More gears req'd

roundthebend

My trusty commuting bike is blessed with just 16 gears.

The left/front shifter has scope for 3 or 4 positions so I was wondering if I could simply change the chainset to a 3 cogger?

I guess I may have to alter the chain. Is there anything else I need to be weary of? I think the derailleur can cope with 3 cogs too.

I'm not sure what stuff is on there currently, other than I'm sure someone told me it was Shimano Sora. It's definitely Shimano.

chrishd883

Assuming your levers are double / triple compatible
You'll need a new triple chainset, BB & chain (plus new cables?)
Then probably the front mech - but you could try it with the existing mech to start.

roundthebend

Ta.
New BB?! ugh! New cables!? ugh!

Might have to wait for that then - it sounds like a bigger job than I can hack right now.

iPete

Whats wrong with your 16 gears exactly, are you spinning out at high speed or having to grind up hills?

ndru

It's not the number of gears that really matters but range. If you are spinning out downhills and find it hard to climb the same hill in the other direction then I would suggest changing the chainring (?). Anyways I've got 5 gears on my bike (SA hub) and 90% (3rd 90% of that 90%) of the time use the middle 3, I never use 1st and 5th is only for steep decends.

roundthebend

iPete wrote:

Whats wrong with your 16 gears exactly, are you spinning out at high speed or having to grind up hills?

Good question. I should have elaborated.

I rarely get above 6th or 7th gear, so the higher gears aren't an issue. What I need is lower gearing for the occasional steep hill - especially when I'm fully loaded in my panniers.

Perhaps I should get a new chainset with 2 lower geared cogs?

esspeebee

It'll be far cheaper and easier to get a new cassette with bigger sprockets, if it's possible. If I remember rightly, Shimano road and mountain bike drivetrains are more or less interchangeable, so you might be able to just drop an 8-speed mountain bike cassette in for some lower gears.

roundthebend

esspeebee wrote:

It'll be far cheaper and easier to get a new cassette with bigger sprockets, if it's possible. If I remember rightly, Shimano road and mountain bike drivetrains are more or less interchangeable, so you might be able to just drop an 8-speed mountain bike cassette in for some lower gears.

Also a good call, thanks.

I might try my LBS but I'm skint and like to DIY.

Maybe I should just man-up and get my leg muscles built up. It's just the heat lately taking it out of me so I would love to drop into a really low gear and spin my way up the hill.

CiB

Have a read of this thread over at the other place. I haven't read it through end to end, but the title is apposite.

Clever Pun

Have you tried MTFU?

Confusedboy

esspeebee's replacement cassette idea is probably the best one, and relatively cheap and easy to do. If you are skint (join the club, mate), you may even be lucky enough to find something suitable in a skip.

Be wary of going too far down the road of low gearing, though. It is tempting to imagine yourself spinning happily up your steep hill, sitting comfortably, maybe drafting a snail, little old ladies with shopping trollies overtaking you on the pavement, perhaps drawing on an old briar pipe as the world drifts oh so gently past, but, at very low speeds, your pedalling efficiency will be compromised by your tendency to wobble, which will be excacerbated by the adverse slope. All this translates to your brain as a general feeling of insecurity as you will be horribly aware of the need to factor in a quick dismount at any time if neccessary, and you will instinctively want to accelerate. The odd lorry thundering past at full throttle in low gear will emphasise the desire. Spinning madly, the mighty sinews on your arms bulging as you fight the steering wobble, you will now want to gain sufficient momentum to make an upward gear change viable, and you may actually make it, albeit with a bone-jarring, chain-stretching, very uncomfortable crunch, but it is just as likely that you will throw the chain and come to an embarrassing stop as the little old lady with the shopping trolley asks if you are ok, sonny, and the snail leaves you eating his dust.

I have never had such an experience, of course........

roundthebend

Clever Pun wrote:

Have you tried MTFU?

Have you tried STFU?

Only kidding......I did mention MTFU in an earlier comment.

EKE_38BPM

Give us more info.

What bike is it? How many teeth on your chainrings? What cassette? How big are your wheels?

As has been said, more gears may not be the answer. Perhaps increasing the range of the gears or moving the range of the gears into the torque band of your legs (if you are a spinner, a grinder's gears would be no good to you and vice versa).

It could be as simple as changing your chain rings. Five bolts to change and it would move your gearing into the range you actually use.

wyadvd

just started rding a fixie on 48x16 and its more than adequate on my commute. kinda wondering what to do with all the gears on my sabbath when I ride it again!

redvee

You might want to seek inspiration from this bike.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/dawes-edge-pro-12 ... 3369407f88 :shock:

EKE_38BPM

Thats an interesting bike. Four chainrings must give a massive range, but if it is supposed to be a tourning bike, where are the mounts for racks?
I wonder why the builder did all that and then kept the crappy pedals and saddle? (Maybe the ones they use are too good to sell?)
Why start with that frame? Not the best place to start.
Why have a black and yellow frame and then add purple anodised parts? Maybe the builder is colour blind or just has even less sense of colour co-ordination than me?

Good wrenching skills though.

The Rookie

What you call an excercise in pointlessness, it could be done so he did it, but the gear spacings will mean in reality little more useable range than a conventional 27 or 30 speed, just for any given ratio (plus or minus 5%) he has about 4 different combinations to achieve it. Must weigh a ton with hub geared and derailleur at both ends!

Quad chainring spacing is pointless, if he had 22 ranging to 53 it may make some sense but 26 to 44 is narrower than practically every MTB triple (22-42/44).

Simon

EKE_38BPM

The Beginner wrote:

What you call an excercise in pointlessness, it could be done so he did it, but the gear spacings will mean in reality little more useable range than a conventional 27 or 30 speed, just for any given ratio (plus or minus 5%) he has about 4 different combinations to achieve it. Must weigh a ton with hub geared and derailleur at both ends!

Quad chainring spacing is pointless, if he had 22 ranging to 53 it may make some sense but 26 to 44 is narrower than practically every MTB triple (22-42/44).

Simon

I think he realised you were right, which is why he's selling it.
It reminds me of something a NASA engineer is supposed to have said:
"If you want it, we can build it, but do you need it and can you afford it?"

EKE_38BPM

I've just had another look at this bike and I think it has less gears than I originally thought.
4 chainrings
3 speed hub
8 speed cassette (but 10 speed shifters)

If it does have a 10 speed cassette that would be 120 gears but if it is an 8 speed cassette that would be only 96 gears!

Anyone know what the range of the hub gear is? I'd love to get a breakdown of the gears and the gear range.

Blue Meanie

Hub gear will normally be 3/4 - 1/1 - 4/3