Is this low enough for the Marmotte?

barrybridges

I'm riding a compact with 50/34 upfront and 26/13 on the rear, but I'm worried it's not low enough.

I don't want to switch to a triple, so is it worth replacing the cassette for something with a lower gear?

It's Campag 10sp centaur - so would I need to change anything else? Chain? Rear derailleur?

bigmat

Depends on the rider - I did it on a 34 25 - that was fine for me, previous trip to Alps I was on a 23 which I had no trouble with, but wanted another couple of teeth given the number of climbs on the Marmotte. Never hurts to have a bail out gear!

barrybridges

By bail-out gear, you mean 13-29?

Out of interest, do I have to swap like-for-like? I'm running Campag Centaur - but can I use Veloce?

maringirl

You can use any Campag cassette - the limiting factor will be your rear mech esp if it is a short cage one. Check the spec on Campag website. You might get a 28 on there?

TheStone

I'm fairly sure 29 will be fine.

I'm slow and heavy and put on a 12-32 (sram/shimano) with a compact 50-34 and although I don't think I used the 32, it was nice to have the option.

Tom Butcher

I used 36*26 (possibly a 27) I think, it was OK but I could maybe have used a couple of teeth more at the top of the Galibier and on the Alpe, if you can get a bigger cassette I'd do it. Having said that a mate used 29*35 and was fine with that - but it does depend on the rider - he's a bit stronger than most.

Leroy42

As has been alluded to already, it really is an impossible question to answer correctly with the limited knowledge we have of the OP.

What is your climbing style like, is it fast or slow cadence, do you climb mostly in or out of the saddle or combination of both.

When out on training rides it it your legs or lungs that give in first? What sort of time are you going for? Are you hoping to simply make it around, or are you hoping to get gold?

What level of training have you done, will you be able to do by July? Is your training mainly hills or flat. While not all the above will have a big impact on the gearing, they do play a part.

In general, you can never been too lowly (or is it highly?? anyway bigger the rear cog the better) geared for such an event as Marmotte. Far better to sacrifice the small cogs to have additional climbing gears. The amount of time to be gained on the descent against the possibility of crawling to a halt on the Alpe!

I count myself as a fairly decent climber, I'm fairly light and I took a 34/27 combo last time. Didn't feel I lost anything on the downhills (well not because of my gearing anyway) and although I don't recall how much time I spent in the 27, I can be fairly sure most of the time on Alpe I was in it, a pretty much all the time from Plan Lachet on Galibier.

Tom Butcher

Did I really type 29*35 ! I meant 39*25

barrybridges

Thanks for your replies. Provided I can get the 29 on the back to work with a short cage mech then I'll switch to that.

dabber

I'm running Veloce rear short cage (Record front).

13-29 with a 50/34 and no problems.