General Cycling Discussion - do 36 gears actually make hills easier?

i've been entranced by the quadracycle type unit for years... and have recently decided to acquire one...

for my budget, they're a little pricey, but i'm willing to give it a go, if they're as advertised...

i've settled on a one person with 36 gears and possibly an electrical assist hub... we've a LOT of hills here and i'm just not sure that i can pedal one of these up them... it's a chore with a single speed and a 3 speed adult trike that we've used in places we lived previously... it was way more flat there...

i just can't see myself pushing one of these up hills here...

i think my legs are pretty strong... they look it anyway... and i'm thinking... if i'm having trouble pedaling these bikes up hills, how can i pedal the quad?

do the 36 gears actually enable easier pedaling? the 3 speed has a low gear, but i still find myself standing on steeper grades...

the advertisements show these things in several configurations carrying all kinds of materials... one picture shows a lady pedaling a quad through a field with a load of hay on the back! is this for real?

i'm just too frugal to lay down the amount only to find that i'm not able to make it go... and i don't want to rely on the electrical assist completely...

your opinions will be appreciated greatly!

Do you have a pic or link to whatever montrosity this is you're talking about?

And welcome to BF.

My one gear bike goes up hills just fine.

:rolleyes: so do my TWO feet... but that doesn't make it enjoyable... :rolleyes:

so many thanks for your most enlightening comment...


My one gear bike goes up hills just fine.

Aw come on, you found my comment offensive but not vp's?

Discrimination!

36 gears,10,20,30,40 doesn't mean a thing. What makes a difference is your lowest gear combo.

Triple rings in the front. the smallest ring is the lowest. If you have a 30, it will be easier than a 32.

In the rear, the opposite. The biggest cog is the lowest (easiest). SO if you have a 27 for you tallest/biggest, it will be easier than a 25.

SO you can have a triple with a 30 front and a 27 rear for a 30/27 combo. 6 gears in the rear for a total of 18 gears.

Or a triple with a 32 front and 25 rear.....32/25 combo. 10 geras in the rear for a total of 30 gears.

The 18 gears has a lower combo than the 30 gear comb. So an 18 can be easier than a 30 gear bike depending on the combo used.

Same with a double crank. 42/25 will not be as easy as a 39/27.

You could have 36 gears with low of 30/25 and I could have a bike with one gear of 30/27 and mine would be easier to push up a hill!:D

All the gear combos give you small increments and changes between each gear. But still your high is your high, and low is the low.

:D well, he did say welcome to the forum... :)

i wasn't in such a good mood earlier, but i'm better now... so i won't be so sharp...

its moot now... i blew the rear end of my wrangler and i'm afraid to even think what thats going to cost... i'm still getting a bike, but i think i'll settle for a low to mid-rang priced touring or hybrid bike... something between 3 to 7 hundred dollar range... i can still go get that used tadpole trike for $600...

i want something to last a while and take the punishment of the back roads i like to ride, plus not be so hard on my rump... my parts get numbed when i ride the narrow seats... feels strange... scares me...

soooo thanks for your input...

seeya...


Aw come on, you found my comment offensive but not vp's?

Discrimination!

:D plus not be so hard on my rump... my parts get numbed when i ride the narrow seats... feels strange... scares me...

soooo thanks for your input...

Smiling Bob can save ya
http://www.arktimes.com/Assets/WebLogs/smiling_bob-thumb.jpg

i suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder... i'm not interested so much in speed... just reliability... i've eyeballed these for years...

only problem is they're quite pricey for my budget... and as i'm prone OCD phases, i've made a deal with myself... since the rear end of my wrangler needs repair, its gotten so noisey i can't hear my stereo :(

so i gotta fix it... if its just the bearings, its not so bad, but it could be the ring and pinion and if so, i'm gonna have to scrape the bottom of the barrel...

anyway, my deal is, if i buy a cheaper bike, and am still riding this time next year, i'll buy the quad...

here's the linky...

http://www.rhoadescar.com/jumplobb.htm

oops, the link didn't go to the 4W1P model... my favorite... but yes, they're heavy, so you see my concern about gearing?



Do you have a pic or link to whatever montrosity this is you're talking about?

And welcome to BF.

75-123 lbs?! :eek:

Lessee here,
If we could have the ultimate 36 gear transmission it would range between ~15 gear inches all the way to ~150 gear inches with a bit over a 3% step between shifts.

