Gearing for Bealach mor?

s25scd

So, entered the Bealach mor (2011) for the first time and was wondering what the views are of anyone who has completed this event before. Is it a hard route? I have seen a few threads on different sites questioning the gearing needed for the Bealach and was wondering what would be best?. Just now I have a standard 53/39 double but have seen a few suggestions of people changing to a 39/28 for the Bealach. I suppose its different for each rider, I do a couple of sportives each year and always stuck with the 53/39 but heard the Bealach is hard and is for mountain goats! Any advice would be great.

glasgowbhoy

My mate, who isn't really a climber reckoned the 11-28 change from his standard 12-25 was a godsend and was reflected by a 15min improvement in his time from the year before, well the cassette and some more training. I'd go with the 11-28 on the Bealach, even just for peace of mind if it's your first time on the course.

s25scd

Cheers, Glasgowbhoy maybe go with 11-28 cassette. Heard its not the actual climb that does you in, its the short up and down hills along the coast! Just dont want to get caught out, want to get a good time but also want to enjoy the route aswell if you know what i mean.

P.S
Tic were sooooo jammy last night lol!!

glasgowbhoy

s25scd wrote:

Cheers, Glasgowbhoy maybe go with 11-28 cassette. Heard its not the actual climb that does you in, its the short up and down hills along the coast! Just dont want to get caught out, want to get a good time but also want to enjoy the route aswell if you know what i mean.

P.S
Tic were sooooo jammy last night lol!!

Yep, but you want to be approaching those up and down's along the coast with enough in the legs as possible.

They are dreadful, last minute goals are only going to prolong the agony of this season.....

glasgowbhoy

oh, and if the course doesn't finish you off the midges will

Pigtail

How soon is it likely to sell out?

I'm just starting off cycling seriously and so far I've entered the etape caledonia. I'd be interested in a few more events - but I'd like to see how the training goes first.

I've only got a compact with a 12-25 cassette.

At the moment all I'm getting is an exercise bike in the gym. I had an intention to do some decent mileage over the holidays, but it doesn't look like it will be weather for it.

James

glasgowbhoy

Pigtail wrote:

How soon is it likely to sell out?

I'm just starting off cycling seriously and so far I've entered the etape caledonia. I'd be interested in a few more events - but I'd like to see how the training goes first.

I've only got a compact with a 12-25 cassette.

At the moment all I'm getting is an exercise bike in the gym. I had an intention to do some decent mileage over the holidays, but it doesn't look like it will be weather for it.

James

It does sell out quite quickly and based on uptake of other Scottish Sportives this year it will sell out very fast.

If you wanted another cassette for hilly sportives they aren't that expensive. Having a compact on a 12-25 might be enough for you though

unixnerd

Here's a good page about it from a guy who lives not far from me:
http://www.petemain.co.uk/bealach_na_ba.htm

Peter is over 60, an inspiriation to us all :-)

Pigtail

Well that's me signed up.

Any worries about gearing can wait for another day!

James

Garz

A compact should be fine, I had a 12-25 originally but swapped to a 12-23 and didnt notice as I got much fitter. However it bites you later when you dont train as much or tackle a 25%+ gradient.

On a standard double though I would definitely need a bigger cog for that terrain :shock:

thecrofter

I did this event last year. I've got a bog-standard Giant Defy 3.0 with a 30/39/50 triple up front and a 12-25 compact. Used the small ring basically all the way up the hilll in the first three gears. I would have died with only a double-ring. I found the triple useful on some of the shorter sharp hills towards the end too.

As for the downslope, I could have done with a bit higher gearing as I topped out on cadence at around 45mph and had to rely on aerodynamics and gravity to accelerate beyond that.

Brian B

Last year done this climb on a 39x27 and the coast route on the 39x25. Have done it plenty of times and it is a hard climb but only really gets steep towards the end before the switch backs.

You may want a lower gear during a sportive however as the climb and the coast combined makes a hard day out.