Too many gears?

rgsby

I am in my 3rd week of commuting and have come to the conclusion that I have too many gears - I live in a very hilly location but the roads are so bad that cycling downhill I am mostly concentrating on staying on, rather than speed. Uphill I am quickly in 1st gear and wish there was 1 lower! But in total, I am probably only using maybe 6 of my 22 gears - are others the same or am I doing something wrong??

markhewitt1978

What matters in hilly areas isn't usually the number of gears but the spread between them. Presumably you're on 11 speed, what ratio cassette? Because if it's like 11-25 then swapping it out for an 11-28 or 11-32 would help you on the hills quite a bit.

rgsby

markhewitt1978 wrote:

What matters in hilly areas isn't usually the number of gears but the spread between them. Presumably you're on 11 speed, what ratio cassette? Because if it's like 11-25 then swapping it out for an 11-28 or 11-32 would help you on the hills quite a bit.

I confess, I am unfit, having not ridden a bike since my teens (back in the early '80s!)
And yes, it's an 11-32T cassette with a 50/34T crankset.

The Rookie

You could go for a cassette with a larger biggest cog.

My commuter is set up as nine speed (one front ring) although I could get the same spread on an old 6 speed freewheel having the ratios closer together is nice.

Man Of Lard

rgsby wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

What matters in hilly areas isn't usually the number of gears but the spread between them. Presumably you're on 11 speed, what ratio cassette? Because if it's like 11-25 then swapping it out for an 11-28 or 11-32 would help you on the hills quite a bit.

I confess, I am unfit, having not ridden a bike since my teens (back in the early '80s!)
And yes, it's an 11-32T cassette with a 50/34T crankset.

Then as you gain fitness (and confidence in descending) you'll use more of what you have.

rick_chasey

Gears are low enough. Just keep riding.

FWIW, best way I've found to gain fitness is to properly nail yourself when you ride, and make sure you rest up well inbetween.

But I mean really nail it. Like you're worried you might die you're so knackered.

And then really rest up well. Like, pretend-you're-ill well.

fat daddy

you are just cycling unfit ... As you get fitter, faster and stronger you will find you use more and more of the gears you don't currently use and less of the ones you currently do use

When you start professional SCR you will use ALL the gears to maximise acceleration and speed

rgsby

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement - I will certainly keep at it and am already pushing as hard as my feeble body can but hopefully I will regain some of the fitness of my youth!

wolfsbane2k

rgsby wrote:

I am in my 3rd week of commuting and have come to the conclusion that I have too many gears - I live in a very hilly location but the roads are so bad that cycling downhill I am mostly concentrating on staying on, rather than speed. Uphill I am quickly in 1st gear and wish there was 1 lower! But in total, I am probably only using maybe 6 of my 22 gears - are others the same or am I doing something wrong??

Hey, and welcome back to the cycling routine!
I started cycle commuting just over a year ago after > 5 years off, and although live in a "not particularly hilly" area, the one big hill would kill me daily -even in the bottom of a 3x8 set, which is has a slightly higher bottom gear than your current set. I rarely, if ever, got into the largest ring, and the lowest gear wasn't enough for a 6% hill.

Within 2 months I started using the full gear range, and 4 months later managed to make the 6% hill without dropping out of the middle ring without realising it.

NOw I'm on a 2x10, and have changed to ride up a 10% hill because I can, and I'm now doing a few reps on it in the evening.

Just keep going - you'll probably not notice you've not used the lowest gear until you've reached the top and gone to go up a gear as you go over the hill, and it doesn't feel like you've hit enough gear changes...

Good luck with it!