the gear was hitting the upper left side at “34-29”
English translation: I was using a very low gear involving high force and low velocity
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09:51 Sep 14, 2011
English to English translations [PRO] Sports / Fitness / Recreation / cycling
English term or phrase:the gear was hitting the upper left side at “34-29”
I'm language-editing this text for the employee magazine of a telecoms company (so no guarantee that the readers will know cycling jargon). This guy is describing how he and a group of 3,000 Belgians recently took part in the Climbing for Life event, which involves cycling up the Col de Galibier in the French Alps - no mean feat, as it's more than 2,600 m high! Text is written in English by a Flemish speaker. Does the second bit about the gear make any sense to anyone? If not, I'd welcome suggestions on how to improve it. This is unedited text, of course, so [sic] applies throughout (!)
After crossing the road barrier for the automobile traffic and no-stopping at the supply at “Plan Lachat” after 10km, the ultimate battle with the final 7 steep km could begin. After a couple of hairpins and very steep road my speed dropped to 6km/h, and **the gear was hitting the upper left side at “34-29”** for quite a while now! It was difficult, it hurt, but at the same time it felt so good to be part of this unique event with so many other people hunting the same goal!
Does it just mean he had been in the lowest gear for a while?
Explanation: "hitting the upper left side" refers, I believe, to Quadrant Analysis, "a means of analyzing powermeter data files to obtain additional insight into the neuromuscular demands of a race or training session". There are four quadrants:
- Quadrant I (upper right): high force and high velocity
- Quadrant II (upper left): high force but low velocity: "Typically, "quadrant II pedaling" occurs when climbing or accelerating"
- Quadrant III (lower left): low force and low velocity
- Quadrant IV (lower right): low force but high velocity http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/quadrant-anal...
"34-29" is a way of expressing the gear ratio in terms of the respective number of teeth in the front and rear gear wheels (chainrig and cog).
"Front/rear gear measurement uses two numbers (e.g. 53/19) where the first is the number of teeth in the front chainring and the second is the number of teeth in the rear sprocket. Without doing some arithmetic, it is not immediately obvious that 53/19 and 39/14 represent effectively the same gear ratio." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_gearing
34-29 is very low indeed.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 21 hrs (2011-09-15 07:44:43 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
On page 3 of the following manual, "Basics of Cycling Training", there is a chart showing a different though related kind of quadrant analysis: strength/endurance versus aerobic intensity. "Long hills" is in the upper left quadrant (strength/aerobic). http://www.cyclesportcoaching.com/Files/BasicsofCyclingTrain...
However, I think it is more likely to refer to a standard force/velocity QA. Here's another source:
"Quadrant Analysis (QA) is a tool developed to determine the relationships between the two main determinants of power, namely the velocity of muscle contraction (as indicated by cadence) and the force applied to pedals. The velocity of muscle contraction is represented on the X-axis by what is called the circumferential pedal velocity (CPV), whereas the force applied to the pedals is represented on the Y-axis by average effective pedal force (AEPF). [...]
Below is the QA for Andrew Crawley's total ride at the recent State Road Championships. Hopefully you can see the percentage of the total ride that Andy spent in each quadrant. [...]
Quadrant 1: High force and high velocity (upper right), i.e. sprinting or supra-threshold efforts on flat ground.
Quadrant II: High force but low velocity (upper left), i.e. climbing or accelerating from a low speed.
Quadrant III: Low force and low velocity (lower left), recovery rides.
Quadrant IV: Low force but high velocity (lower right), roller session or criterium requiring frequent and rapid accelerations." http://www.nutriscience.com.au/blogdetails.aspx?id=29
There are other ways of interpreting "left" in relation to gears, but this is the only way I can account for "upper left". I don't think it can refer to the upper left side of his body or the upper left side of the pack of riders. If it said "I was hitting the upper left side", one of these might be a possibility, but not with "the gear was hitting the upper left side": this clearly seems to refer to the dynamics of the ride.
Since the text isn't intended for cyclists, I kept it simple - using a very low gear / using the lowest possible gear. A cycling friend confirmed that the idea is that no more assistance is available from the bike and the poor guy is all on his own as he heads for the steepest part of the climb (!) Thanks, everybody. 3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
I was using a very low gear involving high force and low velocity
Explanation: "hitting the upper left side" refers, I believe, to Quadrant Analysis, "a means of analyzing powermeter data files to obtain additional insight into the neuromuscular demands of a race or training session". There are four quadrants:
- Quadrant I (upper right): high force and high velocity
- Quadrant II (upper left): high force but low velocity: "Typically, "quadrant II pedaling" occurs when climbing or accelerating"
- Quadrant III (lower left): low force and low velocity
- Quadrant IV (lower right): low force but high velocity http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/quadrant-anal...
"34-29" is a way of expressing the gear ratio in terms of the respective number of teeth in the front and rear gear wheels (chainrig and cog).
"Front/rear gear measurement uses two numbers (e.g. 53/19) where the first is the number of teeth in the front chainring and the second is the number of teeth in the rear sprocket. Without doing some arithmetic, it is not immediately obvious that 53/19 and 39/14 represent effectively the same gear ratio." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_gearing
34-29 is very low indeed.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 21 hrs (2011-09-15 07:44:43 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
On page 3 of the following manual, "Basics of Cycling Training", there is a chart showing a different though related kind of quadrant analysis: strength/endurance versus aerobic intensity. "Long hills" is in the upper left quadrant (strength/aerobic). http://www.cyclesportcoaching.com/Files/BasicsofCyclingTrain...
However, I think it is more likely to refer to a standard force/velocity QA. Here's another source:
"Quadrant Analysis (QA) is a tool developed to determine the relationships between the two main determinants of power, namely the velocity of muscle contraction (as indicated by cadence) and the force applied to pedals. The velocity of muscle contraction is represented on the X-axis by what is called the circumferential pedal velocity (CPV), whereas the force applied to the pedals is represented on the Y-axis by average effective pedal force (AEPF). [...]
Below is the QA for Andrew Crawley's total ride at the recent State Road Championships. Hopefully you can see the percentage of the total ride that Andy spent in each quadrant. [...]
Quadrant 1: High force and high velocity (upper right), i.e. sprinting or supra-threshold efforts on flat ground.
Quadrant II: High force but low velocity (upper left), i.e. climbing or accelerating from a low speed.
Quadrant III: Low force and low velocity (lower left), recovery rides.
Quadrant IV: Low force but high velocity (lower right), roller session or criterium requiring frequent and rapid accelerations." http://www.nutriscience.com.au/blogdetails.aspx?id=29
There are other ways of interpreting "left" in relation to gears, but this is the only way I can account for "upper left". I don't think it can refer to the upper left side of his body or the upper left side of the pack of riders. If it said "I was hitting the upper left side", one of these might be a possibility, but not with "the gear was hitting the upper left side": this clearly seems to refer to the dynamics of the ride.
Charles Davis Local time: 03:25 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 3
Grading comment
Since the text isn't intended for cyclists, I kept it simple - using a very low gear / using the lowest possible gear. A cycling friend confirmed that the idea is that no more assistance is available from the bike and the poor guy is all on his own as he heads for the steepest part of the climb (!) Thanks, everybody.
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peer agreement (net): +1
