When did our legs get weaer

Blue Parker
Blue Parker Posts: 37
edited November 2011 in MTB general
ok I was trawling up another hill today in a very low gear (22 up front and 30 out back) and thought hang on didn't my old Marin Bear Valley have a 28/38/48 up front and 12-28 out back? I used to be able to get up hills then (late 80's) now I need less than 2:3 ration to move - what happened?
Trance x5
Trek 4500 (toddler chariot)

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Well in the late 80s I was an active skinny teenager not a beer swilling, curry eating, fat bellied not-far-off-40-something who sits in an office all day and slogs around trails at the weekend.

    Though I only did roads back then, plus had a few years of doing morning paper rounds on a bike.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    when ATBs went to MTBs.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Granny is my best friend nowadays.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • captainfly
    captainfly Posts: 1,001
    I get on fine with a 1x9 set up, it tends to be how much drag my tyres have than the incline, fireroads with 2.3 boozes on I can go up all day as speep as you like but mucky singletrack on 2.5 highrollers anything other than flat is a pain.
    -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
    Mongoose Teocali
    Giant STP0

    Why are MTB economics; spend twice as much as you intended, but only half as much as you wish you could afford? :roll:
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    It depends mainly on how much you ride. Without training properly, you will think that no matter how small of gears you have.
    My London Road
  • jayson
    jayson Posts: 4,606
    Ive thought this myself a number of times over the years. I remember having 48/38/28 up front with a 12/28 block and it was all i ever needed but these days we have all manner of gears up to 22/36 which is just ridiculously low.

    Even roadies it seems are not safe, the number of road bikes that come with a triple up front is huge and when i was a teenager in the late 80's early 90's that would have been unheard of no matter where you lived unless you put one on yourself.

    Im not sure when but we bikers have definitely gotten softer over the years.
    Remedy

    Merida

    Austria 2012

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