Folding Bikes - What speeds for what gears on Dahon D7?

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veggie_lover
08-18-08, 09:30 PM
I just got a speedometer and am amazed I have been cycling in too high a gear for all these year. So I now shift at these speeds:

4 -> 5 - 16 mph
5 -> 6 - 20 mph
6 -> 7 - 24 mph

What cadence does this correspond to? Should I be trying to get even more speed out of each gear before I shift?

Foldable Two
08-19-08, 11:57 AM
I just got a speedometer and am amazed I have been cycling in too high a gear for all these year. So I now shift at these speeds:

4 -> 5 - 16 mph
5 -> 6 - 20 mph
6 -> 7 - 24 mph

What cadence does this correspond to? Should I be trying to get even more speed out of each gear before I shift?

Sounds like a very fast cadence. I never got over 26MPH on my old D7 and that was on a long, smooth downhill - per my GPS (Garmin Foretrex 101). My best on the flats was like 20MPH. If you are that strong a rider, you'd literally FLY on a BF Pocket Rocket Pro.

Suggestion: Don't just change gears, change bikes! :D

(How accurate is the new speedo? Have you checked it yet?)
MichaelW
08-19-08, 12:08 PM
Work out the "gear inches" (or gear developement if you are French) of each cog combination.
You can compare gear inches to other bikes even if they have different sized wheels.
The "right" cadence depends on how much force you like to use, how much your knees can take, how fast your muscles like to move and on the length of your cranks.
Generally a good cadence is over 80rpm but less on steep hills.

veggie_lover
08-19-08, 01:08 PM
Sounds like a very fast cadence. I never got over 26MPH on my old D7 and that was on a long, smooth downhill - per my GPS (Garmin Foretrex 101). My best on the flats was like 20MPH. If you are that strong a rider, you'd literally FLY on a BF Pocket Rocket Pro.

Suggestion: Don't just change gears, change bikes! :D

(How accurate is the new speedo? Have you checked it yet?)

My speedo is calibrated within +/- 0.5% . I did the roll out and compared results to Google maps and it seems dead on. I hit 30 mph easily on any downhill without even peddaling. Are you sure your GPS is accurate?
Foldable Two
08-19-08, 01:19 PM
Are you sure your GPS is accurate?

I have no idea. I will have to check the formulas within the Garmin software.

Back in a couple of minutes. :rolleyes: