Very basic gears question.
charlesa
Posts: 26
Apologies in advance for my complete ignorance on this question:
I cycle around 16 miles a day, a combination of fairly gently undulating Hampshire countryside and flat London streets. At the weekends I am an occasional 20-50 mile cyclist on a Specialized Sirrus Pro.
For the commuting I use a Gary Fisher Wahoo MTB with Bontrager 26 x 1.50 tyres.
The problem is I only use the larger of the 3 rings at the front and I would like to change this for something that might give me more speed.
If someone could briefly explain what my options are I would be very grateful.
Thanks, Charles
I cycle around 16 miles a day, a combination of fairly gently undulating Hampshire countryside and flat London streets. At the weekends I am an occasional 20-50 mile cyclist on a Specialized Sirrus Pro.
For the commuting I use a Gary Fisher Wahoo MTB with Bontrager 26 x 1.50 tyres.
The problem is I only use the larger of the 3 rings at the front and I would like to change this for something that might give me more speed.
If someone could briefly explain what my options are I would be very grateful.
Thanks, Charles
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you can replace that ring with a larger ring with more teeth, that will help to stop you from spinning out. The current big ring should have a number of how many teeth it has on it, just get a larger ring.0
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I could do with sorting out my front rings (a tricross sport) - they don't seem to have that much effect on how hard I have to pedal, compared with a single change at the back....
Btw is it hard to do it yourself?0 -
tardie wrote:I could do with sorting out my front rings (a tricross sport) - they don't seem to have that much effect on how hard I have to pedal, compared with a single change at the back....
Btw is it hard to do it yourself?
if the chainset is separate rings, its dead easy.. search the usual places for a guide (park, sheldon etc). Some chainsets are rivetted together though, so would need replaced entirely.Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
My advice would be to keep the rings at the front and fit a close-ratio block at the back. Then you would have smaller jumps between the gears but still get the low gears you need for hills by using the smaller chain rings. You should also train yourself to spin instead of mash, since this is more efficient as well as being kinder to you knees.This post contains traces of nuts.0
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Yep, seperate rings! I can use an allen key to screw about with them as well! Maybe not just yet though... 8)0
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dondare wrote:You should also train yourself to spin instead of mash, since this is more efficient as well as being kinder to you knees.
Sometimes I wish this site came with a glossary so I didn't seem so fick :oops:
What is spinning and mashing ? I'd love to know as I worry about my knees and don't want to mash.....
(apparently)
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spin = high cadence
mash = low cadence<a>road</a>0 -
Spin is turn low gears quickly, mash is use a lot of force to push big gears round slowly. Spinning is harder to get used to, but is less tiring. Mashing can make your knees hurt and even cause them lasting damage.This post contains traces of nuts.0
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I never heard of mashing til now myself! Though it makes total sense if I think about it...
Will single speed people all end up as crippled middle aged people? :twisted:0 -
Fixed gear riders learn to spin at very high rates. Obviously they have to force it when climbing but an intelligent choice of gear and route will mean that this isn't done too often. Fixies also develop a very fluid style that evens out the pedalling forces. Nevertheless, fixed wheel riding is not recommended for anyone with knee problems.This post contains traces of nuts.0
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appreciate that explanation, being the wrong side of 40 I don't want to do any damage to the bits that haven't yet failed.
Now all I need to do is find out what I do at the moment, I think I mash every so often but cycling to work and back tomorrow (10 miles each way) so I'll pay attention.
new mantra "low gear, high revs, good"
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mtbcommuter wrote:"low gear, high revs, good"
Not necessarily.
Your ideal cadence varies from person to person. Unless you are putting out high power (ie racing sort of power - not effort) it's been proven that lower cadences are more efficient.
Obviously you need to choose you gears sensibly, you don't want to be consciously fighting to keep the cadence up, you should choose a gear you feel comfortable with and not worry about what your cadence is.
Yes Lance did ride at 120rpm a lot of the time, but I bet he was putting out a lot more power than anyone on the commuting forum does.0 -
redddraggon wrote:dondare wrote:You should also train yourself to spin instead of mash, since this is more efficient as well as being kinder to you knees.
That's an urban myth I'm afraid.
If it was an Urban Myth then there'd be a bit where a teenager was killed by a mad man.
I think of it as being Conventional Wisdom. I know that I used to push the big gears and now my knees are buggered. These days I have to use low gears.This post contains traces of nuts.0 -
dondare wrote:I think of it as being Conventional Wisdom. I know that I used to push the big gears and now my knees are buggered. These days I have to use low gears.
I'm not questioning that bit, just the efficiency bit.
Cadence is a red herring, one day I climb a hill in 39-25 @70rpm (max effort let's say), and the next day I go up the same hill with my nephew 39-25 @45rpm - is the second instance more damaging to my knees? Nope.
Just make you don't push a high gear, don't worry about the cadence.0
