Help I need smaller gears - what can I do? A GUIDE

R8JimBob88

John.T wrote:

Am I right in thinking the Alivio is a MTB Derailleur? Will I need a longer chain if I were to fit a 11-32?

Yes and Yes. The Alivio is a long cage mech (MTB long) so more chain needed there and the cassette will need at least 1 more link for the 32. Probably about 3 more links all together.

Thought so. Sorry in advance for a few more questions but this is all rather new to me :-)

So what size chain will I be looking for? Do they come in any specific lengths as the only ones I can find are all 114 links, perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place though?

You mention links in the cassette? Erm, in what way
I would appriciate someone spoon feeding me some information, I'm a simple man when it comes to this stuff. Cheers!

John.T

Standard 8sp chain will be long enough.

You mention links in the cassette? Erm, in what way

Not actually in the cassette. The chain will need to be a little longer to go round the bigger 32 tooth sprocket. As the chain goes round just under 1/2 of the sprocket the chain needs to go round just under 3 teeth extra. That is 1.5 links.
Shimano's recommended method of getting correct chain length is to set the length so that the jockey wheels are in a vertical position when the chain is on the big ring and small sprocket.

R8JimBob88

Cheers for that. All really helpful. Payday on Thursday, big hill hunting shortly afterwards

jamlala

Hi there all, read through the thread and confused. I have a Trek 1.2 with Shimano Sora kit.

Front is 53/38 and rear is 8-cog 25/12. Struggled up some hills on Dartmoor last year, and the Chilterns last weekend and would like some assistance. Cheapeast way of putting some easiest gears in for me please? Presumably a new cassette, could I take the 11/32 shown here https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDet ... goryID=864 or is that TOO much of a compromise?

All replies will get bought a pint.......

R8JimBob88

JamLala wrote:

Hi there all, read through the thread and confused. I have a Trek 1.2 with Shimano Sora kit.

Front is 53/38 and rear is 8-cog 25/12. Struggled up some hills on Dartmoor last year, and the Chilterns last weekend and would like some assistance. Cheapeast way of putting some easiest gears in for me please? Presumably a new cassette, could I take the 11/32 shown here https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDet ... goryID=864 or is that TOO much of a compromise?

All replies will get bought a pint.......

You would need a new rear derailleur to take the biggest 32 cog at the back. A Shimano Alivio would do the job. About £18 for one.

maryka

JamLala wrote:

Hi there all, read through the thread and confused. I have a Trek 1.2 with Shimano Sora kit.

Front is 53/38 and rear is 8-cog 25/12. Struggled up some hills on Dartmoor last year, and the Chilterns last weekend and would like some assistance. Cheapeast way of putting some easiest gears in for me please? Presumably a new cassette, could I take the 11/32 shown here https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDet ... goryID=864 or is that TOO much of a compromise?

All replies will get bought a pint.......

Your choices are (from cheapest to most expensive):
-- put on a new cassette as you said (this may not be cheapest though if it requires a new rear mech and chain)
-- put on a compact crank (might actually be cheapest especially if you get one second-hand, plus you won't require a new mech and if needed you can just shorten your chain)
-- put on a triple (most expensive as it requires new front shifter to match the new cranks)

Use this little calculator to figure out how many RPM you need at your current gears (where you're struggling), then plug in some other gears and decide what's going to work for you.

e.g., your 38 with 25 cog means you need to be doing 7.1mph to keep the pedals turning at 60rpm.
With a 38 and 32 cog, it's 5.6mph.
With a 34 (compact) and your current 25 cog, it's 6.4mph.

Keep in mind that if you go with an 11-32 you will have massive jumps in gearing (you'll be pedalling along at a slightly higher cadence than you would like, shift gears and now your cadence has dropped 20rpm because you've jumped to 3-4 teeth fewer). I have an 11-32 on now from my usual 12-25 and I find this quite annoying especially on the flat.

Not sure about 8-speed but worth checking out if such a cassette really exists? Maybe a MTB cassette?

Personally in your position I would go with a compact crank as you'll get closer gear ratios and it's not money thrown away if you decide to upgrade to 10-speed someday (whereas a cassette would be).

R8JimBob88

I have been using a 11-32 on a 52/39 whilst I build up a shiny new 10 speed compact and I have to say at first the gap between the gears was quite anoying. Its only an 8 speed cassette too. Ive been using it for a few months and now dont really notice it, you get used to it fairly quickly.

Ive managed hills up to 25% with confidence on it.

gixxerboss

I run a compact but live in the lakes so still struggled with some big climbs, even though i run a 11-28 so i changed the rear cassette to an 11-34 and put an Mtb Xtr rear mech on, it made the world of difference for me, and was quite an easy thing to do. i run 10 speed but used a 9 speed rear mech, i use shimano Ultegra on the full bike apart from the rear mech now, shifting is still really smooth. Hope this helps

loveaduck

Thank you for this post. Can anyone advise on changing this

http://www.dawescycles.com/p-440-giro-300.aspx

to match my hybrids which are 48/38/28 so i would change the Dawes to a 48 -38T. What are the costs involved and what chainwheel would be a good replacement.

Thank you in advance.

John.T

I can see no reason to change the 52 for a 48 as all the gears from 52/17 down are duplicated on the 39 ring. You should not be using the 52/26 and 39/13 but this still leaves plenty of overlap. Fitting a 48 would just make even more duplicates.
As for fitting a 38. This is as small as you can get on those cranks and is hardly worth doing as it will only lower your gears a small amount. If you find you really need lower gears then a compact chainset is the best (cheapest) answer.
I think the 2300 LH shifter will work a triple so you could go down that route but would need to also get a triple front mech, different BB (chainset dependent), long cage rear mech and a longer chain.
To learn more about gear ratios see :- http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

loveaduck

Thank you for your reply and the link. I am now wondering if the gears are not set up correctly or if it is just me :roll: . I will try another outing on it. I am also trying to get used to the shifters ( Shimano ST-2300 ) it seems that i have to push them along way for them to change. Is this normal? as i have only used rapid fire before.

John.T

The LH one will need a fairly long push but the RH one should be less. Both are longer than Rapid Fire as the levers are longer. You do need to get used to using them. As for setting up, if one click is changing one gear and it then runs quietly with no trying to change to another gear then it is not far off. The cables will stretch in a bit and need tightening. You will know when this is needed as it will be reluctant to change to a bigger sprocket or ring.

maryka

loveaduck wrote:

Thank you for this post. Can anyone advise on changing this

http://www.dawescycles.com/p-440-giro-300.aspx

to match my hybrids which are 48/38/28 so i would change the Dawes to a 48 -38T. What are the costs involved and what chainwheel would be a good replacement.

Thank you in advance.

I can advise not buying it if you haven't yet. 8-speed is really old and you'll be much better served trying to get 10-speed! Especially if the first thing you'll do is change the rings and cassette. Money wasted!

But if you already own it and want to mess with the gearing, go to this site http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ and start playing around with ratios to compare and figure out what you need. You can do it by RPM, gear inches, or gain ratios, whatever works for you.

loveaduck

Thank you both very much. I adjusted the stem by flipping it so i have a rise as i can't fit any more spacers. adjusted the handle bars and raised the seat some more greasing everything as i went along. On my ride i did some more adjustments and oh boy it rides like a dream.

I really do appreaciate your help and advice regarding the gears. It wasn't the bikes fault it was mine :oops: , and now i can see that i do not have to get a new chain-set (i shall punish my self later)

The roads are clear at this time in the morning and i was flying, it was such a fantastic rush. Still need to make some more adjustments and maybe change the saddle but so far it's all good.

mcp73

As a recent convert to road riding (and somewhat new to components etc) I wondered if it were possible to fit a Campagnolo Veloce Cassette 9Sp 13-28 to replace the current 105 CS-HG70 (12-25)? The front double is a 53/42 Ultegra and I believe, from advice elsewhere, that I could swap the 42 for a 39. There's certainly a lot to be said for getting fitter, but as a resident of The Peak District and a new rider, I'd like some lower gears for the present.
Any help and words of wisdom are gratefully recieved.

M.

John.T

No you can not fit the Campag cassette. It will not fit your wheel or shifter. You can fit a Shimano 12/27 one. You could also fit a 38 tooth ring.

holker

Hi all great thread. My question is; what is the smallest chain ring that can be fitted to a 110M BB and will work with shimano 105 stuff

John.T

If you mean a 110mm crank (compact) then it is a 33 tooth one. All in this thread somewhere.

holker

Thanks John, that is what I meant. I notice front deraillers state they have a 16T capacity presumably this is the teeth difference between chainrings. Therefore would a 50-33 work? I'm guessing yes as there's a margin of error in the tech specs. Mind you it hardly seems worth switching from a 34 to a 33 chain ring, so just wondered out of curiousity.

