# Whats the gear ratio for the TDF riders



## Allthatflash

I am amazed on how fast the riders keep there cadence while climbing in today's race.....what is the cassette ratio used on these machines?


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## Ventruck

Most I know is Hesjedal ran an 11-25 on Sunday's race.

Sagan's cassette wasn't listed, but you can try counting the teeth to see what he won on.









EDIT: Watching the replay of the race, I realized he's not using that same bike.


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## kbwh

He had to change it mid-race after the rear der hanger took a blow in one of the many accordion incidents.
Looks like a 11-25 and probably the pro normal 53/39 up front. The spare bikes are usually set up the same way as the main.


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## WAZCO

Allthatflash said:


> I am amazed on how fast the riders keep there cadence while climbing in today's race.....what is the cassette ratio used on these machines?


Typical for today's or the flat stages, the 11/23 will do justice for these beasts. 11/25 on mtn stages but on the steep/pitch slopes, some will use 11/27 or 11/28. There was an article where Contador uses 11/28 on one of the Giro big mtn. I can even remember some pro even use compact as well.


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## Ventruck

WAZCO said:


> There was an article where Contador uses 11/28 on one of the Giro big mtn. .


He was using an 11/32 cassette (with an Apex RD) in last year's Giro. Before that SRAM fitted a custom 12/30 setup, which iirc was mated to a compact crank because it was a pretty steep climb.


Today's hills were doable with an 11-25 as it was a rolling stage. At worst was a Category 3 climb.


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## kbwh

Pozzovivo used 50/34 and 12-29 on the queen stage of the Giro del Trentino this year.
Domenico Pozzovivo climbs into Trentino lead on Punta Veleno
But the Punta Veleno above Lake Garda is a true beast of a climb, and such gearing is seldomly used by the pros.


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## MattSoutherden

Pros ride compacts all the time these days. More often 52/36 than 50/34, but there were many days in Giro when 50/34 was commonplace. The previous 'perceived stigma' against compacts has been all but replaced with the knowledge that the most 'pro' gearing to ride is whatever gets you up the hills at a comfortable cadence.


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## Allthatflash

Wow.....very interesting. I can see how these beast just fly up these hills like im rolling on s flat area on my bike ride. But 11-25 won't that kill the legs early?.there was 6 climbs in the last part to the finish and even yhe leaders were dropped towards the end except for one. Isn't modulation the rule here since It's a long fast ride at the tour?


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## adam_mac84

Allthatflash said:


> Wow.....very interesting. I can see how these beast just fly up these hills like im rolling on s flat area on my bike ride. But 11-25 won't that kill the legs early?.there was 6 climbs in the last part to the finish and even yhe leaders were dropped towards the end except for one. Isn't modulation the rule here since It's a long fast ride at the tour?


It'd kill the legs of us mere mortals. They don't have lactic thresholds or VO2 max anywhere near us noodlers. There was an article in bicycling this month about SUFFERING. One point, mentioned a lactic acid test that the author (recreational cyclist) went through. He maxed out somewhere around 7 mMol/DL (going from memory). At the same wattage, Alberto contador was something like 0.8. Yea, a whole different league


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## foto

adam_mac84 said:


> It'd kill the legs of us mere mortals. They don't have lactic thresholds or VO2 max anywhere near us noodlers. There was an article in bicycling this month about SUFFERING. One point, mentioned a lactic acid test that the author (recreational cyclist) went through. He maxed out somewhere around 7 mMol/DL (going from memory). At the same wattage, Alberto contador was something like 0.8. Yea, a whole different league


Hey! speak for yourself.


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## gusmahler

adam_mac84 said:


> It'd kill the legs of us mere mortals. They don't have lactic thresholds or VO2 max anywhere near us noodlers. There was an article in bicycling this month about SUFFERING. One point, mentioned a lactic acid test that the author (recreational cyclist) went through. He maxed out somewhere around 7 mMol/DL (going from memory). At the same wattage, Alberto contador was something like 0.8. Yea, a whole different league


Yeah, I was talking to some Cat 2 cyclists who were talking about peaking around 400 watts. Time trialists can maintain over 400 watts for nearly an hour.


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## Blue Bird

What is the gearing like for the sprinters? The announcers talk about the sprints hitting 45-50 mph, and while I won't doubt the strength of the main sprinters, how does that work with 53-11? 53-11 on a 23c tire is 38mph @ 100 rpm, and 45 mph @ 120 rpm. They certainly don't look like they are spinning at 135+ rpm in the sprint, they look more like 100 or so. Do the faster sprinters like Cav use a bigger chainring?


