Gearing change

dowlass

Wanted to ask if a 28 back cog will make a subtantial or negligble change from a 25 tooth?

Chainring is a triple with 30 on the small ring, but still quite a grind-out on steep hills with the 25 rear. Would an 11-28 cassette make a good and helpful difference? Or would an 11-30 be preferable?

Problem with the latter is maybe starting to stretch the rear derailleur's capabilities - it's not a short cage, but it's not a long one, either. (so it must be medium!) I'd prefer to just change the cassette than fiddle with the derailleur.

Thanks

lesfirth

Without knowing a bit more about you and what you have now it is difficult to advise you. The difference between your 25T and a 28T will be about the same, or more, than the difference between your 25T and your next smaller sprocket. It will feel as though you have another lower gear. A 30T will obviously make a bigger difference.

It won't be long before someone tells you that you just need to loose weight/get fitter etc. Just ignore them.

dowlass

Thanks for the comments, lesfirth.

My steed is an aluminium triple 'racer', 90s vintage I'd guess, weighs about 11kg. Me? Well let's say I'm close to official retirement age! 6ft 11.5st, considered fit for my age and still pushing boundaries in other outdoor activities. The knees creak a bit, but even though I'm not a regular cyclist, Strava tells me I'm in the top 25% of riders on some hill climbs round here. Yeah, I'm miles off the leaderboard, but feel I'm not too shabby. Always room for improvement, though

But I do hit a bit of wall when it comes to the 12-15%-ers. I can get up but it's a heart-pounding affair. Could just do with easing the pain a little! Sure, I can get more cycling fit, that will happen. But you reach a point in life where you reluctantly have to accept that your fitness has a lower ceiling and you have to work a lot harder for it.

So I'm reaching for the proverbial crutch, in the guise of an extra cog or two!

Bottom briquettes

My station hack has a triple up front, and used to have a 9 speed, 11-27 cassette. I moved to an 11-30 cassette, and it made a big difference on steep climbs, particularly 25% jobs, where I couldn’t easily get the 11-27 to work, without the chain slipping.

First.Aspect

Bottom briquettes wrote:

My station hack has a triple up front, and used to have a 9 speed, 11-27 cassette. I moved to an 11-30 cassette, and it made a big difference on steep climbs, particularly 25% jobs, where I couldn’t easily get the 11-27 to work, without the chain slipping.

I think you are a genius. Comedically I mean.

peteco

Yes, you will notice the difference. 25 to 28 is a 12% change in gearing, which is not trivial.
Depending on what derailleur you have, you may get it to work with 30 or 32.

Pete

dowlass

Thanks for the comments and experiences, guys. I'll maybe start with a 28 - a 12% difference, as peteco says, is not insignificant. If I can't get up with that, maybe there's still room on the derailleur for a 30 - it looks like a long cage to me?...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TJS1vOo1QUp2AzzUHWnzINOhTgF2HDSE/view?usp=sharing

I've seen an SRAM cassette (PG-950) which is only 240g at that size, somewhat less than the Shimano HG50 - every little counts!

cld531c

Clean your chain!!!! :-)

photonic69

cld531c wrote:

Clean your chain!!!! :-)

Filthy chain. Indoors. Next to sofa! I'd be shot!

dowlass

Oh the shame of it... this is such a clean forum

cld531c

PhotoNic69 wrote:

cld531c wrote:

Clean your chain!!!! :-)

Filthy chain. Indoors. Next to sofa! I'd be shot!

Quite rightly!

dowlass

What to clean it with?..... Will white spirit do? (instead of fancy/expensive 'bike cleaners')

joe_totale-2

dowlass wrote:

What to clean it with?..... Will white spirit do? (instead of fancy/expensive 'bike cleaners')

If you're too tight for bike cleaner then I understand that washing up liquid can do a pretty good job of degreasing and cleaning a chain.

drlodge

White spirit will clean a chain well, but leaves a residue that makes the chain go black again very quickly.

I bought a 5l container of citrus cleaner that works well most of the time. If the chain is really cruddy I'll use white spirit first in the chain cleaning contraption then do a second clean with the citrus cleaner...beauty of citrus cleaner is that it washes off/clean with water...then rub with cloth to dry...then lube of course.

dowlass

Thanks for the tips.

Your right, Joe, I'm too tight! Most of these fancy cleaners are just everyday chems with a fancy label (and added colouring!)

DrLodge...citrus cleaner? That's interesting. Sounds like we can make our own.... https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to ... als-185527

Thanks guys

photonic69

Cheap babywipes.

Just hold folded wipe around chain between derailleur and bottom when on the big chain ring and pedal backwards. Three wipes is usually enough. Forth wipe to clean your fingers. Useful to "floss" between the cogs on the rear cassette and on the derailleur cage to remove crud. Works really well and avoids the use of chemicals. God knows what they put into the wipes but it works well!

drlodge

PhotoNic69 wrote:

...avoids the use of chemicals. God knows what they put into the wipes but it works well!

What do they put into baby wipes? Probably chemicals of some sort. :roll: Baby wipes also contain plastic. But they are very effective!

drlodge

To the OP, I'm using "Selden Citrus Cleaner" https://www.janitorialwarehouse.co.uk/h ... -f248.html

photonic69

drlodge wrote:

White spirit will clean a chain well, but leaves a residue that makes the chain go black again very quickly.

I bought a 5l container of citrus cleaner that works well most of the time. If the chain is really cruddy I'll use white spirit first in the chain cleaning contraption then do a second clean with the citrus cleaner...beauty of citrus cleaner is that it washes off/clean with water...then rub with cloth to dry...then lube of course.

I'm selling my son's bike, a Planet X Pro Carbon as he's grown out of it. I decided to give the chain a good clean so I took it off and put it into a glass jar that I had previously used for petrol a few years back. Filled it with white spirit, put the top on and shook vigorously. Left it overnight. Expecting a nice clean chain I was confronted with a chain coated in black sticky glue-like gunge!!! Even the links had become sticky and stiff. No idea what it was but aerosol degreaser, fresh white spirit and even fresh petrol wouldn't shift it! As a last resort before buying a new one I soaked it in a solution of Caustic Soda for 40 minutes, gave it a good rinse then a bath of Jeyes Fluid and boiling water. Good second rinse, blast of GT85 and now looking like new again. Phew!

dowlass

There's a cautionary tale, photonic! Caustic soda, Jeyes fluid, boiling water, GT85....phew!

Thanks for the link, drlodge, that's on the shopping list.

dowlass

By the way, just to get back on thread track....I ordered an 11-28