3 gears, or 2 gears??

[Thompson]

During the Coast to Coast I found it difficult to get over the more tough climbs, a few members of the group mentioned that the reasons i'm finding them difficult is that I only had two gears on the front (no granny ring). After I was told this I realised everyone else had three on the front and frequently used their extra one on the difficult climbs.

However I have also been told that having two rings on the front is better for racing (I had got the road bike for a racing club I have recently joined). As I am wanting to do more long distance routes on my road bike but also wanting to enter some small races to see how it goes, I am undecided on whether to get the third ring added or not. It's not worth me getting another road bike with the three gears as I have no need for three bikes.

I have been told that it is easy to get it changed and with not much cost. Is it worth getting the third gear or should I stick with only two? Any ideas?

 

[Beebo]

You dont have 2 gears, depending on your cassette you probably have anything from 16 - 20 gears.

The ones at the rear are just as important as the front.

It's all about gear ratios, what is the size of your largest rear cog and smallest front ring?

 

[Thompson]

All I know is that I have two rings on the front, the back has numerous gears but with the front only having two rings (no small ring) I couldn't use the granny ring to get over the climbs. I'm not very good on knowing much about bikes but from what i've heard, having the extra front ring will be useful for long distance rides with tough climbs in.

 

[twobiker]

All I know is that I have two rings on the front, the back has numerous gears but with the front only having two rings (no small ring) I couldn't use the granny ring to get over the climbs. I'm not very good on knowing much about bikes but from what i've heard, having the extra front ring will be useful for long distance rides with tough climbs in.

If you count the teeth on the rear cogs from smallest to largest you will get a figure somewhere about 11 small to 25 large, they vary a lot , any way then post that and people can help with more info, also count the front cogs as well .

 

[Thompson]

There are nine on the back, and two on the front. It is the front two which people have been commenting on, that having three will be more useful for long distance rides.

 

[twobiker]

There are nine on the back, and two on the front. It is the front two which people have been commenting on, that having three will be more useful for long distance rides.

That' s a start but count the actual teeth on each cog, or at least the biggest one on the back , and the smallest cog on the front.

 

[twobiker]

That' s a start but count the actual teeth on each cog, or at least the biggest one on the back , and the smallest cog on the front.

If you look at the post "third chainring advice" it will explain it more clearly.

 

[the snail]

It could be quite expensive to change to a triple if you need to change the shifter, derailleur and crankset. Alternatively you could change the chainrings on the front, or the cassette on the back to give lower gearing for hills. As twobiker says, if you count the number of teeth on the large and small gears front and rear, and post the make/model of the gear changers and derailleurs, then more knowledgable people than myself will be able to tell you what your options are. What model bike is it?

 

[Thompson]

Im unable to count them yet as I don't have my bike with me which is why I hadn't replied but it's a Carrera Vanquish if that helps...

 

[Tyke]

The 2010 Vanquish is 50-34 front 12-25 rear 9 sp with Tiagra double shifters

 

[Crackle]

Were you in your lowest gears Thomo and what kind of steepness hills are we talking about?

 

[Thompson]

For some climbs I was, others there was no need. The climb I struggled with most was after we had done about 80 miles and it was a gradient of 14/15% and lasted quite a while, I was in my lowest gear which was higher than the others as they were all in the smallest ring on the front. There was another climb at the start of the second day, wasnt very long, but boy was it steep. One of the guys had to walk it as it was incredibly steep.

 

[mcshroom]

That means that you have a bottom gear of 34x25 (34 teeth at the front and 25 teeth at the back)

To change to having three rings at the front would be expensive, but you could add lower gears at the back much more easilty.

The rear deraileur (mech that moves the gears at the back) would probably be able to work with a cassette (collection of gears at the back) of up to 28 teeth maximum, and you could go even lower by getting a mountain bike rear deraileur and a rear cassette with up to 34 teeth on it.
At 34x34 you would probably have a lower gear than many of the people you were cycling with as most road tripples have a 30t little ring, so they would have something like 30x25 (if they had the same rear cassette as you have).

What you would lose, however is that there would be bigger gaps between the number of teeth for each gear at the back, so gear changes would be a bit bigger.

 

[mcshroom]

Forgot to add, a quick idea of how high/low a gear is, is to divide the front number (the 34) by the back number (the 25).

If you had a 34t rear sprocket then you would have a ratio of 1:1 - so one turn of the pedals = one turn of the back wheel - which is very low for a road bike.

 

[Thompson]

Well i've heard it'll cost around £60 if I got to cycleworld (or something named like that) and they'll sort my bike out to suit me perfectly, taking into account, height weight ect...