gear ratios

[sarahpink]

Im the first to admit I am clueless

when it comes to bike knowledge only just started using front cog terms. Ive seen a few people on the boards talk about certai gears they used on climbs etc.

say for instance im using the middle cog for climbing and one of seven that I have at the back, what would that be?

my cassete is 13-26t
chain rings- 52x39x30

is this a good range of gears for climbing? i have yet to be defeated by a hill, but would like to climb faster. do I have the right range of gears?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

This is one of the best articles that explains the subject.

 

[byegad]

I'd suggest using Kgear. Free to download from the Kinetics of Glasgow website. You put in your wheel size and number of teeth and press the button. Out comes all of your available gears, in gear inches. Gear inches is a measure of the equivalent wheel size, pedalled direct like a penny farthing, or kids first trike.

If you are cycling in Devon on those gears you are fitter than me, but I'm fat, fair and still JUST) in my 50s.

Generally 100" is a really high gear, good for speed downhill or with a good tailwind, your 52 to 13 is around 104" depending on wheel size. The lower the number the slower you go and so the easier it is to climb. I've used 19" on an upright bike which gets you up nearly anything and 14 or 15" on recumbents, including an 81 speed recumbent bike, balancing at 3mph was a learned skill.

While County Durham isn't as hilly as Devon we do have some good hills! So I use the 14" bottom gear quite often. Your bottom gear is around 30" and when younger, lighter and fitter I used a bike with a similar bottom gear with no issues. These days I need the lower gears.

 

[HLaB]

You'll probably find better guides but basically the smaller a chainring (the less teeth it has, ie the 30 you quote Sarah p) and the larger the cassette (the more teeth it has, ie the 26t you quote sp) the easier it will be to climb but on descents you would spin out in this gear and it the opposite ie large chainring/ small cassette (ie the 52 and the 13) for speed. Most people ride in an in between gear that is comfortable. The 52x39x30, 13-26 sounds like a good range to me, some people have smaller than the 52 (ie a 50 but this means they spin out on descents) or run a double that doesn't support a gear as low as the 30 meaning hills can be hard. I don't know how you ride but for me to increase the speed on hills I'd avoid dropping down to the 30 and stay in the middle 39 unless you really need to but its useful to be there as a fall back. Good Luck

 

[Roll on]

You have a fine range of gears that will get you up any hill, as you've discovered. Of course, the lower the gear you're in, the "easier" it is to cycle, but the slower you're going (because your legs are turning more times per distance covered). Sooo, to go quicker up those hills you need to be in a higher gear (like someone else said, stay on the middle chainring) and get out of your saddle (stand on the pedals, lean over the handlebars, rather than pull up on them) and build strength! You'll soon come to love powering up hills ... mebbe.

 

[marinyork]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Your gears are absolutely fine for climbing. Just stay in the same gear as you are now or the one higher or try one up from that.

 

[youngoldbloke]

If you find it hard try a lower gear (lower = easier, hard = higher). If you feel you can climb faster, up one gear (higher, smaller back cog), and then another. Find a quiet piece of road, and try going through all the combinations of front rings and back cogs. Experiment on the hill. See what they feel like. Avoid the extremes - big to big, small to small, as this makes for bad chainline and might make the chain rub against the front changer. You have a very good range to get up almost everything.

 

[sarahpink]

hi thanks for all the replies, and the sheldon brown link been trying to keep in the middle ring and only use the low one when I really can't anymore.

 

[e-rider]

you appear to have gears for every occasion with that set-up! perfect for all round riding

 

[MacB]

hi thanks for all the replies, and the sheldon brown link been trying to keep in the middle ring and only use the low one when I really can't anymore.

that would be pretty standard, a lot of people ride 90%+ in the middle ring of a triple with the large ring reserved for long, fast descents and the inner ring for big climbs. My triple is 30/42/52 with a 13-25(was 12-26) cassette and I've barely used the 52t and the 30t doesn't see much action.

 

[DreamBig]

Today I came across a nice app called Bike Gear Calculator, www.BikeGearCalculator.com I had the same dilemma to get compact or not. this gear calculator gave me the answers I needed. Switching to compact now. As it turned out there are so many things to take into consideration. http://itunes.apple.com/app/bike-gear-calculator/id505985340?ls=1&mt=8

 

[rich p]

I've barely used the 52t and the 30t doesn't see much action.

"Mind you, neither does the 42" he added.

 

[MacB]

"Mind you, neither does the 42" he added.

Zing, okay so you made me wait nearly two years before you decimated my post for comic effect...but it was worth it

 

[rich p]

Zing, okay so you made me wait nearly two years before you decimated my post for comic effect...but it was worth it

Oh yeah! It's all about comic ...



...timing!