John.T

Yes it would work. It would be about the same as going from 27 to 28 on the cassette but may be cheaper. Not really worth bothering though.

holker

John.T thanks for your patience in answering dumb questions from the ignorant such as me. I have another really dumb question. Is it possible to go bespoke or are we restricted by the cassettes supplied by the manufactures? For e.g. could I do this:-

12 13 14 15 17 19 21 24 28 33
50 113 104 96 90 79 71 64 56 48 41
33 74 69 64 59 52 47 42 37 32 27

If yes. What would it involve? I currently have a shimano 105 compact set up.

John.T

Custom cassettes are a bit expensive if you can find 10sp ones. If you want to have something like you say then you could get a SRAM Apex cassette and use a Shimano 9sp MTB mech. I believe some come with a shorter than normal cage option which would look better but any would work. New longer chain as well.
All this is covered somewhere in this thread so look there. I am just going on holiday now.

maryka

holker wrote:

Is it possible to go bespoke or are we restricted by the cassettes supplied by the manufactures? For e.g. could I do this:-

12 13 14 15 17 19 21 24 28 33

If yes. What would it involve? I currently have a shimano 105 compact set up.

I haven't tried this yet, but parents of kids who race have to build custom cassettes because the gears are so restricted. So a youth rider will have a 15-25 cassette with 45 and 50 rings, for example.

An 11-32 SRAM Apex cassette mixed with your current 105 cassette cogs should work as the "spider" on the Apex (biggest 3 cogs, which are welded together) is 25-28-32 which is close to what you want. The two smallest cogs are placement specific though, so you need a 12 and 13 that are 1st and 2nd cogs in their original cassettes. You can't use a 12 off an 11-23 cassette for the 12 in your setup.

This thread seems to think it's ok to mix Shimano and SRAM, http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.ph ... wo-spiders So it's a question of how much you want to experiment and how much you want to spend. Apex cassettes are quite cheap though, and you can find Shimano cassettes onlne for good prices too.

holker

Cheers for replies. Happy hols

Santibes

Recently revived my old road bike (from 1989) & it has 7spd 52/42 up front, & a 14(i guess, didn't check the small end) -24 cassette.
I think these ratios were reasonably standard at the time, but it seems ratios are a bit lower these days(+ I'm loads older) & after a couple of rides realised I could do with some lower gears. - first time I went out the lowest on the cassette was 21 teeth & struggled to say the least.
It's an old Ultegra groupset with the separate, interchangeable sprockets on the cassette.

So, the question is. what are my options for making things easier, with minimal expense!

can you still buy individual sprockets for 7 spd cassettes.

would i be able to get a 39(?) inner - would that be enough/make enough difference

mcp73

I just wanted to say thank you for the great advice on here. I swapped my 42 second front ring for a 39 and the hills have been much kinder to me! Thanks again guys (and gals).

cous i hill

can any body tell me is there a 12x22 cassette ?

redddraggon

cous i hill wrote:

can any body tell me is there a 12x22 cassette ?

You can get 12-21 and 12-23 cassettes, never seen a 12-22

cous i hill

hi there reddraggon that' sounds better i have 39x53 12x23 on a barracuda road bike my first bike which is very quiet and smooth but after a lay off and now i have got back on my bike been on it for a month but the hills are killing me i did 93 miles about 3 years ago to skegness but i do like weight training as well and i have put 15kgs on that' why the bikes out to get my fitness back i have just turned the big 50 just asking are the gears a bit high for me right now do i need to change the gear setup

cous i hill

hi there just some advice i'am fairly new to road cycling and now i've got the bike back out got the bug again i ride a barracuda 16 speed 12x23 39x53 thing is thou the hiils are killing me someone told me the gearing is far too high for me plus the fact i also enjoy weight training and i weigh in at 98 kgs at 5ft 7ins and just turned fifty but i enjoying the cycling for fitness and going out with friends i would like to know could i change the cassette to a 13x28 or are there any sprockets with more teeth or are they just for mtb or change to a compact would it be a lot of trouble to change things over thanks