which you might want to check out.
(energetic music)
- Right, run number three, rain with a little bit of snow
on discs, ready, off we go.
Oh, god.
- Final question, here we go, this is from willbaren,
it's quite an interesting one actually,
"when you crash lycra shreds, so I was wondering
did the old-fashioned wool gear provide more protection?
I'd imagine it might shred less but wool fibers might get
ground into the wound so it might not be better long term."
That does sound gross actually.
"It's a long time since roadies shifted to lycra
with its many advantages so it could be lost information.
Does anyone out there know?"
Well, I can't say that I've ever seen
neo-elbow protectors made out of wool, so.
- No. I've got a bit of personal experience on this.
I used to go mountain biking wearing old school wool jerseys
and having fallen off using those, I can definitely
attest the fact that they shred as well, pretty quickly.
And also, I think you pointed this out as well earlier,
that you can still get cut through your clothing anyway.
- Yeah, I've had crashes where my sock has been fine
but my ankle has been trashed, so.
And I don't think the wool fibers getting into the wound
is such a problem, but there is problem
in that wool is generally knitted.
So once you've got a little hole in it, it will unravel.
Whereas lycra is not normally knitted, I'm pretty sure,
so you can get a hole in it and you can still use it,
although it does look a bit shabby.
(laughs)
But you can get away with it without sort of
your entire jersey disintegrating on you.
- Yeah, don't forget as well though that there are
there's a whole kind of new developments in lycra technology
I guess, where things like ceramics are woven in,
or carbon fibers even, so you actually get super,
super, tough, durable lycra that feels like a normal
cycling short, but you can actually slide down a road in
and it's not going to disintegrate.
Again you still might get a sore bum, but, you know.
The lycra itself will stay intact.
So yeah I definitely don't think you should go turning back
to wool shorts and wool jerseys in order to try and get
some kind of robust crash protection.
- No.
- Basically. Yeah, anyway, that is unfortunately an end
to this week's Ask GCN Anything.
Do make sure of course that you give us your questions
that you would like answered, stick them right
in the comments section down below,
or submit them on social media
using the hashtag #torqueback.
And then I think perhaps it's time to watch another video,
what do you think about that?
- Yeah, you could check out this video
which we've made in Alta Badia,
which is how to climb comfortably,
on a beautiful climb.