54-11: can you spin that?
 

A typical time trial bicycle used in the Tour de France. http://www.sbrshop.com/files/cbtr-0009_b.jpg
These guys are using 54-11 gearing on these TTs; gearing which I have never even seen at my LBS (Local Bike Shop). They are, in fact, spinning at 54-11, hitting around 50 mph in the Stage 4 time trial.

Oh yeah, and they're wearing spandex while doing so.

Supermen, no doubt.

especially impressive as there are no pedals on that bike... serious big-toe strength.

Few, if any, performance bikes come with pedals, as they are a personal choice dependent on the rider.

If you want pedals, let me suggest buying a bicycle at Wal Mart.

Does the shoe hook into the crank?

I know almost nothing about this subject, but am capable of pushing pedals. :)

I'm curious why the rear spokes are covered but not the front. I assume there has been some wind tunnel work.
What does a competive machine for the Tour cost these days?
Jim

The pedle of choice screws into the crank.

Pedals are like ski bindings, some are step in like "rat traps" some are clip in, many different ways to do the same thing.

Producing 400+ watts for over an hour. That's easy.

I think some of these guys are freaks and others are still using go-go juice.

A friend of mine won the Ironman in the early days and was a pro bike rider for years, and still does it for a living.

He is not normal and we still sometimes wonder if he is really human...

My nephew is currenly big into this stuff. He was first in the state of Tennessee in his age group (15-19, I believe), but I think he has slipped to second. He just bought some carbon fiber wheels that only weigh 1400 grams, IIRC. I thought Porsche owners were into weigth reduction... :)

The only place I usually see gearing like that is on a road tandem - and it's passing me very very quickly!

Nobody is as much of a weight freak as a cyclist. Nobody - not even Porsche dudes. $$$$ money spent losing grams. Not pounds - GRAMS!

angela

The technology is so advanced these days. I saw a special on Lance Armstrong - Team Armstong - and they were doing wind tunnel experiments where they varied the roughness on different parts of his racing suit to gain MPH!

Turns out the suit needs to be smooth in some areas, and rough in others (I'm talking about on the outside, ha ha).

When I was in college I could hit a little over 40 mph with the 53/14 gearing that was on my bike. Of course, the problem was keeping it up for more than a few hundred yards. No way could I do what those guys do.

JR

400W is insane output.

54-11 is VERY tall. I could probably spin it, but it would take some doing to get it up to speed and at a typical cadence. I could probably sustain it on flat ground for a while, but on inclines - even little ones, I imagine it'd be damn near impossible.

The tallest gearing on my Pinarello is 53-15 I think, and that's pretty tough to keep spun up.

The world-class guys are simply amazing.

The covered wheel acts as a "sail" and increases forward speed in a cross-wind. Covering the front wheel would make steering in a cross wind impossible.

Downhill with a tailwind... maybe.

I routinely spin a 54 -11 gear on my bike. Although I ride exclusively down a vertical mineshaft in a near vacuum, I find it not too hard to do. Sometimes I even approach terminal velocity.

As a hobby I like to build LW bits for bikes. Laneco is correct; no wheeled sport is more weight obsessive than competitive bicycle road racing.