It’s not that I don’t have the strength to push the gear. It’s A) The parts are recently now available for road bikes. B) They did an experiment on the GCN show up a steep climb. Spinning fast was 3 minutes quicker than grinding. As the saying goes “Ride it don’t grind it!”
I’ve just read Double chainrings are only supported with GS (medium cage) rear derailleurs So there’s no point for me. May as well buy a medium mech and run a 34.
“Ride it don’t grind it!” I am not sure how much spinning you will do up 25+ gradiants, I think we all will be out of the saddle
From my own experience - you can run the 11-36 11-speed SRAM cassette with medium cage SRAM derailleur. Just make sure you adjust the B-screw out quite far. On some set-ups you need to reverse the B-screw by taking it out and inserting it on the other side of the hole, just to give you a few more millimetres clearance. The derailleur will be a bit stretched on a large-large, but it won't be ripped off. Best not to cross-chain much. If you're using Shimano this is what it will look like: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9q4WpaqwgI It will look pretty much the same if you are using SRAM shifters and mid-cage derailleur. If you really want to be safe then you can replace the SRAM road mech with a 1:1 MTB mech. As long as it is not an X-clutch version it will be compatible with the shifters. The beauty of SRAM, for me, is that it takes me about 60 minutes max to switch between the following set-ups, without needing to adjust brakes or shifters: - 50/34T with 11-32 (for my sportives) - 50/34T with 11-36 (for my touring) - 38T 1x with 11-42 (for more extreme hills) I only need to adjust the b-screw on my rear derailleur for each, plus when shifting between 1x and 2x I adjust my front derailleur's limit screws.
I've never done the hardknott - would like to this year maybe - but I have done Chimney bank which has comparable stretches of steepness. No matter what your gearing you are probably going to have to get out of the saddle, and the biggest problem you are going to have is keeping the front wheel down, if you have sub 1:1 ratio then you shouldn't have too much trouble turning the pedals.
Not done 'The Fred' but I do know much of the route - any one of those hills is tough enough on it's own, but they just keep on coming all day. I think it's not so much a question of spinning rather than grinding, it's just that a lower gear hurts a little bit less and you really feel the benefit of that when you get to the next hill, and the next one, and so on... Don't know if medium cage will take it, but mtb mech as per greenmark could be a good idea.
I’ve changed my mind about 20 times this morning. I think I’m going to put on 32, adjust b screw on the short cage mech. Stand up and dance leaning over the front wheel whilst zig zagging .
Seem to remember at least one of those steep hills being a really poor road surface - quite gravelly - so as soon as you stand up to pedal and take your weight off your saddle (and back wheel) you lose traction and just skid the back wheel, and either have to sit back down very quickly or try and unclip your pedals in that split second before you inevitably fall over! Same when the roads are wet.
Make sure you accelerate (up 10+%) just before the cattle grid so that you roll over it with minimal pedal pressure. Then just pick your line (there are some 'waves' on the corners where cars have braked in very hot weather) going; warn those walking ahead of you if they're 'in the way'; give those wobbling/struggling but still riding just in front of you some space to 'fall off'; make sure you have your trackstand weighed off; keep an eye up hill for cars coming down and make sure that you pass on a sensible bit; take it a bit easier on the mere 10% gradients (ie between the bends and on the long climbing traverse) so that you can give everything on the 25+%s; and remember that the kick going east up Hardknott is the ramp just before the top. Above all, at the be absolutely determined to get up without a dab
Hardknott has a steep turn half way up. Good luck keeping the front wheel down. The descent is just as scary if its wet and you have rim brakes. Wrynose is pretty easy in comparison, lot shorter and nowhere near as steep.
Yes, descending Hardknott going east: be on the drops; brake on the very short straights (ie the bits of the road which aren't the corners!) off brakes and take the corner, accelerating down the 20% gradient, and then haul on the brakes, but not too much on the front if it's wet, and straighten arms to shift weight back to give increased capability to the rear brake (as in increased 'normal' force). And once the gradient eases off and the road straightens, shake your arms out to avoid cramping.
