Lower Gears are this years new Black ?
cougie
Posts: 22,512
Is it me or is it true that the most popular query on here these days is about how to get lower gears ?
Whats the reason for this - are shops selling overgeared bikes ?
Are cyclists not happy to grind up hills ?
Do we not all have Chris Hoys thighs ?
Its probably a good thing I think - seems to indicate new people coming into the sport and sticking at it ?
Whats the reason for this - are shops selling overgeared bikes ?
Are cyclists not happy to grind up hills ?
Do we not all have Chris Hoys thighs ?
Its probably a good thing I think - seems to indicate new people coming into the sport and sticking at it ?
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cougie wrote:Is it me or is it true that the most popular query on here these days is about how to get lower gears ?
Are cyclists not happy to grind up hills ?
Do we not all have Chris Hoys thighs ?
Its probably a good thing I think - seems to indicate new people coming into the sport and sticking at it ?
Both of those apply to me :oops:
I just do NOT have the energy in my legs.
I bloody pushed too hard the other week and bonked less than halfway into my route and ended up pulling a couple of muscles in my leg.0 -
why walk when you can spin?0
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How dare you, Chris Hoy could win the Tour de France on a BMX if he wanted to. The cheek!redddraggon wrote:cougie wrote:Do we not all have Chris Hoys thighs ?
Why would Hoy's thighs make you climb well?
Climbers tend to have skinny legs.0 -
He could win the tour on a bmx with no chain and the crank shoelaced to the chainstay...0
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I know that Chris Hoys thighs arent typical of climbers - but he has done the Etape ! I think he said it was the hardest thing he's done !0
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Im sorry but Chuck Norris could beat Chris Hoys any day :roll:
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Over 200m ? ;-)0
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Youve clearly never seen Chuck Norris in action 8)
Chuck Norris can SLAM a revolving door (and yes that has every thing to do with cycling ) 0 -
Possibly, :roll:
But only if CH was superglued to the floor and a bungy was attached to his front wheel that stretched 100m and retracted automatically once coming within 5 m of any type of finishing line!!
Oh wow I really have got a teenage crush!!! 0 -
CN is the reson Waldo is hiding
Oh and anything CH can do CN can do better 8)0 -
I think most cyclists are being wimps
Fair enough I can understand you'd want a compact when doing the Fred Witton, or if you live in the Northern half of the country or Wales or if you did regular euro sportifs.
But tons of people have compacts fitted down here in the South East who have no intention of doing anything other than club runs on their nice road bike. I've been up pretty much the worse hills in the chilterns and I could manage them all on my racing wheels with 39x23 as the lowest gear. When I swapped to 39x25 it was nice to have a proper bail out gear!!
Then I talked to our 70yo Club Coach...it turns out that even I'm a big fat wimp...in the old days you couldn't get lower than 42 on the inner ring (apparently)!You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Jez mon wrote:I think most cyclists are being wimps
I think it's a Bikeradar thing, it's full of triple lovers. I don't think I've ever seen reference to a triple with a road bike on Weight Weenies.
Even in North Wales, I can get away with a 39-25, and I'm a rubbish climber.0 -
redddraggon wrote:Jez mon wrote:I think most cyclists are being wimps
I think it's a Bikeradar thing, it's full of triple lovers. I don't think I've ever seen reference to a triple with a road bike on Weight Weenies.
Even in North Wales, I can get away with a 39-25, and I'm a rubbish climber.
I saw someone wanting a light triple on there once...don't worry they all abused him! Triples are I have to say...an ugly heavy thing to put on a road bike!You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Dont they put triples on their bikes for some of the stupidly steep climbs in the Vuelta ? What was that one that Millar threw a strop on ? It was up some sheep path somewhere I think. Sounded mad.
First time I did the alpe - 20 years back or so - I wrote to a monthly mag asking about gears - and they advised a triple. I did it on 39*25 - not keen on triples.
When I was a schoolie - most people had 42*21 as their bottom gears. Then again - maybe people were fitter - and that was hard core club cyclists. I guess leisure cyclists would be better off with lower.
And the older I get - the lower the gears the better. ;-)0 -
Jez mon wrote:I think most cyclists are being wimps
But tons of people have compacts fitted down here in the South East who have no intention of doing anything other than club runs on their nice road bike. I've been up pretty much the worse hills in the chilterns and I could manage them all on my racing wheels with 39x23 as the lowest gear. When I swapped to 39x25 it was nice to have a proper bail out gear!!
