Titanium Sportive double as a tourer?

[lmow20]

Hi all,

[being brief] Just did a tour - bristol to barcelona - on a hybrid (sirrus). Loved it. bought a titanium lynskey sportive (as has brazens and perfect commuter/sportive geometry).

So I opted for groupset sram rival double - 39/53 on front and 11 - 28 teeth on the cassette. I wanted to try a double. Have I shot my foot in terms of touring next summer in Europe? I havent put on the groupset yet.

Cheers

 

[Aperitif]

Hi all,

[being brief] Just did a tour - bristol to barcelona - on a hybrid (sirrus). Loved it. bought a titanium lynskey sportive (as has brazens and perfect commuter/sportive geometry).

So I opted for groupset sram rival double - 39/53 on front and 11 - 28 teeth on the cassette. I wanted to try a double. Have I shot my foot in terms of touring next summer in Europe? I havent put on the groupset yet.

Cheers

Lynskey Sportive
Sram Rival double
Mavic Aksium
Chris King head (rasta )
Brooks b17 narrow
(yes, that's right, i did sell my other kidney.... for the headset alone!)

Commuter? Wow!

53/39? Depends how fit you are. On this forum there is a 'resident doctor' Jimboalee who will be along shortly (probably) and put you through your paces with a few simple explanations...gear ratios, aerobic capacity - that sort of thing.

Us old folk like to keep an eye out for chainring bargains - buy two get a third one free...that sort of thing. YMMV.
(How are your knees?)

 

[andym]

Sounds like you've got a bob or two to spare: why not get a triple before you go next summer? It would take you less than half an hour to change over.

NB make sure you use loads of anti-seize on the BB.

 

[rich p]

There's more than one way to skin a cat and weight and fitness play a role but I grind up the mountains on a Dawes Galaxy with a lowest gear of 28/34. Not that I'm always in that combo and I am an oldish git.

 

[lukesdad]

Crikey Rich and Im going to use a 24/34 next year mind I will have the Trailer.

 

[twowheelsgood]

I know I couldn't do that, even completely unladen.

I do the Alpine passes on what I describe as my "compact triple" It has a 48-38-26 but avoids the "megarange" type cassette with a standard 12-25.

A 53 ring is absurd on anything but a race bike IMHO.

 

[willem]

Nice bike, but not quite a tourer. With shallow drop brakes you are limited to 25 or with luck 28 mm tyres without mudguards, which is less than ideal. Equally, you cannot take much luggage at all. Finally, a 130mm bcd chainset has ludicrously high gears, and a 39 front 28 rear is not low enough when the going gets tough, unless you are Lance himself. Even a compact double with 34 t is too high for real riding.
So yes, it is a great long distance road bike, but not a tourer. If you want to use it for ultralight credit card touring on tarmac, you can just do that, but you will need lower gearing. How about an ultracompact crankset? For this modern style bike, I am thinking of a Specialites TA Carmina with 46/30 chainrings. You may need to use a downtube or bar end friction shifter for the front (as did Lance).
Willem

 

[lmow20]

probs what i'll do. cheers.

Sounds like you've got a bob or two to spare: why not get a triple before you go next summer? It would take you less than half an hour to change over.

NB make sure you use loads of anti-seize on the BB.

 

[andym]

probs what i'll do. cheers.

Except I was on auto pilot whan I posted that, and I was forgetting that, depending on what mech and shifter you have (ie the front shifter and front mech may both be double specific) , you may need to change the mech/shifter - so willem's suggestion might well be the cheaper option.

 

[lmow20]

Cheers for the posts guys,

The guy at my LBS raised his eyebrows when he saw I opted for such a large front chainring. It is going to be tarmac light audax type touring. The problem is I plan to do some club sportive riding (being a teacher I aint made of money...) and so i need a versatile bike. I do have an ultegra mid cage rear derrailleur and that would be compatible with the sram shifters. The mid-cage could soak up enough chain to cope with a small front chainring.

would this work with a compact front?

Btw, did a 100 mile fully load ride to Lyme Regis this weekend on my sirrus... 7.5 hours! I was shattered by the end. Looking forward to the arrival of the handle bars (last piece of the build.) (I say 100 mile, actually it was 99.2, so I went round the block a couple of times... does that count as a centurion?)