bigger rear cog ?

biff55

just wondering , before new stuff gets ordered ....
how much actual difference there is between a 32T and 34T rear cassette in terms of
low down torque whilst riding uphill ?
a great deal or very little ?
( only 1 ring up front on bike )
opinions ?

unixnerd

6.25%

If you can't manage the 32 and need a 34 you really need to change down to a smaller ring at the front I'd say.

I have an 11-28 on my mtb and it's not lack of torque that stops me :-)

biff55

unixnerd wrote:

6.25%

If you can't manage the 32 and need a 34 you really need to change down to a smaller ring at the front I'd say.

I have an 11-28 on my mtb and it's not lack of torque that stops me :-)

its not the case that i struggle with the range i've got but whether i would benefit from that bigger 34T cog and if it would be noticable in use compared to the 32T.
just thinking out loud really

ilovedirt

I have single ring (36t) and 11-32t at the rear, i managed to climb inners without getting off to push, if that helps, though i did struggle a little in some places, i did wish i had an 11-34, which is what i have bought for my new build. If you're of a reasonable level of fitness, 11-32 should be fine for most riding.

ride_whenever

tbh, it's a tiny difference, and the closer gaps on the 11-32 are a bit nicer for the bulk of riding.

biff55

ride_whenever wrote:

tbh, it's a tiny difference, and the closer gaps on the 11-32 are a bit nicer for the bulk of riding.

cheers , thats what i thought , stick to a replacement 32 then ,
being a 10 st whippet uphill demon.

ride_whenever

Alternatively get a singlespeed as a second bike, the large dose of MTFU and balls it gives you means you wont miss the 34 ring...

peter413

ilovedirt wrote:

I have single ring (36t) and 11-32t at the rear, i managed to climb inners without getting off to push, if that helps, though i did struggle a little in some places, i did wish i had an 11-34, which is what i have bought for my new build. If you're of a reasonable level of fitness, 11-32 should be fine for most riding.

How the hell did you manage that :!:

It's a stupidly tough climb, it is worth it though for the descents

Northwind

TBH 22-34 is very low and rarely all that useful, for me at least it's just a non-gear almost all of the time. But the 34T cassette does give a wider range in the middle ring which for me is worth having, since I spend most of my time in that while doing anything fun. (some people like closer ratios, I prefer wider spreads)

Anonymous

Same here, managed inners on the middle ring.

I think even with a 32 on the back, the limiting factor of how steep a hill you can climb is traction, in real world use. Particularly if you have a granny ring.

peter413

I can manage it in the middle ring as well which was a 32 and now a 34. Not sure about a 36 and 32 though.

I can't think when I would use 22-34 though, as you have said, way to low

ilovedirt

peter413 wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

I have single ring (36t) and 11-32t at the rear, i managed to climb inners without getting off to push, if that helps, though i did struggle a little in some places, i did wish i had an 11-34, which is what i have bought for my new build. If you're of a reasonable level of fitness, 11-32 should be fine for most riding.

How the hell did you manage that :!:

It's a stupidly tough climb, it is worth it though for the descents

It was tough! But as yeehaamcghee says, the limiting factor is traction. I only pushed up about 20ft on the whole thing because i lost traction on a rock step up. Definitely worth it for the descents though! I was rather proud of myself for having managed it at the top, haha.

peter413

Oh yeah, I still can't manage most of the rock steps, I am a 'master' at finding lines around most of them though

ilovedirt

Haha, i love a good challenge, I managed them all apart from that one bugger and i just couldn't get moving again!

Anonymous

Yeah, one of them rock steps on teh way up caught me out too, it was pretty high up, in torrential rain, I just slipped at the wrong time and game over!
So, I rolled bakc a little bit, and tried it a second time, and managed it.
I loved inners, fantastic trail.

ilovedirt

Yeah, i'm on about heading back up to peebles for a couple of days in the summer so i can hit GT and inners again. I loved the first 3 sections and the last one (god the last one was a thigh burner!) at inners

peter413

When helping out at the IXS a few weeks ago, I was in the truck to give a rider a re run. It was pouring it down and that set the mood for the next while.

First off, we got a puncture at the top of the hill and neither of us knew where the jack or wheel etc. was so had to call the owner. Got it changed and headed down.

But guess what we found, 2 riders at the side of the road, one of whom who had broken her arm when they got a little bit too enthusiastic on the rock steps.

I had done it for the first time the week before and that made me realise what an idiot I had been for doing some of the stuff I had done the way I did it (blind)

ilovedirt

Really? You mean the little rock steps on the ascent? Oh well, it's just a risk you take with the sport i suppose, you only live once and all that.

I had two pinch flats within ten minutes on the descent at inners, pumped my tyres up a little more after that

peter413

No, the descent was when I realised I was being stupid and where that person broke their arm.

The ascent ones I just couldn't do really, didin't see them as really dangerous

Anonymous

You mean the ones on the last red descent? Those things are great fun! Brain off, brakes off, and launch - and they get bigger and faster with each one

peter413

More meaning Plora Craig.

Its so easy to jam your wheels in those now

Anonymous

ah, gotcha, i know where you mean. Those bits are fun to launch off as well, but I can see how it could go badly wrong if you weren't fully comitted.

ilovedirt

Ah yeah, i didn't have the stones for them, it being my first time there... I might give them a go next time though, if i remember my brave pills.

EDIT: i missed your last post, that ^ is referring to the drops on the last descent

peter413

I don't have the balls to hit them either. Don't think I will for a while either lol, especially the big ones at the top.

Athough if you want big, carry on that fire road to the Matador and look up at the Red Bull drop

biff55

nice thread hi-jack lads.

ilovedirt

Yeah we were supposed to go have a look at that but we never did!
To be honest, i've hit drops that big before, but not for a while, i think it's just a case of biting the bullet and going for it, they're never as bad as you think.

Anonymous

peter413 wrote:

I don't have the balls to hit them either. Don't think I will for a while either lol, especially the big ones at the top.

Athough if you want big, carry on that fire road to the Matador and look up at the Red Bull drop

from what I see on youtube, that looks about the same, or smaller than the "big" drop in the Glentress freeride park, and that's just fun

peter413

Try twice as big, bigger if you go long, and I'm being serious about that

GHill

I much prefer having a 34 out back, but I am big and slow.

Anonymous

have you got any pics or a video clip of it? i don't think I've found the right one then.

peter413

yeehaamcgee wrote:

have you got any pics or a video clip of it? i don't think I've found the right one then.

http://vimeo.com/8073593