Seevio
Guru
- Location
- South Glos
I've yet to find the hill I can't push the bike up.
Sit down climbing
- Thread starter Maherees
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I tackled this hill in 1989, aged 33, in a 42/28 gear - it half killed me! I stood up for the whole climb and nearly didn't make it. I did it again today, aged 63, in my luxury 28/30 gear. I sat down the whole way and just span my legs round.
I turned left up Sandy Gate halfway up there, but there is a lot more steep climbing that way too. It climbs 161 metres in 1.61 km (528 ft in a mile) so it averages 10%, but there are stretches of 15-20%.
Low gears make a lot of difference!
I turned left up Sandy Gate halfway up there, but there is a lot more steep climbing that way too. It climbs 161 metres in 1.61 km (528 ft in a mile) so it averages 10%, but there are stretches of 15-20%.
Low gears make a lot of difference!
Tigerbiten
Guru
But most "road" bikes don't really have low gears.
In my book a low gear has a sprocket bigger than the chainring.
Or if they do, then they have a wide ratio 11-36 cassette.
A lot of beginner "road" bikes would be a lot better if fitted with a 42/26 alpine double and a 11-28 block vs the "standard" 50/34 compact double and 11-28 block.
That would give you a lot better range of gears as you don't need to pedal downhill 20% faster but it does help to pedal uphill 20% slower.
Downside is a slight loss of efficiency due to the small chainrings and the frame may need to be tweaked a little to stop the front derailleur cage from hitting the chainstay.
In my book a low gear has a sprocket bigger than the chainring.
Or if they do, then they have a wide ratio 11-36 cassette.
A lot of beginner "road" bikes would be a lot better if fitted with a 42/26 alpine double and a 11-28 block vs the "standard" 50/34 compact double and 11-28 block.
That would give you a lot better range of gears as you don't need to pedal downhill 20% faster but it does help to pedal uphill 20% slower.
Downside is a slight loss of efficiency due to the small chainrings and the frame may need to be tweaked a little to stop the front derailleur cage from hitting the chainstay.
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
If I ever get fit/slim enough, then the Scott with its triple and MTB gears should be enough. I did want to reduce the chainrings, but cannot go down to the 48t big ring I want.
Wanting 28 on the small ring, but need 50 on the big one, just to make it work.
Wanting 28 on the small ring, but need 50 on the big one, just to make it work.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
My Campagnolo-equipped Cannondale road bike had a 53/39 chainset and 13-29 cassette. I very rarely used 53/13 except on long downhills and 39/29 didn't feel low enough. The lowest gear that I could have got was 38/30 (rings with fewer than 38 teeth don't fit and bigger Campagnolo cassettes are not available).
After some research I decided to fit a triple on so I bought a Stronglight 48/36/28 chainset from Spa Cycles for about £70. It worked fine with my existing shifter and front mech (although I had to file a small tab on the derailleur down a little to allow some extra movement of the cage) and I had to shim the rear mech b-screw-like thingy to stop chatter in the big sprockets. I also fitted a 12-30 cassette so now my top gear is effectively almost the same as before (48/12) but the bottom gear a much more hill-friendly 28/30.
There is a possibility that I could get away with a 26 little ring for an even lower bottom gear (25% climbs are currently doable but very hard work) but I think I have already pushed the limits of the transmission and it would be an expensive experiment to buy a smaller ring and find that it was too small.
These changes mean that I can sit down to climb hills that I had to stand for previously, and I can get up steeper ones that defeated me in the 39/29 gear.
It can be much easier to lower gearing on a bike with Shimano/SRAM by fitting a MTB cassette, as long as the rear mech can cope with the longer chain needed. (I put a 12-36 on my CX bike but had to change the rear mech too.)
After some research I decided to fit a triple on so I bought a Stronglight 48/36/28 chainset from Spa Cycles for about £70. It worked fine with my existing shifter and front mech (although I had to file a small tab on the derailleur down a little to allow some extra movement of the cage) and I had to shim the rear mech b-screw-like thingy to stop chatter in the big sprockets. I also fitted a 12-30 cassette so now my top gear is effectively almost the same as before (48/12) but the bottom gear a much more hill-friendly 28/30.
There is a possibility that I could get away with a 26 little ring for an even lower bottom gear (25% climbs are currently doable but very hard work) but I think I have already pushed the limits of the transmission and it would be an expensive experiment to buy a smaller ring and find that it was too small.
These changes mean that I can sit down to climb hills that I had to stand for previously, and I can get up steeper ones that defeated me in the 39/29 gear.
It can be much easier to lower gearing on a bike with Shimano/SRAM by fitting a MTB cassette, as long as the rear mech can cope with the longer chain needed. (I put a 12-36 on my CX bike but had to change the rear mech too.)