Then I talked to our 70yo Club Coach...it turns out that even I'm a big fat wimp...in the old days you couldn't get lower than 42 on the inner ring (apparently)!
Ah yes, I've seen those, they're the odd sorts who don't need to treat every ride like a time trial and have their legs screaming in agony in order to enjoy a ride. Weirdos the lot of 'em.
On a recent trip to the Lakes I thought I'd show my mate how rockard I was by not using the granny ring on a particularly tough ride (including Wrynose and Hardknott both ways). I just (just!) about managed it, but have to say it wasn't pleasant - going up the hills slower than usual, having to weave all over the road like a pissed up sailor and feeling like death doing it! So do I need the low gears of a compact/triple? Technically no. Do I want one? Hell yes!0 -
Erm...I mean have no intention of doing the said sportifs/rides in the Lakes
There aren't any climbs down here where you would need a triple, besides Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer?You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Beachslapper wrote:Im sorry but Chuck Norris could beat Chris Hoys any day :roll:
Chuck Norris and Chris Hoy are barred from coming within 200 km of each other, the too much awesome would be concentrated in too small a space and the world would set on fire.Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.
What would Thora Hurd do?0 -
Jez mon wrote:
Then I talked to our 70yo Club Coach...it turns out that even I'm a big fat wimp...in the old days you couldn't get lower than 42 on the inner ring (apparently)!
Oh yeah, 52-42 with a 13-26 rear was all there seemed to be but we, none the less,
somehow, went on those hilly centuries. Cursed a lot and swore we would never do this or that ride again but...... . And we only had steel frames and forks. So suck it up.
I now ride a compact but still tend to b*tch and moan on hilly and mountainous rides.
Nothing changes but the gears.
Dennis Noward0 -
I think you all are missing the point. Let me put it this way - its my bike and i'll put whatever I bloddy well like on it.0
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My steel roadie has a 53-42 and 13-30 (7 speed) I did the Dragon Ride and Circuit of the Cotswolds on that 2 years ago and walked only on Bushcombe Lane/Cleeve Hill bit of the later. However I won't be doing anything like that again on it as I'm putting it on the turbo with a 12-21.0
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I think the thing is that alot of bikes are sold over geared to people just starting out and that when having lower gears is important when you are regaining lost fitness or building from nothing.
Also at the end of a hard sportive its handy to have lower gears as a bail out.
I'm a reasonable climber the hills in my local vincinity I can climb, on my 39 x 27, but I'm normally fresh or doing a shorter ride, faced with climbing them after a 60 or 70 mile ride in my legs before hand when you've been out along time and are hungry, cold, tired or been riding into a headwind all day that 34 inner ring starts to look like a godsend.0 -
On Leith Hill I was worried 34-27 wasn't going to be enough. I am a wuss.0
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Jez mon wrote:Then I talked to our 70yo Club Coach...it turns out that even I'm a big fat wimp...in the old days you couldn't get lower than 42 on the inner ring (apparently)!
Not true. If you used Campag, then yes, but Stronglight chainsets had a smaller BCD on the spider and could take a 38T inner; I'm thinking mainly of the one used by Tom Simpson (the 93 model??) back in the '60s, with its distinctive pentagram-design spider.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
When I was a teenager I could get up Sutton Bank on my raleigh 10 speed. I have no idea what gearing it had, but I'm sure I couldn't do it now.
My imminent purchase of my first road bike in 25 years is coinciding with recovering from knee surgery, so I want to be able to spin up everything. (my cheery consultant has promised me a knee replacement within 10 years!)
I'm having a triple so I can have a cassette with closely spaced cogs to help me maintain cadence whatever the road does.
And possibly because I'm a wimp0 -
I guess if you do a lot of riding on your own then a compact makes quite a bit of sense.
But if you do a lot of bunch riding/racing then 39x25 would be the lowest you'd ever want to go to for 99% of the time.
You can get up some silly gradients on some pretty high gears but fun and quick it is not.0 -
I had a new Specialized Tarmac a few months ago - it came with a 12-28 cassette. Yes 28!!! it looked like a bloody tea tray attached to my rear wheel. After me and the bloke from the bike shop stopped laughing at it I got it swapped for a 12-25 which with bog standard 53-39 chainrings is more than enough for me Crash 'n Burn, Peel 'n Chew
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LOL @ Cyclists and their gearing? is it like the subaru syndrome (small penis syndrome)
If you are first to the top of the hill who cares what you have on your bike - I bet there are more people who wish they could spin for longer with lower gears then there are that wish they could grind a higher gear..
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