Best purchase ever :)

#david2012

A genuine beginner only started 7 months ago, I've managed 50miles and do regular 30+ at weekends but the hills kill me... Or should I say slopes I am the captain slow of strava.

Been agonising over how to to improve etc but today just spent £25 on a tiagra 12-30 cassette and WOW
I sh1t you not it has transformed my defy1 up hill ... Only went for a quick test ride tonight and amazing difference, can't wait to try it out on some of the ones I struggled on recently.

I'm sure some of you animals could climb on a fixie, but for my level / ability it just makes it fun again!! After a crap first couple of rides of 2013, I'm happy again.
Obviously I will swop back to the 12-28 when I'm stronger but if any of you 'beginners' wonder if it could make a difference the answer is a YES

elderone

Cool,ive ordered one and a 34/50 crank after learning the other day that my set up was a standard not a compact.
If you found a 12-30 better than a 12-28 then i cant wait to try a 12-30 with a 34 front sprocket,which will give me a hill gear of 34-30 as apposed to the killer 39-26 i have now.

ShutUpLegs

So are you going faster up the same hills?

chrisaonabike

I've been looking at doing this too. A 7% lower gear at the bottom for almost nothing.

I'll tough it out for a while longer, since I do seem to be finding the hills I'm familiar with a little easier, but some of the steeper ones that I'm eyeing up do look a little intimidating

Did you change anything at all except for the cassette? And the rest is Tiagra, right, with 50/34 at the front?

#david2012

ShutUpLegs wrote:

So are you going faster up the same hills?

Haven't tried yet but first impressions are I will ! ... I'm planning to go redo a couple of strava segments plus a hill near home which I've never got over yet!
To be fair at my level I'm not too bothered yet how fast I am, more aiming to glide up and over rather than stutter like I do at the moment

#david2012

elderone wrote:

Cool,ive ordered one and a 34/50 crank after learning the other day that my set up was a standard not a compact.
If you found a 12-30 better than a 12-28 then i cant wait to try a 12-30 with a 34 front sprocket,which will give me a hill gear of 34-30 as apposed to the killer 39-26 i have now.

Elderone my defy1 has a 50x34 crank and so I have same set up... Have no fear you have something to look forward to

elderone

Im looking forward to it,hopefully be done by the weekend at the lbs.My new bike(defy comp2) comes with a 34-32 granny gear which i hope ill have in time for mow cop.As it stands I havn,t had to stop on a hill yet and the worst ive done is cat 3,but it would b nice to have it a tad easier up the climbs and maybe even quicker would be a bonus.

Jauncarlos67

Sorry in advance for being thick.... I have a 11-25 with a 50/34 what's the difference??
I to struggle with slopes

pride4ever

Its been proven that the only people who should be riding standard cassettes are the pros.

#david2012

Jauncarlos67 wrote:

Sorry in advance for being thick.... I have a 11-25 with a 50/34 what's the difference??
I to struggle with slopes

Equally as thick on this subject lol and I'm sure one of the experts here will explain it better but the 11-25 bit relates to the rear cassette gearing ( how many teeth )
Basically if you increase the 25 bit it gets easier

nochekmate

#david2012 wrote:

Jauncarlos67 wrote:

Sorry in advance for being thick.... I have a 11-25 with a 50/34 what's the difference??
I to struggle with slopes

Equally as thick on this subject lol and I'm sure one of the experts here will explain it better but the 11-25 bit relates to the rear cassette gearing ( how many teeth )
Basically if you increase the 25 bit it gets easier

Not an 'expert' as such but putting a cassette with a 30T ring on it offers an easier option on the hills than an 11-25 (however to be honest guys, just ride your bike and get some miles in - a compact coupled with a 12-25 is fine for most areas of the country and certainly a 34T chainset coupled with a 28T cassette, should be enough to tackle even some really steep climbs of 20%+).

I suspect that the OP will not be climbing quicker by using the 30T rather than the 28T but it will of course feel slightly easier! Putting a 12/30T cassette on the rear gives some wide ratios on the lower gears and this is viewed as a drawback by many.

k3vinjam3s

i too have a defy 1 but it has a 12-25. ive looked at changing to a 12-27 cassette. will this make much of a difference? dont struggle too much on hills, only when they get over 25%, just wanted a bit of an extra gear.

#david2012

nochekmate, at the moment I'm really struggling with climbing .... I can get up hills but, I'm very slow at it! And my technique is very stop/start ie set off in a low ish gear steady but get out the saddle for a bit... Collapse back into the saddle.... Out the saddle... Almost stop... Balance... Back in the saddle etc lol
A friend keeps telling me its in my head ... Do more miles... Do more hills

My thinking is 'learn' the skill of climbing with a couple of gears in reserve and when I improve my power,stamina and experience I can switch back to a more standard cassette

#david2012

k3vinjam3s wrote:

i too have a defy 1 but it has a 12-25. ive looked at changing to a 12-27 cassette. will this make much of a difference? dont struggle too much on hills, only when they get over 25%, just wanted a bit of an extra gear.

