Maratona dles Dolomites

e999sam
e999sam Posts: 426
edited July 2008 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Can anyone who has ridden this event give me any advice on gearing?At the moment my smallest gear is 39x27. Is it small enough?

Comments

  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    I did it back in 2000 with a 39x26 lowest gear but I was young and foolish then. The Giau is a very hard climb which averages 10% for 10 kms so I'd recommend a compact.
  • e999sam
    e999sam Posts: 426
    andyp wrote:
    I did it back in 2000 with a 39x26 lowest gear but I was young and foolish then. The Giau is a very hard climb which averages 10% for 10 kms so I'd recommend a compact.

    Yes that's what I was thinking. I was hopping someone would persuade me otherwise before I went out and spent £100 on a compact.
  • Benny Hone
    Benny Hone Posts: 43
    I'll try and persuade you then. I put a compact on for last year's event and didn't use the bottom three at all. The climbs are long but well graded and certainly not steep by Lancashire/Yorkshire/Cumbria standards. If I was to do it again (and I will one day - it's a magnificent event), I wouldn't bother with the compact at all. That's my tuppenyworth anyway.
    ************************
    Your optimism strikes me like junk mail addressed to the dead.
  • e999sam
    e999sam Posts: 426
    Benny Hone wrote:
    I'll try and persuade you then. I put a compact on for last year's event and didn't use the bottom three at all. The climbs are long but well graded and certainly not steep by Lancashire/Yorkshire/Cumbria standards. If I was to do it again (and I will one day - it's a magnificent event), I wouldn't bother with the compact at all. That's my tuppenyworth anyway.

    That's made me feel a lot better.
  • Blonde
    Blonde Posts: 3,188
    Just to say gearing is an individual thing and really depends on how fast you want/need to turn the pedals at any given speed. I have never cycled the Pyrenees but in the Alps a friend got by with a double whilst i have a triple and my partner a compact. The friend did say at the time though that he wished he had a compact or triple like my partner and I, as by the third day his legs were painful. I have noticed that if you have the smaller gears you will use them. not because you absolutely need to but because they are there - and because it makes it easier. Of course you will get by without, and get round somehow, but you don't need to suffer - Why make it any harder than it is already? If you have the time/money to do it, you may as well fit a compact and enjoy the ride more.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    Benny Hone wrote:
    I'll try and persuade you then. I put a compact on for last year's event and didn't use the bottom three at all. The climbs are long but well graded and certainly not steep by Lancashire/Yorkshire/Cumbria standards. If I was to do it again (and I will one day - it's a magnificent event), I wouldn't bother with the compact at all. That's my tuppenyworth anyway.
    Bet you change your mind after doing the Giau on a 39! :wink:
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    On a more serious note, I'd echo a lot of what Blonde says - why make it harder for yourself? Gearing is a very individual thing but having a spare gear or two is pyschologically better as you know your not in bottom gear just yet.

    I'm also wary of comparing Alpine climbs with UK ones - sure UK ones are steeper but they are also significantly shorter and you can usually get up them with brute strength. Climbing in the Alps is different and having a gear or two that you can spin can make a huge amount of difference.
  • Yorkman
    Yorkman Posts: 290
    e999sam wrote:
    Can anyone who has ridden this event give me any advice on gearing?At the moment my smallest gear is 39x27. Is it small enough?

    I'm doing the granfondo Campagnolo in 2 weeks, which is a liitle longer and more climbing, and I'm fitting a 50/34 compact and a dinner plate sized 12-29 cassette.

    You need to factor in the effect of the heat if the sun comes out, there's no harm having a safety net fitted if you need it.
  • e999sam
    e999sam Posts: 426
    Got back yesterday. In the end I fitted a compact and boy did I need it I don't think I would have completed it on a 53/39.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    Good to hear it Sam - did you enjoy the event? The scenery is stunning isn't it.
  • e999sam
    e999sam Posts: 426
    I really enjoyed the whole w/end. The scenery was fantastic and I've never seen so many cyclists in one place.
    The event was really well organized it was well marshaled and the feed stations were pretty easy to use with plenty of food and drink. They have also provided loads of stats and video of the event on the web site afterwards so you can track your own progress through out the day. The only criticism was that they opened the roads back very early we had to ride the last 20k in traffic towards the end.
    On Monday we had a free day so we rode half of the event again this gave us an opportunity to really appreciate the magnificent scenery.

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