Fearing the worst in the alps

[ozboz]

So @jowwy , you put this part on your road bike and it alows you to run larger cassette without having to change the rear de'lr fitted ,
I am only asking as I am after getting a 10 speed 11-34 on my roadie , It has a 10 speed 11-25 on at the mo but finding hillclimbs hard , ive been told I need to get a 10 speed 105 longcage , instead of my 10 speed Ultegra ,
being a little older and have a peroneal nerve problem in my left leg I need as much help as I can get ! ,
did you take a pic ?
Did you have to extend the chain lenghth ?
Hope you can help

 

[jowwy]

So @jowwy , you put this part on your road bike and it alows you to run larger cassette without having to change the rear de'lr fitted ,
I am only asking as I am after getting a 10 speed 11-34 on my roadie , It has a 10 speed 11-25 on at the mo but finding hillclimbs hard , ive been told I need to get a 10 speed 105 longcage , instead of my 10 speed Ultegra ,
being a little older and have a peroneal nerve problem in my left leg I need as much help as I can get ! ,
did you take a pic ?
Did you have to extend the chain lenghth ?
Hope you can help

I havent got any pics, but yes i did do the modification with the roadlike. But i was already using a wifli rear derrauiler from sram. The chain didnt need adjusting as i fitted a 46t big ring to counter the bigger casseette

 

[ozboz]

Recently i agreed to go to the alps for a cycling week of pain with some friends. Being of the portly kind i was always fearing the worst of riding alpine climbs at 16st+ on compact gearing.....

So i embarked on my first option. Customising my Ti by fitting a mtb front crank with 39/26 chainrings and a 11/32 cassette. For training on its going swimmingly well, getting up the 10%+ climbs here in south wales......

Then i found something that allowed me to do something completely different. I have in my arsenal a cannondale synapse hi mod disc, running a front compact and 11/32 cassette.....its light, agile, quick and very comfortable. BUT.....i struggle at 10%+ still.........enter the Wolf Tooth Lindarets Roadlink a little adaptor that goes between the derrauiler hanger and derrauiler which allows you to run upto a 40t cassette.

I will add pictures when it arrives and have rebuilt the dale, but a sit here today a more releived mamil knowing i have two more gears of 34/36 and 34/40......should i go into the red in the alps

Ps yes.....i could lose more weight and that is happening, but im still a shoot climber and will always struggle as the road points skyward

I havent got any pics, but yes i did do the modification with the roadlike. But i was already using a wifli rear derrauiler from sram. The chain didnt need adjusting as i fitted a 46t big ring to counter the bigger casseette

Ok , cheers. , looks like a good plan !

 

[bondirob]

So @jowwy , you put this part on your road bike and it alows you to run larger cassette without having to change the rear de'lr fitted ,
I am only asking as I am after getting a 10 speed 11-34 on my roadie , It has a 10 speed 11-25 on at the mo but finding hillclimbs hard , ive been told I need to get a 10 speed 105 longcage , instead of my 10 speed Ultegra ,
being a little older and have a peroneal nerve problem in my left leg I need as much help as I can get ! ,
did you take a pic ?
Did you have to extend the chain lenghth ?
Hope you can help

I've just put a 40t cassette on using the Roadlink.
I fitted a spacer behind the cassette also. I've got 50/34 up front and have medium cage derailluer. The chain needed lengthening also I bought one with 116 links and it was only 2 or 3 links too long.

 

[ozboz]

I've just put a 40t cassette on using the Roadlink.
I fitted a spacer behind the cassette also. I've got 50/34 up front and have medium cage derailluer. The chain needed lengthening also I bought one with 116 links and it was only 2 or 3 links too long.

Thanks for that , sounds good !

 

[jowwy]

its a good system - i'm running it with a 46/34 and in the 46 big ring i can use all 11 rear on the cassette ( sram yaw) and its sooooo smooth

 

[Globalti]

British climbs are a different proposition to Alpine climbs. In the Alps, roads were built up to cols for the purpose of joining states or valleys or for military reasons and engineers were engaged to pick the line that gave the least variation, a little like railway routes in the 1860s. This means they generally climb at a constant rate.

