First roadie ride - pros and cons and questions...

[SirDickieBird]

First off, thanks for everyone who reassured me in the other thread about my new purchase of a Carrera Virtuoso.

Went for a proper ride yesterday - I usually do 25-30 miles on a weekend morning. Yesterday found myself doing 47 miles and thinking "this is the best thing I've ever bought"...

A few things to note that I wonder if you can help with / offer advice / experience on:

Pro - much quicker on the flats and gentle gradients
Con - The strava times I've been steadily improving to monitor fitness have been blown out of the park! Took 20 seconds off a 4-minute sprint section and clocked around 20 PRs without full beans. Got to start all over again now and also lost the sense of pride I had being in the top few (or not bottom) on a MTB

Pro - saddle (despite being narrower) more comfortable. Also no back ache which i got on the MTB which is strange as thought it might get worse.
Con - Road vibrations when rough! Bone-shaking...

Pro - Aerodynamic down-hills
Con - scary! But the brakes are good.

Pro - Slick gear changes and smaller steps between gears so can change up when gradients level out and make more progress
Con - Can't get biggest cog on the back...

which leads to the biggest issue...
steep hills

Despite restricting myself to using middle ring on the MTB and not the granny ring, I could (just) get up the steep ones around me - http://veloviewer.com/segment/675462/Terrington+Bank
It wasn't pretty but I could just do it.

Yesterday - had to get off and push...although I was trying it after already doing 25 miles whereas it's usually closer to my start.
It's my legs that give up - don't have enough push up the steep bit.

Am I right in thinking (after research) that I might be able to get the biggest back ring by adjusting the low limit screw? I'm hoping that the extra ring might be enough to get me up...that and extra training...

Going back to strava - I'm getting in top half at least for most flat-ish sections but languish near the bottom on steep hills.

I've read through the other thread about getting up hills and don't really want to start messing with new cassettes (if I did, would I lose out at the top end?)

 

[MikeG]

I would tweak the cable-tensioner-adjustment-thingy to see if I could get that bottom cog back, before I fiddled with the stop screw. If they're fiddled with on the go, or by someone who doesn't know what he's doing, you can easily get a whole gear out of synch between the changer and the cassette.

Riding hills properly is about endurance, not strength. Do not strain up a hill. The best climbers in the world are the guys who get into low gears and spin, such that the effort is with their heart and lungs, not their muscles. If your gears aren't allowing you to do this, then you need to sort the gears.

 

[Spiderweb]

To get the biggest cog at the back try half a turn anti clockwise (viewed from the back of the bike) on the cable tensioner as it enters the rear derailleur. If no good try another half turn.

 

[SirDickieBird]

To get the big ring at the back Try half a turn anti clockwise on the cable tensioner as it enters the rear derailleur. If no good try another half turn.

Thanks, I'll try that first. Good to have some ideas on what to try first rather than blundering in...

 

[ianrauk]

Do not touch that limit screw.

Check out this video

 

[SirDickieBird]

Just looked at the Halfords website and according to that the virtuoso has 50/34 at the front and 11-28 (8 sp) at the back. You could probably go to 11-32 without needing to buy anything other than a chain and a cassette. The 11 is the top gear so the answer is no, you wouldn't lose anything from the top.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-virtuoso-road-bike7

Thanks - I'd started to think that but only just getting used to the 11/28 etc... secret language! Good to have confirmation....

 

[S-Express]

Con - Road vibrations when rough! Bone-shaking...

What tyre pressures are you using?

 

[SirDickieBird]

What tyre pressures are you using?

Not checked - the tyres came hard and stayed that way so happy for now... to be fair it's only when rough surfaces and brilliant the rest of the time.

 

[SirDickieBird]

Right - been out and done some counting...

MTB
Front: 42-34-?? (didn't count the granny)
Rear: 27-12

Carrera road
F: 50-34
R: 26-12

So...only 1 tooth difference 26 vs 27 from MTB so presumably similar ratio?

Would I get any benefit top or bottom end from a switch to 11-28?

 

[S-Express]

Not checked - the tyres came hard and stayed that way so happy for now... to be fair it's only when rough surfaces and brilliant the rest of the time.

over-inflated tyres will be the reason for the rough ride - that's the point I'm making.

 

[HLaB]

Right - been out and done some counting...

MTB
Front: 42-34-?? (didn't count the granny)
Rear: 27-12

Carrera road
F: 50-34
R: 26-12

So...only 1 tooth difference 26 vs 27 from MTB so presumably similar ratio?

Would I get any benefit top or bottom end from a switch to 11-28?

You'll get a benefit at both ends, the 11 v current 12 will if you can turn it give you a higher/ faster gear for the flats and 28 v current 26 will give you a lower gear. It'll be a slightly bigger step between gears however which some people don't like. I prefer the wider range at the expense of smoother step myself.

 

[SirDickieBird]

Likely to need a new chain for 11-28? Only just learnt what these numbers mean so sorry for the questions...

Will check tyre pressures but don't think my guage will work with presta valves. Another newbie problem....

 

[boydj]

You'll probably get away without a new chain going from 27 to 28 as the biggest cog at the back, but you may find a 30 even better, at the expense of bigger jumps between gears, which probably would require a new chain.

 

[SirDickieBird]

How do I work out what the max size of cassette I can fit on my bike is? Reading around, it seems some won't fit my rear mech and I'd need to replace that too.

 

[MikeG]

Likely to need a new chain for 11-28?............

I suspect that this is just following the normal advice of replacing your chain when you replace the cassette. A worn and stretched chain won't do a new cassette any good.

I would just ride your bike to the local shop and ask all these questions directly of them. They'll know instantly what will and won't work.