I have had my omafiets for *could it be?* two months or so now? I am looking for information on gearing it so that I can hopefully ride it loaded with groceries etc more easily.
To preface this, it took me until two weeks ago to be able to make it to the nearby grocery store with my locks (I have some heavy locks because I'm in NYC.) Last week I was proud to be able to reach the grocery *and* ride home (mainly downhill) with a huge load. It has been slow getting to that point because I hadn't biked in years beforehand, and even short (few block) runs left me unwell. In addition I should mention I have Dysautonomia, and that is why I am so easily fatigued etc. (I'll finally be seeing a specialist for that on Thursday :thumb:, but so far I don't know what kind ot call it or how severe except that meds don't help me much.) What I do know is that I am lacking in strength, but mainly endurance.
So, I just realised that perhaps I could do something gear-wise to make it easier to pedal? At the moment small hills make it very difficult to push the pedals even. It is ALWAYS in the 1st gear (of three.) I don't know too much about this stuff, so I don't even know what to say at the LBS. The bike itself is somethign like 19kg I think.
I wonder what you guys would recomend first of all. Also I wonder if/how it can be done considering I am starting with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed internal hub, and there is a full chaincase. Would the chaincase hinder any changes... I need it, and don't want it taken off.
Sorry, but because of the chaincase I can't count teeth or anything easily before posting this. I don't know what other info you'd need.
Thank you so much in advance.
roughrider504
05-26-08, 11:26 PM
What you want is a larger rear cog. Most of the older three speeds are geared high with the stock gear ratio, yours probably is too, and a larger rear cog will fix that.
The bigger the rear cog is [more teeth], the lower your first gear will be. I will guess and say the current cog is a 18t, or close to it. You can get up to a 23t cog, which will lower the gear ratio nicely.
alba-ny
05-26-08, 11:42 PM
What you want is a larger rear cog. Most of the older three speeds are geared high with the stock gear ratio, yours probably is too, and a larger rear cog will fix that.
The bigger the rear cog is [more teeth], the lower your first gear will be. I will guess and say the current cog is a 18t, or close to it. You can get up to a 23t cog, which will lower the gear ratio nicely.
oh wow, I am glad I am asking because I think I had the relationship backwards (but wasn't even sure what I thought.)
Thank you.
hmmm, mine is a new bike with the new SA which is made in Taiwan or something I think. Does that change anything?
What are the cog sizes used generally by people now hauling heavy-ish loads? You see, I don't think it'll matter for me if the 3rd gear is like the 2nd currently, or even the one if that means I can pedal without my legs giving out. (How do I count the teeth? Do I count them 123 or is it less straightforward than that?) My reasoning is that I think it might be easy for someone to misjudge the pedaling dificulty for me, and I don't don't know how the sizes relate. So examples of the range people use would help me understand better. I guess there is a point that makes the size matter for the mechanics itself too, and not to be simply chosen by me?
Sorry for being so confused...
unkchunk
05-27-08, 12:42 AM
hmmm, mine is a new bike with the new SA which is made in Taiwan or something I think. Does that change anything?
No, not really. A lot of internal hubs use the same three slot format for cogs or sprockets. For example, I currently have a Shimano Nexus 8 hub, but I can put on an old SA three slot cog no problem. One thing to watch out for is that there are some differences in cog thickness or width. Some are for 1/8" wide chains and some are for 3/32" wide chains. I'm completely guessing, but if you have a newer bike it might be a 3/32" chain. Best check with your LBS on that.
It shouldn't be a complex task for a bike shop to change the rear sprocket. They may have to add a little more lentgh to the chain if you get a bigger rear sprocket. They go from 14 teeth all the way up to 23. It's hard to get standard size for people because they can be changed easily. They should have the number of teeth stamped some where on the sprocket, but it is sometimes hard to find (dirt and oil covering it) or it's in a strange location. But you can count each individual tooth. Put a bit of tape to mark where you started so you don't double count.
I don't know your bike's manufacturer, and looked up "omafiets" and they all showed the having chain guards covering them.
Nightshade
05-27-08, 09:36 AM
If the rear sprocket doesn't do it for ya then go to a front chainring of around 23 teeth or less
for a really easy to pedal bike. The smaller chainring moves all 3 spds down just right!:thumb:
JeffS
05-27-08, 10:00 AM
Others are correct in that putting a larger gear in the rear is likely the easiest.
