First sportif...kit and bike mods advice

Iain C

I usually hang around the MTB forums, although I probably ride my roadie much more! Bit of background, I'm 34, reasonably-ish fit although nowhere near you serious guys, could do with losing a pound or two. Or three.

I've entered the Cycling Plus sportif, this will be my first serious ride, and probably my longest since getting back into cycling a year ago. I'm following the training guides at the moment...as in following on the internet as until the lighter evenings arrive it's weekends only for me.

Anyway, the two big questions I have are about bike kit...I guess the forthcoming guides will cover nutrition, gels, hydration and all that.

I ride a Giant TCR A0, with a 53-39 IIRC and a fairly speedy 10 speed casette, standard SRAM Rival kit. Whilst it's fine for flattish Warwickshire, and I soend more time on th big ring than small, but I'm worried about the sportif route....I might run out of gears, especially at the end of the day. Am I best off perhaps just getting a smaller inner ring, as I guess a triple is not an option without changing mechs and levers? Any suggestions about what size to go for? Do I need to worry about working out all my gear inches as I did as a teenager when building a bike to check for overlaps, or does the fact that I have 20 not 10 speed kinda make that irrelevant?

Second thing is shoes/pedals...at the moment I just ride in my Specialized Tahoes and use Shimano M520 MTB pedals...I don't mind going to road pedals/shoes if there is an advantage, although if at my level it's a waste I might just stick with the Tahoes. The lower end road Shimano pedals and the DHB shoes look like a cheap upgrade...and also mean I don't get seen on my roadie in winter with clumps odf mud for shoes from the previous weekend's MTBing!

Any advice greatly recieved...and I'm guessing that Bikeradar will publish some kind of "etiquette" guide for us guys who are just aiming to complete the ride and not get in the fast people's way...

Thanks

Mossrider

1. gearing; if you practice you will get round. 39/25 used to be seen as suited to this but compacts are now the fashion. I did my first sportifs on this gearing, though I have the advantage of being based in the Penmnines. A cheaper and easier option might be to get a second rear cassette (27t should be ok). Very easy to switch back after the ride. Get out and practice, both long hours in the saddle and hills.
2. Shoes; I use shimano 520's on my winter/club/commuting bike and they are great. Preferable in traffic as they are so easy to get in to. THe roadie shoes do help for the summer riding, but are not essential.

Elganesh

I would echo the above. A 27 tooth cassette would be a good idea if you don't have one already. It would certainly be cheaper than swapping to a compact chainset. There is a good sticky in the Road Beginners Forum on lower gears:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12583566

As for shoes, I suppose the real difference is a stiffer sole enabling better power transfer and you won't be able to walk as easily in them.

If you really want to improve your hill climbing then the best way to do it is climb more hills and keep following your training plan.

Good luck with your first sportive and don't worry too much about etiquette, there will be quite a lot of riders doing their first sportive with you and the majority of roadies are friendly souls who are more than up for a natter!

Iain C

Thanks guys, I was not going to swap to a complete compact, just change the inner chainring to a smaller one.

Having just bought a new casette and two new chainrings for my MTB, the ring was infinitley cheaper than the casette...

Chris James

You can't just change your front ring to a much smaller one. 'Standard' road chainsets have a different bolt centre diameter than 'compact' chainsets.

I know for Shimano the smallest 'standard' chain ring is 38 teeth, so you wouldn't gain much. It might be different with SRAM but I doubt it.

Your best option is to fit a 27 tooth cassette, as suggested above.

Re pedals etc, I have road shoes and 'touring' SPD shoes. I haven't had a ny problems with either and the A520 pedal suggested above is a good halfway house as it has a large contact area for a SPD pedal.

Feltup

I have cycled a few of the hills on the 100 mile route. I presume the route goes clockwise around the loop. If it does then I did the climb up to Grindon on a 39x23 and have to say it was hard work but OK. I would have prefered a 27 on the back for it especially as there are lots more climbs which will take their toll. If the route is the other way around then I would say you will almost certainly need a 27 as the climb from the Manifold up towards Whetton is very steep at the bottom and then continuous!