Hey... a man can dream, can't he?

wow, 20" wheels. I guess it does allow for a lower center of gravity.
123lbs? weighs nearly as much as I do. That's not that heavy... think of it as 3 40lbs bikes welded together. Almost like a golf cart.
I've got too many comments for that quad...

WOW!
Comments all over the board! :rolleyes:

A RhoadesCar is pretty much that, a car. Well, that you pedal.

Mad Mike, that $600 tadpole sounds like a better bet. What brand is it?

I have two Greenspeed tadpoles; one single & a tandem. The single has 54 speeds utilizing a Schlumph Mountain drive 2 speed crank, 9 cogs and a 3 speed internal. The tandem has 72 speeds using a triple crank, 8 cogs and 3 speeds internal. The gear range on the single is a "Low" of 9" and a "High" of 112". The tandem Low is about 15" and the high is 125".

"Inches" above are "gear inches" which equate to the diameter of wheel you would have on a Penny Farthing.
A 9" wheel is MUCH smaller than a 125" wheel. The smaller the number, the easier to pedal.

Check the Recumbent forum for a post regarding a $1,600 quad that looks to be pretty cool & utilitarian.
Not sure the title, I'll have to look it up.

36 gears,10,20,30,40 doesn't mean a thing. What makes a difference is your lowest gear combo.

+1

I want something to last a while and take the punishment of the back roads i like to ride, plus not be so hard on my rump... my parts get numbed when i ride the narrow seats... feels strange... scares me...

Trike will work. Or, put a Brooks saddle on a normal bike.

Hey Mad Mike, here's the thread I was refering to about quads;

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=302986

75-123 lbs?! :eek:

+1. I definitely wouldn't like it. I have no doubt that it's possible to build a drive train that has a gear that's easy enough to get you up the hills. One poster mentioned a recumbent with a 9 inch low gear. The question becomes: "Is it useful?" At 75-123 lbs. you're either going to be lugging up the hill at 1 or 2 MPH or pushing the damm thing. I have no interest in grinding up a hill at 1 or 2 MPH.

One poster mentioned a recumbent with a 9 inch low gear.
The question becomes: "Is it useful?"
YOU BET IT IS!!!
When my 6 yr old is riding on the rack & the twins are in the Burley trailer, I need the lowest gear possible if the path goes anything above FLAT! :rolleyes:

1-2 m.p.h. UPhill is OK by me, cuz we can still do 40+ on the DOWNhill! :D

Wish I had that 9" gear on the tandem, when all 4 kids are onboard, the total wieght is over a quarter TON, and I'm STILL the only one PEDALING! :eek:

just got back in... busy yesterday! and meetings all day today and tomorrow! had to ride in the rain last evening :D it was so hot and humid.. the rain felt great!!!:)

anyway.... Dr! i hadn't seen the quad you linked me to! that looks really grand! heavy duty... but wonder whats up with the heart shaped backrest :)

as i posted earlier... i tore up my jeep... so i'm having to spread the bread... guy talks like i really did a number on it... he drove it and says by the sound and the clunking it was as bad as any he's ever heard.... so there goes my new quad...

when i left the jeep off at the garage.... i stopped by the local shop and ordered a trek 7200... supposed to pick it up this afternoon... i also made arrangements for a tune up for the trike i've been riding... its a really heavy vehicle, so it really gives me a workout in 10 miles of rolling landscape... i'm only just now learning how to shift the in-hub gears... but the clicks don't match...

i'll have to wait until next year to get the rhoads... i talked with them, i can go down and try them out and pick out my configurations, then make a deposit and pay for it 12 mos same as cash, but they won't build it until i have it paid for...

someone earlier in the thread asked what brand the used tadpole i mentioned was... its a sun eztad cx... the guy wants $600 for it... i stopped by and told him i'd lost interest and asked if he'd mind me mentioned it here... of course not... :)

but if someone wants to know, they'll have to contact me privately as he wasn't sure he'd like his info public...

thanks for all the info... see you on the road!

In theory a single speed drive train is more efficient because the chain line is straighter and is 1/8" rather than 3/32".

Basic physics is you put energy in, and your bike converts it into forward motion after a reduction for inefficiency. You can't get around that with gears. It may be true that you or your engine puts out more energy at a certain cadence and a larger range and more gears will help you achieve that cadence.

More gears on a derailer system make the bike more complicated and subject to failure.

A shimano biopace chainring might help. see SheldonBrown.com