I recently did this on my Electra Amsterdam (the kid hauler). I went up two teeth in the rear as a first step. The gear itself cost me about $15.
Considerations:
- chain length - if you make too large of a change, you will either need a new chain, or need links added to your existing one
- chain gaurd - the size of the chain guard limits the size gear you can use
alba-ny
05-28-08, 12:30 PM
Alright, I am a bit frustrated...
Yesterday I stopped by a "good" LBS after buying groceries. (It is practically next to the grocery store.) They told me to bring it in today so they could look at my cog and see if they could do it, and look at the chainring too. They made a show as if this had never been done before, and they "had to think of how to do it." However they did tell me today they'd only take 20minutes or less to check it out. Then we'd order the part (they said I might need to replace the crank too?) I could ride it home and return when the part was in, and they would need it overnight then perhaps.
Today I returned (when I had a million other things to do) and they gave me a vibe of not belonging there. (It is a fifty fifty thing, either they are great or they give this vibe.) Besides this I was told by the same man, the owner, that I ought to leave it and come back. Since I was short on time I asked how long. He told me maybe I should just leave it overnight. When I responded that he told me a few minutes and I could wait, yesterday, he just said maybe bring it in another day? uh, maybe.
Why doesnt this shop just tell me the right timeline off the bat? They did this to me worse before, and I had to walk home leaving it a few days after being told it would be a few minutes.
So, I decided to go to a nearer LBS that has treated my DH well, and seemed friendly if not as confidence inspiring.
The mechanic, who I like, wasn't in. The lady at the counter made a fuss too, of this request (changing the cog or chainring) to be "so difficult" and she didn't think it could be done. I insisted it could and she told me to speak with Javier about it sometime.
So, WTF? Am I just running across randomly strange LBSs or is there something about my bike that freaks people out? I was very clear why I want this done, and suggested how (quoting teeth numbers and ideas from this thread.) I'd hoped to get this done in the next week or so because I am looking forward to be able to pedal. Now I don't know what to do. Maybe try taking to a place in Utica or Scotia? Any reccomendations, especially in Queens? I didn't really want to have to drive it somwhere because of time issues. Maybe Javier will know more than the other lady???
What do you think.
tfahrner
05-28-08, 01:23 PM
Bike shops in the US are seldom familiar enough with hub gearing to be able to give you a confident time estimate, and you being right there as they try to figure it could make them feel stupid. Also, the full chaincase on your bike might as well be space alien technology. It's not rocket science -- they can figure it out -- but they want some space. It's also a very busy time of year for most bike shops, so they might feel reluctant to jump into totally unfamiliar territory while easy, familiar work backs up. Not defending them, just saying.
alba-ny
05-28-08, 06:18 PM
Bike shops in the US are seldom familiar enough with hub gearing to be able to give you a confident time estimate, and you being right there as they try to figure it could make them feel stupid. Also, the full chaincase on your bike might as well be space alien technology. It's not rocket science -- they can figure it out -- but they want some space. It's also a very busy time of year for most bike shops, so they might feel reluctant to jump into totally unfamiliar territory while easy, familiar work backs up. Not defending them, just saying.
That makes sense I guess, but both shops have taken off my chaincase before. (It is really easy, and I've done it too.) That just leaves the other part. In that case they could have thought of that before, rather than have me ride several kilometers each way when it ends my entire day.
donnamb
05-28-08, 08:13 PM
That makes sense I guess, but both shops have taken off my chaincase before. (It is really easy, and I've done it too.) That just leaves the other part. In that case they could have thought of that before, rather than have me ride several kilometers each way when it ends my entire day.
I have a suggestion. Post a thread in the Northeast regional forum and see if anyone in NYC knows of a bike shop that works on internal gear hubs. If you find a mechanic who enjoys that sort of thing, they'll probably think your bike is cool rather than a PITA. There has got to be a shop in NYC that likes them...
JeffS
05-28-08, 08:29 PM
It's unfortunate to hear of the problems you're having.
The time really is in just getting the chaincase and then wheel off. My first thought was that they shouldn't even need to look at it, but I suppose they need to get an estimate for how much free space you have underneath the chaincase to prevent rubbing.