mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
18. something on the tourer. Any steeper than that and i get off and set up camp.
What is your lowest gear and how low is too low. Are new bikes geared too high?
- Thread starter phil-b
- Start date
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oxoman
Über Member
My old gravel bike was way to high as a 12 spd and being sram wireless xplr not the easiest to modify without spending a fair bit on it, especially as i wasn't 100% happy with the bike anyway. I've just built a new gravel come touring/ bikepacking bike and ive gone 2x11 with a sub compact front chain ring that hopefully will get me up most lumpy stuff and still reasonably fast on the easier flats, time will tell.
wakemalcolm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ratho
I used to be in the 'anything less than 1:1 and you may as well walk' camp but there's actually something quite nice about riding slower than walking pace, and when the bike's loaded it's a lot less wieldy to ride.
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
BITD 70s/80s my bike (5s x 2) was definitely over geared. I probably should have fitted a triple but that was beyond my technical abilities. I don't think I even realised it was possible. I just suffered.
I think my bottom gear was something like 42/28. something like 40"!! How I ever managed to go touring on that I don't know.
My spring project is to drop the gearing on my bike by fitting a subcompact as I don't spend much time in the big ring and rarely visit the little end of the cassette. It will inevitably make me even slower as I gravitate to easier pedalling.
I think my bottom gear was something like 42/28. something like 40"!! How I ever managed to go touring on that I don't know.
My spring project is to drop the gearing on my bike by fitting a subcompact as I don't spend much time in the big ring and rarely visit the little end of the cassette. It will inevitably make me even slower as I gravitate to easier pedalling.
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
That's quite a common misconception, but it's only very recently that Shimano and SRAM have released double chainring set up that matches the range I can achieve with my 1x set up.
I could fit a 10 - 52 12 speed cassette on my bike, giving me a 520% range with a 19 inch bottom gear and a 102 inch top gear. Now given I have wide flared handlebars, 45mm wide low pressure tubeless tires and I run mostly on loose surfaces, 102 is plenty high enough. So ultimately 1x gives you all the range you need and more. Last summer I crossed the Alps on my bike, even ascended the famous Gavia pass with a fully loaded bike with zero problems, so whilst 1x can't quite match the range of the old triples, it's certainly more than a match for modern doubles.
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Between bikes...
18" on the tandem (24-36)
28" on road bike (34 -32)
New bikes, road at least, generally OK and actually a lot lower than they were until the last decade or two for road bikes.
The big exception is few options for genuine touring requirements where you need much lower.
Not sure what CUES allows now - I think some very low options there now?
18" on the tandem (24-36)
28" on road bike (34 -32)
New bikes, road at least, generally OK and actually a lot lower than they were until the last decade or two for road bikes.
The big exception is few options for genuine touring requirements where you need much lower.
Not sure what CUES allows now - I think some very low options there now?
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
It may give all the range YOU need and more, but not everybody cycles the same way you do.
My bog standard compact chainset (50/34) and 11 speed shimano cassette (11-32) gives me a range from 27.8 to 122.7 inches.
If I replace my bike, I'll be going for a 12 speed 105 with a largest sprocket of 36 which would change the lowest gear to 25.5 inches.
For many road cyclists, a 102 inch top gear will not be as much as they would want, altrhough a 19 inch bottom gear is probably less than they would need.
Whether a 1x has the required range is going to depend a lot on what type of cycling you generally do, and even if the range is similar, the steps between gears will be larger.
OP
OP
phil-b
Veteran
- Location
- west wales
Yes that setup would be great. I guess it is because I’ve been messing with budget components and trying to reuse components I already own that I struggled to get the rang on my 1x setup
OP
OP
phil-b
Veteran
- Location
- west wales
If you go 2x with cues you can get a very wide range setup with as low as gear as you want
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Über Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
34/34 on the road bike, 30/34 on the gravel ebike and 24/36 on the hybrid. At the top end, barely getting a look in unless I'm going downhill for a while, 50/11; 46/11; 48/12 respectively.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Eee, gone are the days of gurning up Winnats pass on a 42x21.
I have 34x34 on the CX bike. I've stretched the two vintage bikes to 39x26 - that's it, can't get more out of them. I am more than 3 x older than when I started cycling
I have 34x34 on the CX bike. I've stretched the two vintage bikes to 39x26 - that's it, can't get more out of them. I am more than 3 x older than when I started cycling
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Where have I ever stated any different? This is precisely why I mention a lot in my posts about the use case scenario, because it fits me and how I cycle. I've never advocated that 1x are the be all and end all. For off-road they are fantastic, if you want to race, then no, they are not suitable.
Range is the difference between top and bottom gear and your gear range is a lot lower than mine at 428%. My post was answering the OP who stated that 1x lack range, well at 500% for my set up, range is one thing I'm not lacking. What you could argue is whether that range was in the right place, well I've created a custom drivetrain that makes sure for me it is.
I can also easily change my gearing by altering the chainring size. Going to a 44 tooth chainring will mimic your gears with 24 inches to 124 inches. So I can easily customise my set up to match whatever type of cycling I wish to do. There's a lot of folk on this forum who like to go touring on road and again I would say 24 inches is really too high, my old Dawes Super Galaxy had a triple chainset that went from about 18 inches to about 120 inches, now that was a wide range and covered pretty much every use case scenario.
classic33
Leg End Member
Easily enough once on the move. Stopping can be a bigger issue.
Derailleur gearing built onto a five speed hub gear.
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