JimboJames1972
Active Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK
Where I live in Suffolk (UK) it is regarded as pretty flat too. To find the "hills" you need to venture onto the tiny back roads. Any hills we do get are max 10% and, even then, only for a hundred meters or so. To put that into context, I did a 75mile club ride yesterday and it had a total of just 2300ft climbing (about 780m) and nothing more that 7%. Next weekend I'm doing the Essex 100 on my SS - 103 miles and a predicted 3000ft climb.
My preferred gearing for this type of ride is 48:18 with 32x700c tyres. This gives me a roll out of 72inches.
Now, I did a fair bit of fiddling with ratios when I first built the bike, mostly because I was still getting my head around how to cope with just one gear, and still getting fitter. I've tried higher (upto nearly 80inches) and way lower (to 60inches) but 72inches is the best fit for me cycling around here.
To be honest though, it is, and always will be, a compromise. With this gearing I often find myself getting close to spinning out on the flats (I happily cruise at 17-19mph, but top out at 21-22mph) and I do have to tackle the steeper hills with a run up, then stand and grind. But, it works. If, however, I know a ride will be flatter than usual I swap in a 17t rear sprocket (76inches) and if I know it will be a lot more more hilly I go for my 42t front ring (63inches). I've done these swaps so many times now it is second nature (I've even got two spare chains, one for each setup so I don't need to chop links in and out).
If you can, how about borrowing a geared bike for your first few rides and see what your body and the local landscape can cope with and start from there? That will give you a ball park gear ratio and you can always tinker with it as your fitness improves.
Hope this helps,
J
PS - on VERY long or steep hills I have found the best ration to be 24inches. Two feet and walk. No shame in that!
My preferred gearing for this type of ride is 48:18 with 32x700c tyres. This gives me a roll out of 72inches.
Now, I did a fair bit of fiddling with ratios when I first built the bike, mostly because I was still getting my head around how to cope with just one gear, and still getting fitter. I've tried higher (upto nearly 80inches) and way lower (to 60inches) but 72inches is the best fit for me cycling around here.
To be honest though, it is, and always will be, a compromise. With this gearing I often find myself getting close to spinning out on the flats (I happily cruise at 17-19mph, but top out at 21-22mph) and I do have to tackle the steeper hills with a run up, then stand and grind. But, it works. If, however, I know a ride will be flatter than usual I swap in a 17t rear sprocket (76inches) and if I know it will be a lot more more hilly I go for my 42t front ring (63inches). I've done these swaps so many times now it is second nature (I've even got two spare chains, one for each setup so I don't need to chop links in and out).
If you can, how about borrowing a geared bike for your first few rides and see what your body and the local landscape can cope with and start from there? That will give you a ball park gear ratio and you can always tinker with it as your fitness improves.
Hope this helps,
J
PS - on VERY long or steep hills I have found the best ration to be 24inches. Two feet and walk. No shame in that!
