What Gives More Heat: Lower Gear/Faster Pedal or Higher Gear/Slower Pedal?
After stopping in the winter to take a photo I typically try to warm back up by spinning quickly. Yesterday, I stopped for a mechanical issue and decided to pedal in a larger gear to get to work quicker. Surprisingly, I stayed just as warm.
So this begs the question: What generates more heat to keep you warm in winter, lower gear (higher cog) faster pedal or higher gear (smaller cog) slower pedal?
Anyone know this from experience or a study?
Views: 237
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by envane (69 furlongs) on -
As long as you are generating the same amount of power, I don't think it matters what gear you put it in.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on -
It evens out with the wind chill in the Winter though I ride single speed/fixed so unless you want leg burn(higher) or leg fatigue(lower) staying warm is an issue of layering.
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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on -
I love this question. My hunch is that envane is correct. Gene's experience seems to support the theory.
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Permalink Reply by Casey Carnes on -
My 2 cents...
Power is a calculation of torque AND speed. Heat is generated by burning calories i.e. using power.
If you are on the same road, going the same speed, your power output is practically the same regardless of what gear you are in, within reason. 70-110 RPM cadence is within reason for most cyclists. There are some frictional losses that occur at higher rotational speeds, but these are minimal. Cadence is more a question of muscle development and personal preference.
I also found this nifty calculator while thinking about this...
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) on -
Cue the "I ride fixed gear so this question is moot" crowd.
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on -
No it's not, swap a cog or chain ring and you can spin to your hearts content. When I had a fixed gear I swapped to a larger cog in the winter because I felt more in control with it.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:Cue the "I ride fixed gear so this question is moot" crowd.
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Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on -
Heat is waste energy. The heat you produce is chemical energy from the food you consume that your muscles convert to thermal energy rather than kinetic energy of the bike. The kinetic energy of the bike is only related to it's speed and mass, so the work applied to the bike by your muscles to accelerate to given speed is the same whether you apply a large force over a small distance (low cadence, high gear) or a little force over a large distance (high cadence, low gear). So the question of which one generates more heat really a question of whether human muscle is more efficient when applying a large force and moving slowly or when applying a small force and moving quickly.
Now that the question has shifted from physics to biology, I have very little to add.
Casey Carnes said:My 2 cents...
Power is a calculation of torque AND speed. Heat is generated by burning calories i.e. using power.
If you are on the same road, going the same speed, your power output is practically the same regardless of what gear you are in, within reason. 70-110 RPM cadence is within reason for most cyclists. There are some frictional losses that occur at higher rotational speeds, but these are minimal. Cadence is more a question of muscle development and personal preference.
I also found this nifty calculator while thinking about this...
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
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Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on -
On the biology side--I always assumed that the heat benefit from spinning faster was due to increased circulation to the extremities. Might be a myth, but it's one that I've lived by...
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Permalink Reply by kiltedcelt on -
My knees and quads protest too much if I push too high of a gear without having sufficiently high cadence. I tend to watch my cadence more than anything else. I don't feel comfortable unless I'm riding around 93 rpm or higher, so I tend to spin at a pretty high rate most of the time. I imagine the power output is probably pretty similar for high spinning or gear mashing. Gear mashing just seems to tear my legs up. Conditions being good (ie. no headwind), I typically ride along at about 15-16 mph. Some days I get lucky and have a little bit of a tail wind or its calm enough that I can tear it up at a whopping 17-18 mph. Seems to be plenty fast to keep me warmed up and sweating pretty good most of the time.
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Permalink Reply by S on -
The generally accepted rule of thumb is that gear mashing puts more strain on your quads and their strength while spinning at high cadence puts more strain on your cardiovascular system.
kiltedcelt said:My knees and quads protest too much if I push too high of a gear without having sufficiently high cadence. I tend to watch my cadence more than anything else. I don't feel comfortable unless I'm riding around 93 rpm or higher, so I tend to spin at a pretty high rate most of the time. I imagine the power output is probably pretty similar for high spinning or gear mashing. Gear mashing just seems to tear my legs up. Conditions being good (ie. no headwind), I typically ride along at about 15-16 mph. Some days I get lucky and have a little bit of a tail wind or its calm enough that I can tear it up at a whopping 17-18 mph. Seems to be plenty fast to keep me warmed up and sweating pretty good most of the time.
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