New cassette

Rich-hill

Hi all,

I'm currently riding a scott foil with standard double up front and an 11-25 on the rear, some of the local climbs I'm finding pretty tough and need to come out the saddle early as I can't keep leg speed up staying in the saddle. So I'm shattered and hitting very high HR when I reach the top.

Would I notice a big improvement if I change to a 11-28?
If I do change to the bigger sprocket will I need to alter the chain length as well?
I still want to keep the 11, I use this quite a lot on descents.


Thanks in advance for any advice.
Rich

morrisje

I did the same as you are thinking about except that I was running a 12-25. The 28 does make a lot of difference, if you use a gear inches calculator you will see how much http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/
It helped me get up the Galibier

I didn't have to put a new chain on. Maybe mine was a bit slack to start off with but you will only go on the 28 when you are on the 39 on the front. Therefore your existing chain length will be able to cope.

styxd

Learn to climb for extended periods of time out of the saddle, it'll make you a better rider. Climbs are tough.

prawny

You'll notice that most of the time you cant get the gear you want but it'll feel better on the hills where you need it. It makes the jumps bigger in the middle so you need to think about whether you really need the extra help. I vary rarely use the 28 on my bike, it's nice on the odd occasion I use it but most of the time it just hacks me off. I'll probably go back to the 25 when I need to replace it.

Rich-hill

styxd wrote:

Learn to climb for extended periods of time out of the saddle, it'll make you a better rider. Climbs are tough.

I can climb for longer periods than i can out the saddle, but i feel i would be more efficient if I could stay seated.
I like to ride with a cadence of 90-105 or so, when i stand i can only maintain around the 70-75 mark

Bar Shaker

Everyone has a different cadence between seated and standing.