Newby needs help with Gears

I don't live far away and I would say a compact (50/34 chain rings at the front) with a cassette range of 11 or 12 through to 28 or 32 would be fine for the area.

It needs to be said that to a certain extent in order to climb hills you just need to get fit, and if you opt for a compact chainset and a cassette that goes down to 28t, that ought to be sufficient for typical British gradients. That said, there's a lot to be said for triples, particularly for recreational riders in hilly areas - the silly macho gearing culture is a great shame. The compact chainset has its uses, but with a triple you can have really low gears if you want them (and there's nothing wrong with wanting to be able to climb hills in relative comfort), with some big top gears for going downhill, and the full range of the middle ring.

I'm guessing the little boy was coming out in me, wanting 2405038 gears so I can have more than my mates haha.

Ah but this is the thing.

When you get overtaken by a guy on a bike with just one gear, on a hill you can barely struggle up in your lowest of many, you realise what's truly impressive.

That said, I'll still be able to walk long after he needs replacement knees. At least, that's how I rationalise it

More than just range of gears, I would also be looking at number of gears.

What you really want when road cycling are 2 things - a decent range of gears - and small jumps between the gears - so that you can keep your cadence up.

For that reason, I wouldn't consider anything less than 9 speed on the back (11 is the highest you can get at the minute) - which would require Shimano Sora or higher. Any less than 9 and the jumps get bigger and it gets harder to maintain cadence..

Debating between a double vs a triple, I would consider what gearing you think you need. If you want to go for a triple on account of having a lot of hills and you reckon you might struggle, go for it. It's about what is best for you.

Advanatages of each are as follows:

Double:
Less crossover between gears - IE less combinations which are equal when on different chainrings
Often easier to find on the bike you want
You can get up most hills with them if you try hard enough - with a 28 or a 32 on the back the gearing isn;t that low.
Less large changes in gear ratios - easier to maintain cadence when you only have to change at the back

Triple:
Wider gear range - lower low and higher high

Notably though - don't go for a really wide range cassette unless you have plenty of cogs on the back - I use 11 speed on the back on mine with an 11-28 and the jumps are about right.. I wouldn't want an 11-32 though..

I started my road biking with a 50-34 and a 12-26 9 Speed bike - 3 years ago now - and I struggled up the hills as I was used to Mountain Bike gearing, which is much lower.. I stuck with it though and now beat everyone up all the hills (that I ride with anyway - they are all similar age and fitness to me) on either bike.. Get the bike that is right for you. I didn't, but it wasn't far off. I have since bought another one... N+1 strikes again

Only you can really know... All I know is that you should ignore anyone who claims a triple "Isn't manly enough" or similar..

bob6397

I have a triple chainset on my steel Audax bike and the smallest gear is 30*27 which can get me up most climbs, albeit slowly.

My carbon bike has a compact chainset and my smallest gear was 34*28 until I recently swapped my 11-28 cassette for a 12-30. My lowest gear is now 34*30 on the carbon bike which is roughly the same ratio as the 30*27 low gear on my Audax. I just found that 34*28 wasn't enough for me on steep climbs.