Monty Dog

FWIW the smallest chainring you can fit to a regular (Shimano-pattern 130mm) chainset is 38 teeth - if Campagnolo, it's 39 teeth at the bolt-circle-diameter is slightly bigger. A compact chainset has 110mm BCD which means it can accept an inner down to 34 teeth. Swapping to a 27 tooth cassette will be the cheapest option. I'd stick with your shoes and pedals right now - road shoes/pedals are lighter and stiffer, but less practical for day-to-day use - unless of course you really get bitten by the bug!

markos1963

27t should be enough but you can fit a Sram cassette with a 28t bottom gear, Specialized have done this on some of their range so it should work.

Stick with the pedals and shoes you're comfortable with.

Iain C

Guys, great advice, thanks for that. I stupidly thought I could just change the inner chainring...obviously not.

Looks like I might ned to swap the casette then, according to the spec sheets the casette is a SRAM OG1070 12-25. and CRC do the equivalent 12-27 at £45.00.

Certainly on mountain bikes you can swap around between manufacturers on the cassette, and if I was needing to do this on my MTB I'd be getting a cheapo model, as TBH the gearing is fine for where I live as it is and the 12-25 will probably go back on after the sportif and I'd probably only do a couple of "hilly" rides a year. Do I have the option of using a different cassette or does it need to be a SRAM force/rival complete with deliberate "missing" teeth?

What about the chain? Bike has done about 600 miles since new, the slightly rattly drivetrain has bedded in to absolute sweet shifting perfection now, do I need to get a new chain to run with the 12-27 and then swap back? I'm thinking keeping the wear rates the same here, but I guess the 12-27 might in theory need a link or two extra anyway?

And I think I'm right in saying that if I do swap chains, once you have "broken" a powerlink on a 10speed, you cannot put it back together again, you can only do this by fitting a new powerlink? Or might you get one or two goes out of it, and it might be OK as long as you carry a spare powerlink?

Sorry for the dumbass questions, just want to make sure I get it right!

Mossrider

Now you've got me on the technical stuff...

I tend to swap cassettes around quite often, although the original 25t has done a lot more miles (its a summer bike so although its done about 7k, including Ventoux, the Alpes and virtually everything in the Pennines plus parts of Wales, it shows remarkably little wear). It's now on chain number 2 (which is the one that's done Ventoux / the Alpes). From this I'd judge that the chain should be fine on 600 miles (assuming its not abused).

as for your other questions; sorry, no idea.

Iain C

Cheers all...gave teh bike a spring clean and took the casette apart, I would replace with the same type (different ratios) if changing.

My question is this, if my current bottom cog is 25t, is it really worth going to 27t? Will I notice that much difference for 2 teeth?

kingrollo

I have a similar dilema - I currently ride a 39-21 - thought about going to a 26 for a sportive in July - but might go the whole hogg and go compact.

I ride a centaur 9 - can anyone estimate the costs of going compact ?

andy_wrx

Iain C wrote:

My question is this, if my current bottom cog is 25t, is it really worth going to 27t? Will I notice that much difference for 2 teeth?

I wouldn't go to 27 : SRAM do a 11-28 10sp cassette, I'd use one of them.

Yes, I think you will notice the difference !
- find the steepest hill you can near you, the one you currently use your bottom gear for, go halfway up it and then change up to your 2nd-lowest gear...how's that feel ?

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15226861

Iain C

Guys

Sorry to drag this up again...just about to order a SRAM 11-28 to replace the 12-25 for the hilly stuff...am I likely to need a longer chain too to take into account the bigger bottom gear?

Thanks!

Anonymous

As long as you don't 'cross-chain' you should be absolutely fine.

If you don't want to run the risk and think you may accidentally do that then you may need a new one...

John.T

Put your gears in big/big. Pull the chain away from the bottom of the chainring then replace it but with a loop of 2 full links still clear of the ring. If the chain still runs through the rear mech cage in an S shape you should be OK. Alternatively just fit the cassette and try it (gently).

Iain C

Nice one...well, the casette is ordered so I'll give it a go. I don't actually have any spare 10 speed links as the chain is the original...so I'll just have to see if it fits as is!

Thanks for the advice again!

Droops

Changing to a compact makes a lot of sense for many sportive routes, and knowing you have some knee-saver gears takes away any concerns about unknown steep hills late in the route.
It doesn't need to be expensive. Just place a 'wanted' ad in the classified section and you'll be surprised how cheaply you can pick up some good kit.
Incidentally, you don't need to change your front mech either - just loosen the cable clamp nut and slide the mech down a few mm.