Roger Joys (Mail Lists)
I sure liked having one descending off Mt Bachelor with a 20+mph tailwind
today :)
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Don L. Hanson
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2008 6:36 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Who needs an 11
I use one sometimes. Why is it that lots of scorn is heaped onto people
who say they do need an 11? You all who get along fine with a 12..well,
great! Good for you. Ya think we who say we do use an 11, we're fibbing?
To 'seem Macho' or something?
When I ride (the Gorge, near Hood River) we often do long 'tilted' rides.
Rides that might take us up 3-4 k in elevation and have us descending over
15mi or so. The little climbers hurt us going up and the big stong guys
(Hi, Karsten) get us descending. Getting in behind some of these guys when
they 'ramp it up' I find an 11-53 useful. It's also fun to time your own
pull to coincide with a steeper part of the descent, then spin out the 11-53
and leave all the 'conventional-thinkers' those who "don't ever see the need
for an 11" behind.
Now, I can't hold the speed an 11-53 is numericly capable of for very
long, but it's worked, over a short stretch, in a couple of races, to get me
a podium..
One RR in particular, the Huntsman Games in Utah, which has an
age-category structure, the RR descends the reverse of the uphill TT
Hillclimb course, descending 5 steep-ish miles just a few miles from the
finish, which is flat. I brought an 11 for that race and 'recruited' two
mountain guys (from Colorado) to work with me for a breakaway on the
descent, and it worked really well. We surprised the pack, attacking on the
downhill. Everyone without an 11 or running a compact was left spinning as
we hammered away down an average 7% road and got enough gap to hold off the
chase..You shoulda heard them.."Hey, don't attack on the downhill, dummies"
"What the f--k do you guys think you're trying to do?" "Hey, stay together
on the descent" "Hey, wait up up there!"..funny..but they didn't think
'anyone needs an 11' so ...
So, yah, for everyday rides, I get along well with a 12, but when there's
a sustained downhill and fast company, an 11 lets me apply power at speed.
Don Hanson
_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org