Newb: Tell me about my gear ratios

Rukas

Hi, I'm new here and new to road cycling (apart from having a "racer" in my youth.)

I live in Sheffield and recently got an old Peugeot in really good condition.

I've started going out on it but find some of the hilly terrain round here really hard work. Now, I may not be bike fit (I play ice hockey as my main sport), but I'm wondering if my gear ratios are a bit high for the locale.

I have 52 and 42 on the front with a 6-cog 14-24 on the back.

it it too high for a beginner?

fenix

42x24 is old school. We were fitter and thinner back then.

depending on how old and what kit it has - you would be able to get a smaller inner chainring and a bigger cassette on the back.

Jerry185

To give you an idea;-
most racers for your basic rider come with a 50/34 front set (called compact) and an 11/28 cassette at the rear. That'll suit most rides, but if you'll be doing short fast races on flat sections, other front sets will come with larger options with the rear cassette going down to a 11-25 at most.

If you're looking at hilly sportives, then a 11-32 cassette makes life a lot easier.

You can also get a triple ring front set (e.g. 50/39/30) but I would find that confusing as to what ring I should be on - two is enough mental capacity for me

drlodge

Rukas wrote:

Hi, I'm new here and new to road cycling (apart from having a "racer" in my youth.)

I live in Sheffield and recently got an old Peugeot in really good condition.

I've started going out on it but find some of the hilly terrain round here really hard work. Now, I may not be bike fit (I play ice hockey as my main sport), but I'm wondering if my gear ratios are a bit high for the locale.

I have 52 and 42 on the front with a 6-cog 14-24 on the back.

it it too high for a beginner?

That's a lower gear than I had when I were a lad...42/52 chainring and 13-21 cassette. But I did struggle on hills and hardly ever used the big chainring. Your bottom gear is 42/24... x 27" gives a gear inch ratio of 47. A 34 chainring with 28 cassette will give a bottom gear of 33 gear inches which is a lot lower.

So in answer to your question - it depends on the steepness of the hills you're thinking of doing. I would say anything over about 5% gradient will be tough but you should be OK up to that. If I recall, I just about managed box hill with 42/21 but I was a lot younger and it was a tough climb in that gear.

Rukas

I've started looking into re-gearing it.

I think I can get a 38T inner chainring that would fit. (I like the 52T outer on downhills and flats)

I think a Shimano-type 14-28 would go on the back, but not sure the derailleur is long enough a cage to accommodate it.

Is it worth just trying the 38T chain ring for now?

ravey1981

I wouldn't go messing about with the old peugeot to be honest, if its in really good original condition it could be worth a few quid to someone (not loads obviously). I hate to see original stuff broken up. If its a 6 speed it will be a screw on freewheel rather than a cassette and 38-24 will still be high geared compared to a modern bike.

If you get into road riding you will quickly decide you want something more modern and better suited to the hills in your area. There are plenty of second hand modern road bikes around that would make a better investment than swapping parts into a bike which isn't really suited to you.

Just my opinion, and others will probably disagree.

PS pics of the Pug? My father has an old one in the garage but it has seen better days, I used to borrow it when I was a lot younger, good memories.

bflk

Rukas wrote:

Hi, I'm new here and new to road cycling (apart from having a "racer" in my youth.)

I live in Sheffield and recently got an old Peugeot in really good condition.

I've started going out on it but find some of the hilly terrain round here really hard work. Now, I may not be bike fit (I play ice hockey as my main sport), but I'm wondering if my gear ratios are a bit high for the locale.

I have 52 and 42 on the front with a 6-cog 14-24 on the back.

it it too high for a beginner?

Not a Peugeot Altus by any chance? Had one in 1990 and got rid of it a couple of years ago.

Rukas

ravey1981 wrote:

I wouldn't go messing about with the old peugeot to be honest, if its in really good original condition it could be worth a few quid to someone (not loads obviously). I hate to see original stuff broken up. If its a 6 speed it will be a screw on freewheel rather than a cassette and 38-24 will still be high geared compared to a modern bike.

I hear ya. It's a lovely bike, but I'm not planning any major surgery. It'll be 38-28. Hopefully that'll be good enough to get me out of town as currently I'm struggling to do so without stopping to recuperate.

bflk wrote:

Not a Peugeot Altus by any chance? Had one in 1990 and got rid of it a couple of years ago.

It's an Etoile Index, about 1989.

This is it:

simon_masterson

Get a 7 speed freewheel with a 28. What you've got is higher than gearing typically used these days, but it's not hardcore racer's gearing (12/13 up freewheel) either.

It really does depend on what you want to do - if you're looking to do long rides with challenging climbs in them, you might find 38x28 too big, but if it's just the odd hill here and there, you'll probably manage.

All that said, Yorkshire has some tough climbs. I struggled up Buttertubs last summer on 39x20. It wasn't pretty. I made it, but a 24t would have been much appreciated.

Rukas

Simon Masterson wrote:

Get a 7 speed freewheel with a 28.

I can get 28 on a 6-speed. Shifting is indexed anyway so can't move to 7 (I don't think).

In other news, I found a 6-speed freewheel with a 32T cog on it from the same manufacturer.

myideal

TBH have to agree with the comment on not being worth the upgrade. I had similar bike for years, however made the change for the same reasons s the gearing was killing me on the hills. Mine was a 10speed, good on the flats but any form of serious hill and it used to kill me.

Changed bike to a new moden one. Wow what a difference , hills I never thought I could climb I can go up now. Think the 32 ring helps with that. Lol

simon_masterson

Rukas wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Get a 7 speed freewheel with a 28.

I can get 28 on a 6-speed. Shifting is indexed anyway so can't move to 7 (I don't think).

In other news, I found a 6-speed freewheel with a 32T cog on it from the same manufacturer.

If those are indexed, either they may have a friction mode, or you could just buy some friction shifters for a few quid. Your rear mech may not manage it anyway, but I personally really wouldn't want to use a freewheel with a 32t because of the size of the jumps - you may not mind this. The spread of ratios with 13-28 7 speed is reasonably good. There are very few reasons in my view not to opt for 7 speed on a bike with the right spacing.