I remember elliptical chain rings! I had one in the 1990s on my road bike, brand not recalled. I loved it; pedaling felt much smoother and power better distributed.
I’ve been accused of being a masher, and I had been riding 50-60rpm until recently, after much needling by my cycling buddies. (“Shift!” they would exhort on inclines.) I’m now 60-80rpm, so I guess out of range of those old Biotechs. The higher cadence does increase endurance, though I still need to feel some resistance to believe I am actually going somewhere! After 80rpm, it feels like a cartoon ride. But most of my cycling buddies prefer that high cadence and think I’m nuts to want some of that resistance. At the end of the day, though, we’re going about the same speeds. On Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 8:36:28 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > In searching the list archives for things about Sturmey-Archer hubs, I ran > across some posts from people who don't like to pedal with a higher cadence. > > There are lots of reasons why one might *choose* to ride this way. > Physiology, previous athletic experience, (pedaling a bicycle is just > *really, > really different* from anything else that any human ever does with their > legs,) and feelings of control have all been mentioned. > > None of those reasons are wrong. > > But, for those who ride this way, I'd had a thought as soon as I read the > posts: > > Biopace. > > Shimano designed the 1st-gen Biopace rings, the ones with the yellow > stickers, on the assumption that recreational riders pedaled slowly. Since > non-round chainrings have to be designed for a particular cadence range, > Shimano's engineers had to pick one, and IIRC they picked 70-80 rpm. > > I've spent some quality time on Biopace rings, and I think they nailed > it... they worked great... for a way that basically nobody who was buying > bike-shop bikes in 1987 rode bikes. For me, they worked best just below the > point at which I'd stop spinning and start 'ankling.' (For those younger, > that's the 'scrape mud off your shoe' pedaling style.) At my preferred > flatland cadence, they felt really weird. > > Can anybody in the slow-pedal gang tried this, and if so, am I right? > > --Shannon > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5118ec64-20a4-4f46-ab48-eefb1c5defadn%40googlegroups.com.