My experience for climbing yes! Like my previous posts have said I already had a 12-28 and found that difficult
I'm yet to tackle some proper hills but first impressions tonight are that it gives me the extra help I need

lotus49

k3vinjam3s wrote:

i too have a defy 1 but it has a 12-25. ive looked at changing to a 12-27 cassette. will this make much of a difference? dont struggle too much on hills, only when they get over 25%, just wanted a bit of an extra gear.

25% is really steep. You don't say where you live but even round here in hilly Yorkshire (a completely flat road is genuinely rare around here) there aren't that many roads as steep as 25%. It's just as well too or I'd probably have to start walking.

elderone

well cant say yet what using a compact 34-50 is like but the standard I have now is a killer up the hills.Im sure just changing from a 25 to a 28 would be noticeable but im hoping going from a 26-39 to a 30-34 will be a hell of a lot better.I,ll be honest its not my legs on hills its my heart rate that goes up high so hopefully easier gears will keep it lower.

nochekmate

#david2012 wrote:

nochekmate, at the moment I'm really struggling with climbing .... I can get up hills but, I'm very slow at it! And my technique is very stop/start ie set off in a low ish gear steady but get out the saddle for a bit... Collapse back into the saddle.... Out the saddle... Almost stop... Balance... Back in the saddle etc lol
A friend keeps telling me its in my head ... Do more miles... Do more hills

My thinking is 'learn' the skill of climbing with a couple of gears in reserve and when I improve my power,stamina and experience I can switch back to a more standard cassette

Nothing wrong with that plan sir! (or using a 12-30T cassette in the first place). Look forward to seeing you rave about a 53/39T traditional chainset and an 11-23 cassette in time.

thescouselander

I've just gone from a 11-25 casette to a 12-28 after many miles of trying to train my legs to make do with what I had. I have to say it has worked out really well for me and strava confirms I can now get up some hills a bit faster. In fact I can now get up some really steep hills where I normally would have stopped.

IMO gearing is a very personal thing and you need to find what suits you best - if it works do it!

#david2012

nochekmate wrote:

#david2012 wrote:

nochekmate, at the moment I'm really struggling with climbing .... I can get up hills but, I'm very slow at it! And my technique is very stop/start ie set off in a low ish gear steady but get out the saddle for a bit... Collapse back into the saddle.... Out the saddle... Almost stop... Balance... Back in the saddle etc lol
A friend keeps telling me its in my head ... Do more miles... Do more hills

My thinking is 'learn' the skill of climbing with a couple of gears in reserve and when I improve my power,stamina and experience I can switch back to a more standard cassette

Nothing wrong with that plan sir! (or using a 12-30T cassette in the first place). Look forward to seeing you rave about a 53/39T traditional chainset and an 11-23 cassette in time.

er when I said standard I didn't mean that sort of standard lol

k3vinjam3s

lotus49 wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

i too have a defy 1 but it has a 12-25. ive looked at changing to a 12-27 cassette. will this make much of a difference? dont struggle too much on hills, only when they get over 25%, just wanted a bit of an extra gear.

25% is really steep. You don't say where you live but even round here in hilly Yorkshire (a completely flat road is genuinely rare around here) there aren't that many roads as steep as 25%. It's just as well too or I'd probably have to start walking.

im in teesside and venture to the cleveland hills mostly. there is only one road in particular which is carlton bank. like i said i dont struggle but if i have a gear or two spare i wouldnt mind as i wouldnt be losing my top gear.

MartAstur

I changed from a 105 11-25 to a Tiagra 12-30 just over a month ago and it's the best 25 quid I have ever spent. Makes 18% hills a possibliity, helps maintain a decent cadence up hills and most importantly make climbing more enjoyable as you know you can reach the top. I live in a really hilly area so it makes a huge difference to me but it's still not enough to climb the Alto de L'Angliru which is one of my long term goals.

#david2012

Well Today I dId a 7 mile loop near home which is part of one of my routes... Going the harder way round, the best I had achieved time wise was 32.30

Today 27.35 so first impressions the gearing is more suitable for my current level
29/42 on a strava segment as well so not in the bottom 4 for a change lol

Obviously more rides will show if the change has made a clear difference but certainly a step in the right direction

drlodge

Lower gears will defiantely make riding up steep hills easier, if not quicker. I've got 12-28 on the back of my winter bike, and up until the summer had an old 42-52 chainset. I really struggled up steep hills with 42-28. Then I moved to a compact 34-50 and not only were the lower gears alot easier, my times (and Heart Rate) went down too.

Went up Barhatch last night, and I defo needed my 34-28. Standing up during the latter parts and had to pull on the bars too, right at the very top where its steepest 21%.