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## gusmahler

According to Pro Bike: Mark Cavendish?s HTC Specialized McLaren Venge - BikeRadar

Cavendish uses 53/39 in the front, 11-25 in the rear for flat stages.


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## Blue Bird

So he is turning 120-140 rpm in a sprint, while standing? Sure doesn't look like it. I think the announcers are a bit optimistic.

Don't get me wrong, I know he is insanely fast and could rock me in every measure on a bike.


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## Guest

Blue Bird said:


> So he is turning 120-140 rpm in a sprint, while standing? Sure doesn't look like it. I think the announcers are a bit optimistic.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I know he is insanely fast and could rock me in every measure on a bike.


After some googling, looks Cavendish has clocked 49mph at the very highest in flat sprint finishes, which would be 130rpm. Note that was his fastest _ever_. I just rewatched some youtube replays of some sprint finishes and looked like ~110-120 was pretty typical cadence for out of saddle TDF sprint finishes (18-20 cycles in 10 seconds on the video)


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## Ridin'Sorra

Blue Bird said:


> So he is turning 120-140 rpm in a sprint, while standing? Sure doesn't look like it. I think the announcers are a bit optimistic.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I know he is insanely fast and could rock me in every measure on a bike.


That huge big crash that got Schleck and others, is said to have happened while the peloton was going at 70kmh (43mph for the metric challenged ).

While they were really racing, they were not sprinting.

Let's face it. These guys are extraterrestrial.


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## gusmahler

SRM's site has Griepel's power meter data. He got to 88 kph on stage 4. Not sure how accurate that power meter is.


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## foto

I believe it.


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## Allthatflash

gusmahler said:


> SRM's site has Griepel's power meter data. He got to 88 kph on stage 4. Not sure how accurate that power meter is.


Thats 54.6 mph........I know these guys are fast but I don't think sppeds are that high or atleast not for an entire race imo


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## Allthatflash

Well I know that teams use 54-56/39 front rings on TT bikes but I don't think they run that on the road bike but who knows? what one can't pull someone else might be able to


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## Kodi Crescent

MattSoutherden said:


> Pros ride compacts all the time these days. More often 52/36 than 50/34, but there were many days in Giro when 50/34 was commonplace. The previous 'perceived stigma' against compacts has been all but replaced with the knowledge that the most 'pro' gearing to ride is whatever gets you up the hills at a comfortable cadence.


I can now own a compact without shame!


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## foto

Allthatflash said:


> Thats 54.6 mph........*I know these guys are fast but I don't think sppeds are that high or atleast not for an entire race imo*


You would be surprised. Sprinters like Greipel actually ride at sprinting speed for the entire 200+ kms of the flat stages.


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## Wookiebiker

Standard flat stage gearing for the pro's is a 53/39 with an 11x23 in the rear. For climbing stages in the TDF they likely will stay with a standard up front and will use anything from an 11x25 to 11x32 depending on the rider...the climbs are not steep enough to warrant droping to a compact in the TDF.

In the Giro and Vuelta they do harder climbs where the stage may necessitate a compact chainring setup.

As for sprinting...yes they do spin 120+ RPM while standing. If you want to see guys spin a high cadence while sprinting and standing go to the track...those guys are out of the saddle spinning 150-160 RPM.

The moral of the story...nevery try and compare what you do with the Pro's. They are at another level (legal or not) and ride things much differently than the rest of us. Their bike set up is different, their fit is different and their equipment is different. Their bike is a "Tool" that is used for a purpose...not a "Toy/hobby item" used to stay fit and race occassionally.


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## cxwrench

Wookiebiker said:


> Standard flat stage gearing for the pro's is a 53/39 with an 11x23 in the rear. For climbing stages in the TDF they likely will stay with a standard up front and will use anything from an 11x25 to 11x32 depending on the rider...the climbs are not steep enough to warrant droping to a compact in the TDF.
> 
> In the Giro and Vuelta they do harder climbs where the stage may necessitate a compact chainring setup.
> 
> As for sprinting...yes they do spin 120+ RPM while standing. If you want to see guys spin a high cadence while sprinting and standing go to the track...those guys are out of the saddle spinning 150-160 RPM.
> 
> The moral of the story...nevery try and compare what you do with the Pro's. They are at another level (legal or not) and ride things much differently than the rest of us. Their bike set up is different, their fit is different and their equipment is different. Their bike is a "Tool" that is used for a purpose...not a "Toy/hobby item" used to stay fit and race occassionally.


check this out...257rpm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuQnBiOqjh8


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## foto

And then check this out


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