DF training and short crank experiment

I've been training exclusively on the DF for the past two weeks. Try as I might to stress my hips and hamstrings my quads don't want to deactivate to the degree I'd like. Perhaps it would take something like a crank-foward to achieve the desired result. Since I'm still interested in performance, that is not a possibility. Anyway, as a result I've had to go back to every other day training just like on the open position recumbent. I was hoping to be able to ride every day and not overtrain.

My DF fitness has improved greatly in those two weeks and I'm happy about that but what concerns me is that my body is slow. I'm okay just plugging along but there is no snap in my legs. That wasn't the case on my other DF. The only real difference is my other DF has 140mm cranks so I put 140mm cranks on my new bike, replacing the 172.5s.

What a difference. Even though today is my rest day I did a few small gear runs up and down the street. I felt like a gorilla riding a tiny circus bike but the speed and acceleration were there. For that position those short cranks allow my legs to work like they are supposed to. Instead of instant leg burn and aerobic debt when standing on the longer cranks, I feel just as comfortable as sitting and the bike even feels like it fits better.

Tomorrow will be the true test. I'm doing a 50-miler with some climbing. As a side experiment I threw a 20" wheel on the front to produce a really aggressive position on the bike as a possible option for sprinting on the velodrome. The position felt good but what I really noticed was how much more rolling resistance there was with the 20x406 Stelvio. Shit, I've got two of those on my recumbent.

Speaking of my recumbent, on my last ride two weeks ago I was able to do some coastdown tests against the highracer I built for Peter Borenstadt. I've got 25lbs more body and with the tailfairing and all of the crap I stuff in it I have at least another 10lbs on him. So even with a 35lb weight advantage he was able to equal my coasting speeds in the 25-30mph range. I was tailfaired and he was unfaired. Yikes! On the bright side, my recent PR speeds were all me thanks to the closed position power.

Part of me wants to mix in recumbent training with the DF but the DF is so superior to fitness building that I don't want to take the step backwards. I can't quite put my finger on why but training on the DF feels more natural and healthy. I definitely feels more free, especially with the shorter cranks allowing me to get off the saddle.