Some advice for someone with little road bike experience.

kelsen

FoldingJoe wrote:

OK, see, now you've got me scratching my head.

Should I go compact, or as ITB prefers, go standard up front and a 13-26 at the back.

I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say!!!!

Cheers for all the comments thus far, chaps.

FJ

Erm, are you sure ITB is a good role model to base your selection on? Check out some of the ridiculous mileages he does on the Silly Commuter Stats thread.

UndercoverElephant

kelsen wrote:

FoldingJoe wrote:

OK, see, now you've got me scratching my head.

Should I go compact, or as ITB prefers, go standard up front and a 13-26 at the back.

I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say!!!!

Cheers for all the comments thus far, chaps.

FJ

Erm, are you sure ITB is a good role model to base your selection on? Check out some of the ridiculous mileages he does on the Silly Commuter Stats thread.

And the number of times he has dreadful knee injuries... That said, I ride a standard double too, and I can't see myself going to a compact; I reckon if I'd had a compact first time round though, I wouldn't see myself going to s standard.

FoldingJoe

kelsen wrote:

FoldingJoe wrote:

OK, see, now you've got me scratching my head.

Should I go compact, or as ITB prefers, go standard up front and a 13-26 at the back.

I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say!!!!

Cheers for all the comments thus far, chaps.

FJ

Erm, are you sure ITB is a good role model to base your selection on? Check out some of the ridiculous mileages he does on the Silly Commuter Stats thread.

Yeah, and we all know why that is!!!

cjcp

FoldingJoe wrote:

OK, see, now you've got me scratching my head.

Should I go compact, or as ITB prefers, go standard up front and a 13-26 at the back.

I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say!!!!

Cheers for all the comments thus far, chaps.

FJ

Compact.

rjsterry

Compact = the Devil's work [/baseless prejudice]

jonginge

rjsterry wrote:

Compact = the Devil's work [/sea-level prejudice]

FTFY

rjsterry

Old skool 52/42 on my Giant. Never ridden anything else and when I lived in Bristol it was fine for the hills there and up and down the Cotswold escarpment. On a recent trip to Bath, 42 x 25 got me up both sides of Lansdowne without too much trouble.

cjcp

rjsterry wrote:

Old skool 52/42 on my Giant. Never ridden anything else and when I lived in Bristol it was fine for the hills there and up and down the Cotswold escarpment. On a recent trip to Bath, 42 x 25 got me up both sides of Lansdowne without too much trouble.

Ah, but the OP is 16st, whereas you need a good meal. :P

sketchley

Compact / Double - What's the difference?

cjcp

Sketchley wrote:

Compact / Double - What's the difference?

Compact is smaller: e.g. 50/34 or 50/46 combo (can be different for cross bikes e.g. 46/36), whereas a standard double is 53/39 (or 52/39).

rolf_f

rjsterry wrote:

Old skool 52/42 on my Giant. Never ridden anything else and when I lived in Bristol it was fine for the hills there and up and down the Cotswold escarpment. On a recent trip to Bath, 42 x 25 got me up both sides of Lansdowne without too much trouble.

I don't think I'm too bad at climbing but there is no way I'd run 42 - 25 as my lowest gear in West Yorkshire; it would be bonkers. It's not about getting up both sides of Lansdowne but how many times you can get up and down Lansdowne!

jonginge

Rolf F wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Old skool 52/42 on my Giant. Never ridden anything else and when I lived in Bristol it was fine for the hills there and up and down the Cotswold escarpment. On a recent trip to Bath, 42 x 25 got me up both sides of Lansdowne without too much trouble.

I don't think I'm too bad at climbing but there is no way I'd run 42 - 25 as my lowest gear in West Yorkshire; it would be bonkers. It's not about getting up both sides of Lansdowne but how many times you can get up and down Lansdowne!

Yep, fatigue plays a major factor.

rolf_f

cjcp wrote:

Compact is smaller: e.g. 50/34 or 50/46 combo (can be different for cross bikes e.g. 46/36), whereas a standard double is 53/39 (or 52/39).

I hope you mean 50/34 or 50/36 combo - I'd want my money back if someone sold me a 50/46 compact! :shock:

cjcp

Rolf F wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Compact is smaller: e.g. 50/34 or 50/46 combo (can be different for cross bikes e.g. 46/36), whereas a standard double is 53/39 (or 52/39).

I hope you mean 50/34 or 50/36 combo - I'd want my money back if someone sold me a 50/46 compact! :shock:

Quite correct - just spotted that.

rjsterry

cjcp wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Old skool 52/42 on my Giant. Never ridden anything else and when I lived in Bristol it was fine for the hills there and up and down the Cotswold escarpment. On a recent trip to Bath, 42 x 25 got me up both sides of Lansdowne without too much trouble.

Ah, but the OP is 16st, whereas you need a good meal. :P

Fair point, forgot that bit.:oops:

@Sketchley

Old skool double - 52/42T
Standard double - 53/39T
Compact double - 50/34T
Triple - 50/40/30T or 52/39/30T

@Rolf F: Again fair comment if you are always climbing. When I lived in Bristol and Cardiff, most of my riding was hilly to some extent, although not West Yorks, but that was weekend rides, not commuting, so the mileage was a lot lower and I always had fresh legs.

sketchley

cjcp wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

Compact / Double - What's the difference?

Compact is smaller: e.g. 50/34 or 50/46 combo (can be different for cross bikes e.g. 46/36), whereas a standard double is 53/39 (or 52/39).

My Hybrid is 50/39/30 and 11-28

When I buy a road bike what should I put on it?

mudcovered

Sketchley wrote:

My Hybrid is 50/39/30 and 11-28

When I buy a road bike what should I put on it?

How much do you use the 30 ring? If its a lot then you might want to consider the compact with the same range on the back as the hybrid.

If you go for standard 53/39 double the road bike lowest gear will be pretty similar to the middle ring/largest cog combo on your hybrid. If you go for a compact your lowest gear will be somewhere between the middle ring, largest cog & the small ring/largest cog combo's on your hybrid.

sketchley

mudcovered wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

My Hybrid is 50/39/30 and 11-28

When I buy a road bike what should I put on it?

How much do you use the 30 ring? If its a lot then you might want to consider the compact with the same range on the back as the hybrid.

If you go for standard 53/39 double the road bike lowest gear will be pretty similar to the middle ring/largest cog combo on your hybrid. If you go for a compact your lowest gear will be somewhere between the middle ring, largest cog & the small ring/largest cog combo's on your hybrid.

Rarely, Dark Hill (about 4 gears from lowest) and Bloomfield Hill (2 from lowest).