Upgrading for more gears

lju00dt
lju00dt Posts: 7
edited February 2016 in Road beginners
Hi

I have been mountain biking on road and off road for years and have recently purchase a road bike for efficiency on the tarmac - which I have noticed, well until you reach a steep hill that is.

These are hills that I have managed to climb on my mountain bike, albeit in the lowest gear, but i have always managed to get up them.

However, owing to the reduced number of gears on he road bike (16 gears - 8 speed shimano cassette on the rear) I am getting to the point where i have to push it up the steepest parts as i physically cannot turn the pedals. (yes i know some of you will say "get fitter") these are hills i have got up on my mtn bike. and to rub salt into the wound my friend who still uses his mtn bike flies up past me as i'm pushing it up the hill, after me bagging about how much easier it should be on a road bike.

so my question is; Will access to more gears help?

I'm presuming i could upgrade to an 11 speed cassette and fix a compatible shifter, but would that provide me with what i need or could it be an expensive experiment just to find the extra gears offer little more. i dont know anyone who has done this so any advice would be appreciated.

I want to enjoy cycling (especially out in the gorgeous yorkshire dales) not pushing my bike up a hill all the time!

Comments

  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    It is nothing to do with the number of gears...it is all about the gears themselves. I suspect on your MTB you have a small chainring on the front matched with a dinner plate cog on the back. So, have a look at your road bike and tell us what your lowest combo is, 34x25?? 34x27? Also, if you tell us what your cassette range actually is (12-27??) then we can advise on your options. This may be an inexpensive thing to crack!
  • simon_masterson
    simon_masterson Posts: 2,740
    As above - if you are used to mtb gears, you will probably find road ones stiffer, but that's not to say that you can't make your setup easier.
    Retro(ish) TT 2017-
    Fixed TT 2015-2016
  • Giraffoto
    Giraffoto Posts: 2,078
    Funnily enough, I've been looking at eight-speed gearing only recently. If your derailleur is the Shimano Claris it will easily handle a cassette up to 11-30: that, combined with a compact set of chainrings, will get you up most hills.
    Specialized Roubaix Elite 2015
    XM-057 rigid 29er
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    lju00dt wrote:
    Hi

    I have been mountain biking on road and off road for years and have recently purchase a road bike for efficiency on the tarmac - which I have noticed, well until you reach a steep hill that is.

    These are hills that I have managed to climb on my mountain bike, albeit in the lowest gear, but i have always managed to get up them.

    However, owing to the reduced number of gears on he road bike (16 gears - 8 speed shimano cassette on the rear) I am getting to the point where i have to push it up the steepest parts as i physically cannot turn the pedals. (yes i know some of you will say "get fitter") these are hills i have got up on my mtn bike. and to rub salt into the wound my friend who still uses his mtn bike flies up past me as i'm pushing it up the hill, after me bagging about how much easier it should be on a road bike.

    so my question is; Will access to more gears help?

    I'm presuming i could upgrade to an 11 speed cassette and fix a compatible shifter, but would that provide me with what i need or could it be an expensive experiment just to find the extra gears offer little more. i dont know anyone who has done this so any advice would be appreciated.

    I want to enjoy cycling (especially out in the gorgeous yorkshire dales) not pushing my bike up a hill all the time!

    Chances are you just need a bigger range casstte on the rear, depending on what you have now and what you go for you could end up paying something like £20 just to get the bigger cassette..

    In addition to checking what the number of teeth on the biggest sprocket on your cassette is, also count the number of teeth on the smallest chainring on the front, then we'll able to advise better.
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    Simon Masterson wrote:
    As above - if you are used to mtb gears, you will probably find road ones stiffer, but that's not to say that you can't make your setup easier.

    But surely any gearing harder than 39/26 wouldn't make climbing any harder - at least, there's 4 pages of 'discusssion' making this point on a thread not a million miles away. People have been climbing hills for many years when a 42 inner and straight through 5 spd block was all they had and they all got up hills OK :roll: :roll: :lol::lol:
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Svetty wrote:
    Simon Masterson wrote:
    As above - if you are used to mtb gears, you will probably find road ones stiffer, but that's not to say that you can't make your setup easier.

    But surely any gearing harder than 39/26 wouldn't make climbing any harder - at least, there's 4 pages of 'discusssion' making this point on a thread not a million miles away. People have been climbing hills for many years when a 42 inner and straight through 5 spd block was all they had and they all got up hills OK :roll: :roll: :lol::lol:

    I remember doing London to Brighton back in the early 80s on my old faithful Raleigh Tour of Britain; that must have had a smaller chainring of 42 teeth and a 5 speed block, and I got up Ditchling Beacon with a lot of grunting and gurning. But that was because the alternative was walking, and I was in my 20s.

    Now I have a carbon bike with a triple chainset, and my lowest gear is 30 x 27, so even at the advanced age of 58, I can manage just about anything

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