Andrew Kirk
Pedal boater.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2021
- Messages
- 97
- Reaction score
- 68
- Location
- Chorley UK
My dinghy is pedalled from a recumbent position. The difference between the boat and my mountain bikes is that the boat requires a constant application of effort since on the canal there are no hills! The terrain forces the mountain biker to adjust his effort constantly. The big thing I've changed on my boat is the gearing, to get the right cadence. I certainly only need one gear but the pedalling rate needs to be right. At first I was only achieving around 30 rpm and it was hardly making me breathe but killing my leg muscles. I fitted a chain and sprockets to double the cadence and things are much better.
Power is given by torque multiplied by frequency so now, at twice the cadence, I only need half the turning force and my legs are doing fine. I can now spin the pedals at up to 70 rpm which is probably still a little low. My speed has increased a little at a better cadence.
So whatever your pedal powered propulsion system you need to get your gearing correct for speed and stamina. I've written quite a lot of posts about it in my blog.
https://mountainbiker.online/2021/10/26/cross-training/
Power is given by torque multiplied by frequency so now, at twice the cadence, I only need half the turning force and my legs are doing fine. I can now spin the pedals at up to 70 rpm which is probably still a little low. My speed has increased a little at a better cadence.
So whatever your pedal powered propulsion system you need to get your gearing correct for speed and stamina. I've written quite a lot of posts about it in my blog.
https://mountainbiker.online/2021/10/26/cross-training/
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