Originally Posted by
Barchettaman
Lovely bike, Cederbat.
What do you mean buy getting a 9-speed wheelset for 'higher gearing? Surely you could just swap out the 7-speed cassette for one with a low 12 or 11 sprocket if you find yourself regularly spinning out on descents. By the look of your crankset it's a 52/42 Biopace so a 12 on the back should give you plenty of top end, assumin you're not Spartacus.
Hi Barchettaman,
Thanks for the comments. The wheelset my Cannondale came with had a 6 speed
freewheel system with a 13 tooth small sprocket. My rear wheel also had a flat spot on the rim that I could not get out with truing. This wheelset has served me well for almost 10 years. By upgrading to a 9 speed cassette system I am gaining easier maintenance, flexibility with gearing, an 11 tooth small sprocket, and compatibility with the Zipp wheels I found for races. Every year I do a 90 mile bike race called Race the Lake and it is a draft legal race. In the pack, with the wind, we were hitting sustained speeds of 30+ miles per hour and I averaged 21mph for the event last year. I was spinning pretty good at that pace and hoping to continue to increase my pace in the years to come. This year I hope to keep up with a couple of my riding buddies who averaged 25mph for the event. I am no Spartacus, but I "Tri".
