Gear ratios for big "hills"

ollychristian

Hi
Anybody know anthing about gear ratios?

A mate and I are doing Barcelona to Bilbao via the Pyrenees. Loaded up with tents etc

I ride a salsa Fargo with the 11 Speed alfine. I've got 39 teeth up front and a 20 tooth at the back. It's perfect for my usual rides/commute. I'm just a bit worried i might be a bit tough on the hills.

I can go 39/22 which would make it a bit easier.
but I'm just wondering if I went 27/18 would that be slightly easier again or way to low to be able to get any speed on the flat?

Want to avoid buying a new chainset if I can.
Cheers

campbellrae1

With that gearing you will most likely be screwed in the mountains unless you are a horse of a man! You will most likely be able to switch the front chain ring to something smaller, maybe a 32? Unfortunately you are quite limited when running an internal set up!

Nice to see someone else with a Fargo though

nicktheluddite

Sheldon Brown every time for gearing questions. His gear calculator lets you play around - compare your setup to all sorts of things. From what I understand the alfine has lowest ratio of 0,53 - so on your 39/20 you'll have about 1:1. Tourers often go lower - 24/28 not unusual. http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

durhamwasp

ollychristian wrote:

Hi
Anybody know anthing about gear ratios?

A mate and I are doing Barcelona to Bilbao via the Pyrenees. Loaded up with tents etc

I ride a salsa Fargo with the 11 Speed alfine. I've got 39 teeth up front and a 20 tooth at the back. It's perfect for my usual rides/commute. I'm just a bit worried i might be a bit tough on the hills.

I can go 39/22 which would make it a bit easier.
but I'm just wondering if I went 27/18 would that be slightly easier again or way to low to be able to get any speed on the flat?

Want to avoid buying a new chainset if I can.
Cheers

Most Tour de France riders wouldnt use a 39/22 on a "big" climb, so probably best to try something else. Probably going to need a new bike in all honesty.

andrew_s

You can't (officially) gear any lower than you already are.

A lowest input gear ratio of 1.9:1 is specified for the Alfine 11. This is the drawback of using one for touring. You can doubtless push it a bit lower if you don't mind losing the warranty, but if you go too low you'll kill the hub (there's a report on the MTBR forum of 26x22 proving fatal.

durhamwasp wrote:

Most Tour de France riders wouldnt use a 39/22 on a "big" climb, so probably best to try something else. Probably going to need a new bike in all honesty.

Didn't you notice that he's using a hub gear? It gives a lowest ration of 1:1 in derailleur terms - eg 28/28.

andrew@snowrace

not sure of the right one for you but having crossed thpyrenees a couple of times on various bikes with and without camping gear keep it as light as possible and cadence is the key you need low enough gearing to be able to vary your cadence from time to time>

ollychristian

Thanks for your advice guys. After much number crunching using sheldons calculator. I decided to bail out on the alfine and go for a 2 by 10 mtb set up on the Fargo. And using CRC £50 Christmas voucher get ultegra shifters for £160 bargain!!
I could have made the alfine lower geared for climbing, and still with in the recommended ratio, but you loose top end speed. I think it would have been ok made slightly easier at the bottom end. But didn't want to risk it. So I've got alfine 11 on29er rim, versa drop shifters/brake levers for sale £500 if any one fancies it.
Cheers