Road Cycling - Gears, teeth and whatnot

Hello all...

I am a newbee to road cycling at least and I have a few questions and gearing.

Short story....

I have a Campy double (39/53) I believe. a 13/29 on the rear. and a Med cage derail on the rear.

Me and my girlfriend are going to ride at Les Deux Alpes this summer while attending a few of the stages. (only two really).

This is a two parter....1: when I am in my small front and large back rings it seems that the derail. is not in line with the cassette. It is just not in line with the pully? Thoughts?

Second. I am a bit nervious going to the alps with just a double.

So what are my options? What would you all suggest?

Thank you all for your time....

Biff Stephens
biff@vsstech.com

1. Not familiar with Campy but if it has an adjuster at the end of the cable near the rear derailleur (like Shimano), turn it about a quarter turn in the direction the chain needs to move to be in line with the cog.
Then check your shifting with all the gears.

2. A double in the Alps? :eek: I hope your legs are in really good shape. If not get another bike with a triple and something like a 13-34 in the rear and a good tow rope.

I'd be happy with a 39-29, but then I'm not you, so I'd recommend finding the biggest steepest hill you can find and going up it and down again and back up about ten times, and see how you feel. Then cycle off for about half an hour, come back and do it again. My thought would be that a triple with a 34 on the back would be way too big, that's less than a 1:1 ratio, however on the plus side, you won't be dissapointed if you have too low a ratio than too high, it's better than getting off and walking.

That 29 is pretty big in the back, but I agree with streners. See how it works on some big hills in your area. Do the math, and try and replicate the climb as best you can with the gears you have now.

Regardless - have a great time on your trip, Biff!!!!!!!

1. Not familiar with Campy but if it has an adjuster at the end of the cable near the rear derailleur (like Shimano), turn it about a quarter turn in the direction the chain needs to move to be in line with the cog.
Then check your shifting with all the gears.


Now why would you do that if it's not shifting poorly to start with. His situation is NORMAL for Campy and that deralier.

I'd be happy with a 39-29, but then I'm not you, so I'd recommend finding the biggest steepest hill you can find and going up it and down again and back up about ten times, and see how you feel. Then cycle off for about half an hour, come back and do it again. My thought would be that a triple with a 34 on the back would be way too big, that's less than a 1:1 ratio, however on the plus side, you won't be dissapointed if you have too low a ratio than too high, it's better than getting off and walking.Can't run a 34 with that rear deralier, but a shimano mtb RD that would might work with an alternate cable mount.The point is moot tho since he can't stick a shimano mtb cassette on his hub.

Hello all...

I am a newbee to road cycling at least and I have a few questions and gearing.

Short story....

I have a Campy double (39/53) I believe. a 13/29 on the rear. and a Med cage derail on the rear.

Me and my girlfriend are going to ride at Les Deux Alpes this summer while attending a few of the stages. (only two really).

This is a two parter....1: when I am in my small front and large back rings it seems that the derail. is not in line with the cassette. It is just not in line with the pully? Thoughts?

Second. I am a bit nervious going to the alps with just a double.

So what are my options? What would you all suggest?

Thank you all for your time....

Biff Stephens
biff@vsstech.com1) that's normal for Campy and that deralier. 2) you have two options for lower gears,a triple crankset,BB, and probably a triple FD. Other option is a 110BCD crank with a 33 or 34 tooth small ring, and a BB to match it. Or you could train harder between now and then.

you'll need a triple. there are no hills in okla that even comes close to the alps. you won't believe the increase in grades and hard it gets so soon. practice high spinning in the saddle, because you'll never get out of it while in the alps.
running a 39-25 gearing (you'll find it hard to cross to the 39-29) is a decent pseudo granny gear.

why does the new guy get to go to the alps and do the course? no fair.

Last year I rode a tour in southern France. I don't think we were technically in the Alps (we rode from Avignon to Digne le Bains and back) but we did have a couple of 1300-1600m climbs every day and we rode up Mont Ventoux on each of the last two days. I used a double (39x53) with a 13-28 freewheel and the only time I used the 39/28 was for Ventoux - 21km, 1600m gain, 11% grade in parts.

In addition to the gearing advice, don't forget that climbing is also a skill in addition to being a strong test of endurance.

Read up as much as you can on technique and test it out as much as possible before then would be my advice.

I would guess that for the price of a triple conversion you can get an FSA compact crank w/ 34/48? I think 48. And look at a gear chart you get everything a triple gives you and if you put a 11 on the cassette you will get a harder pull than a 52/12. Then when you get back to OK just swap back to your doubble. I think Tyler Hamilton used one this year in the Alps.

Does anybody know what kind of gear ratios the peloton use on such climbs?

Well, I wouldn't worry about being from a "flat" area and I am sure that you can find some hills in Oklahoma. I live in Central Florida and I had no trouble at all doing Trail Ridge Road in Colorado at over 12,000'.

The gearing you may want is more determined by how you like to climb hills then anything else. If you like to sit and spin, then you will need much lower gears then if you go up hills with a very low cadence *shudder*. I sit and spin, so I will generally use lower gears then most people. One way to figure out what you need is to go out and find a climb that is of some length (if you can) and about 7%-10% and climb it and see what you need to do it comfortable. The thing is that on an extended climb, you can easily climb for an hour or longer. You want to be able to sustain the climb in reasonable comfort.

Now, I believe that the extended climbs on the Tour de France are not that horribly steep. I have the impression that they range from 8%-12%. Climbs in the west of the USA generally top out at 7% except for some very rare exceptions like Teton Pass which is 10%. However in the eastern USA, you can have climbs where the grade will hit extremely steep climbs for short distances and some are in excess of 20%. Altoona PA has a road that is 34%. I don't think you will run into anything like that.

I live in Houston (flat city) and used to do hill training in parking garages at night. I don't know how the grade compares to the Alps but it's pretty steep. It might give you some idea what gearing you will need.