Bicycle Mechanics - I need some help with my gearing.

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View Full Version : I need some help with my gearing.

steveknight
05-03-05, 11:17 PM
This is on my bent and it is a bit heavy so I need some low end gearing. But when I am cursing my 11-34 cassette has too but space between the cogs. Either I have to spin too fast or two slow. I have 30 42 50 I think the middle is 42
I have gotten to the point I can do the morning ride all in the second chainring and on the way home only the short really steep parts in the small chainring.
So I got a 12-26 wanted an 11-28 but I got a good deal. I changed it to an 11-26 and I put a 24t small ring on. Now my regular cruising is good I can find the right cadence but the low end kind of sucks. There is so much torque with that small chainring that my limbo now pogo’s again. Plus it makes the seat squeak (G) now the second chainring is almost too large to start out in and I have to shift to the small ring more. It takes a shift and a half to get back from the small to the middle now too.
So I went from 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-34
To 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-26
Could I get away with using the 34 and the 28 and dump the 23 and 26? Or I may be able change the 26 to the 28 too. Not sure yet and go back to the 30 chainring. Will this work ok?

Moochers_Dad
05-04-05, 12:00 AM
Yes.
steveknight
05-04-05, 10:03 AM
after thinking a bit I can handle 30 28 for those hills. though the 34 is handy to keep from shifting the front using the middle chainring.

John E
05-04-05, 06:40 PM
If you don't mind double-shifting, you could try 30-40-50 with your original cogset, for a 1.5-step-plus-grannie system. Through your middle range, 14-16-18-21-24, the ratiometric 40-50 step in front would average 1.5 times each step in back, for a pretty nice interleave. In the mid 1970s, 52-42/14-16-18-21-24 was a VERY popular close-ratio setup, which gave 10 fairly nicely-spaced gears, again if one were willing to shift both derailleurs at times.

(I do a similar interleave with 50-42 / 13-15-17-19-21-23-26 on the Bianchi and 48-4--24 / 13-15-17-19-21-23-26 on the mountain bike.)
steveknight
05-04-05, 07:43 PM
I thought of changing the middle chainring but I spent enough money latly (G) bu I don't want to dump the 52 as with a 26" wheel i need it all for downhills.
I went with 30 26 then cept the rest i think the next is 19. a ltitle bit of a jump but it was nto a problem today.