On some of my longer metric century cycle rides, I encounter 20% gradient ascents which I'm failing to conquer. They tend to be long narrow lanes, loose gravel in the centre or greasy under trees and getting out of the saddle looses traction. My regular 50km loops only encounter up to 15% gradients which I can just about haul myself up. My bike has a Campy Veloce compact chainset and a 29t cassette, enough for most hills but obviously not all. My first thought was to buy a 32t cassette but Campy don't make them. What are my options? I've considered changing the groupset to Shimano 105 with the 32t cassette. Would that make much of a difference or would I be wasting my money. Any advise would be appreciated.
A little help with the hills ...
- Thread starter Osprey
- Start date
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Walk? 20% is a pig to do for any distance and there's no shame in using the 24 inch gear (two feet...)
More usefully - what size are the rings on your compact chainset and what's the capacity of the front derailleur? A smaller small ring might be an option. If you'd like to see what the numerical effect would be, you can compare two setups on www.gear-calculator.com
More usefully - what size are the rings on your compact chainset and what's the capacity of the front derailleur? A smaller small ring might be an option. If you'd like to see what the numerical effect would be, you can compare two setups on www.gear-calculator.com
booze and cake
probably out cycling
Get a Campag triple chainset?
Jenkins
Legendary Member
- Location
- Felixstowe
Convert to Shimano or SRAM.
Unless you can find a gear low enough to remain the saddle for the whole of the climb, the problem with wheel slip won't go away.
How much pressure in the rear tyre? A softer rear tyre might help or one with a different tread pattern?
.... or a couple of bricks in the saddle bag?
How much pressure in the rear tyre? A softer rear tyre might help or one with a different tread pattern?
.... or a couple of bricks in the saddle bag?
al-fresco
Growing older but not up...
- Location
- Shropshire
I have a bike with a Veloce 29 tooth cassette and another with Sram a 32 tooth cassette (both have a 34 tooth inner chain ring). Certainly not enough difference to swap to Shimano/Sram just for the 3 extra teeth. 20% gradient? I'd probably be walking up it either way.
S-Express
Guest
This. If you are routinely doing climbs of that gradient, then a triple is the obvious choice.
To summarise, I'm 6'2 and 14st 8 so maybe I could lose a little weight. I think my conditioning is pretty reasonable for 70 mile lumpy rides but maybe there's some scope for improvement. I've come to cycling from a rugby culture where I see walking as quitting, so maybe I shouldn't beat myself up so much about getting off and pushing. A triple looks the answer but a dearer option than I was hoping for. Thanks @mjr for the gear calculator. I wont pretend I understand it yet but I will look into it. Thanks Guys for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Another point is if you are really struggling, getting off and pushing may be no slower - and could be slightly quicker - than pedalling.