In Britain though, many of the best-loved cycling climbs started life as packhorse trails, so they evolved in the landscape through lines of weakness and climb at a rate that a loaded packhorse could manage. That makes them more suited to mountain bikes. Even worse, many British roads were established by the Romans, who just headed in the direction of a distant landmark making almost no concession to slope.

 

[jowwy]

British climbs are a different proposition to Alpine climbs. In the Alps, roads were built up to cols for the purpose of joining states or valleys or for military reasons and engineers were engaged to pick the line that gave the least variation, a little like railway routes in the 1860s. This means they generally climb at a constant rate.

In Britain though, many of the best-loved cycling climbs started life as packhorse trails, so they evolved in the landscape through lines of weakness and climb at a rate that a loaded packhorse could manage. That makes them more suited to mountain bikes. Even worse, many British roads were established by the Romans, who just headed in the direction of a distant landmark making almost no concession to slope.

well we certainly got some steep ones here in south wales.........but its all good training

 

[Winnershsaint]

Some comments on this thread are beginning to make me wonder if I've got sufficient gearing for the Alps next month. I've gone from a pro-compact to a compact chainset and had an 11-32 cassette put on instead of an 11-28. To do this I've had to have the rear mech cage changed also. The compromise is in having similar big/little ring combos and fewer usable gears as a result. Everyone I've spoken to reckons I'll be OK with that. Tried it out yesterday in the Hambleden Valley. 11% in places and I didn't need the 34-32, but cadence nowhere near 90rpm. As others have said more like 50-60 max

 

[Globalti]

You'll be fine with compact and 11-32. Just try to cut down on beer and pies between now and then.

 

[Londonboy]

Some comments on this thread are beginning to make me wonder if I've got sufficient gearing for the Alps next month. I've gone from a pro-compact to a compact chainset and had an 11-32 cassette put on instead of an 11-28. To do this I've had to have the rear mech cage changed also. The compromise is in having similar big/little ring combos and fewer usable gears as a result. Everyone I've spoken to reckons I'll be OK with that. Tried it out yesterday in the Hambleden Valley. 11% in places and I didn't need the 34-32, but cadence nowhere near 90rpm. As others have said more like 50-60 max

Having spent quite a few weeks in the alps you'll be fine with that gearing. In the alps fitness is key as your climbing for a long time.

 

[oldfatfool]

Some comments on this thread are beginning to make me wonder if I've got sufficient gearing for the Alps next month. I've gone from a pro-compact to a compact chainset and had an 11-32 cassette put on instead of an 11-28. To do this I've had to have the rear mech cage changed also. The compromise is in having similar big/little ring combos and fewer usable gears as a result. Everyone I've spoken to reckons I'll be OK with that. Tried it out yesterday in the Hambleden Valley. 11% in places and I didn't need the 34-32, but cadence nowhere near 90rpm. As others have said more like 50-60 max

I run a triple 52/39/30 with 11-28. Use the 30 in the Dales, never found the need to in the Alps. 93kg .

 

[swansonj]

Having spent quite a few weeks in the alps you'll be fine with that gearing. In the alps fitness is key as your climbing for a long time.

I respectfully disagree with the assumptions there. Fitness is only key if you adopt a style of cycling where, err, fitness is key. It is equally possible to enjoy yourself in the Alps with a different style of cycling, where low gears and cycling slowly are key, and fitness is not key. Each to their own .. as long as we don't each make the assumption that our own preference is normative and try to shoehorn everyone else into it.

 

[jowwy]

I run a triple 52/39/30 with 11-28. Use the 30 in the Dales, never found the need to in the Alps. 93kg .

So what did you use in the alps......39 middle and 28 rear??? Sounds like a tough gear to turn on 9% climbs for 18/20kms at 93kgs

 

[jowwy]

Having spent quite a few weeks in the alps you'll be fine with that gearing. In the alps fitness is key as your climbing for a long time.

age? weight?

otherwise your using to many assumptions just based on your own experince

chris froome is awesome in the alps on a 39/30.....but then he's 31 and 65kgs and a professional cyclist