gearing problem?
806
Member
1253 days
thehitman posted 1 year ago.
How many teeth in your largest cog?
You might only have 23. Even with 25, you might want to go to a 27 for hilly terrain. A 12 X 27 would give you a good selection of gears.
One other possibility is going with a compact crank. Switching from a 52/39 to a 50/34 will not only provide you with as much speed as you can generate in the higher gears, you'll have the benefit of substantially lower gearing. Many TdF riders are using compact cranks in the mountain stages.
thehitman
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain
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835
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1242 days
glbrum posted 1 year ago.
I'd just check the cassette and get something that has a litle more climbing ability ( a 12-25 or 12-27). Compact crank is also a great idea. You could stay with an 11-23 cassette, but climbing would be a lot easier. Also, the 50-11 combo of a compact is right about the same as a 53-12 combo from a normal crankset. You really don't loss any top end with a compact. How often are you even in the 53-12 anyway? I know I'm never in it.
The cheap way: cassette
The more expensive, more exciting way: compact crankset.
Have fun
157
Member
695 days
Pete L. posted 1 year ago.
I'll count my cassette tonight. I don't remember what I have, I did count it one time, but I'm not familiar enough with the numbers to remember. Thanks for the advice.
Edit:
I counted and I have 12-26 9 speed on the back, and on the front I have 3 chain rings. I'm not sure how many there are, I didn't see the numbers.
806
Member
1253 days
thehitman posted 1 year ago.
With a triple chainring, I'd think that your gearing would already be adequate. Assuming you're in your smallest chainring with the largest cog, maybe its just a matter of more riding time under your belt.
thehitman
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain
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157
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695 days
Pete L. posted 1 year ago.
I'm about to get a power meter/hr monitor (Polar). Maybe I'm just not very strong. Thats a very good possibility.
903
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1067 days
PJT posted 1 year ago.
I agree with hitman. A 12-26 and a triple crank should be good enough. I think the only way you can get easier gearing would be to move to a 12-27 (which adds very, very little--just 1 tooth on your biggest cog).
I've also heard of people attempting to put MTB drivetrains on road bikes, but that sounds expensive and bothersome and I'm not sure how well it would even work.
157
Member
695 days
Pete L. posted 1 year ago.
Well I did a 20 minute time trial effort on a fitness bike at the gym today (not really set up like my bike, but it can at least measure power) and I pushed 204 watts @ 105 rpms.
Based on the info above, doing my hill climbs at around maybe 60-70 rpm in my lowest gear, should I invest in a smaller crank, or just try and get my wattage up?
I won't be able to afford a power meter until probably Christmas, so I can't say what kind of wattage I'm pushing on those hills.
Thanks for the advice all.
Hello,
I live in norther utah on the backside of the Wasatch mountains. I do a lot of climbing back here, and I find I'm spending way too much time in my smallest ring on the biggest end of my cassette. I'm thinking I need to get a new cassette. Do I need to plan to get anything else?
Is this pretty common, or do I need to suck it up and just work toward getting up to my full cadence on those steep hills?
I'm not sure what is on there now, but I'm thinking its not sufficient. I like being able to go fast on the downhill, but even on the flats, I'm not into my highest gear, so I'm thinking I have some room to update my cassette.