Road Cycling - When do you let your granny sing?

Last Saturday I have been riding around in the Rockies foothills and thinking how much I really do need the tripple (30-42-52). So, I tried not using it, also because it is noisy when you really need it, and Shimano admits that this is normal. :mad:
I was able to keep my cadence up at 85 and higher until I had to climb the 8% (Forerunner GPS) slope longer than 800 meters. There I had to go down and use it, but only very near to the top of the hill. I also did not need to shift to the largest cog and one of the three geers that are lower than the lowest one available with the middle ring did the job.
The next hill was steeper and longer: 9% and 1.2 km. Not only the granny was needed, but I also had to go all the way up to the 26 cog (12-26) and that was not enough: my cadence droped to 65 - 70.
So, it is your turn now. When do you have to listen to the anoying noise and shift all the way down? Or you maybe know the way how to tune the drivetrain so that the granny is quiet?

PS For all the macho contributers, please spear us from the "Get the double" comments. I know that it might be smoother, but I also have riden much steeper hills in the Rockies.

What kind of triple do you have? My DA is quiet in all rings. I run a 12-23 and usually have to slip into a 30/19 or 21 right around 9%. I love to climb but I am not exceptionally strong. I probably rank in the upper 1/3 of my "social" riding club.
The only way I know to get good at hills is to ride hills. We have quite a few 6-8% grades that we will hit at least twice a week (and then we hit the coffee shop). Our steep grades occasionally take us into 12-15%, but these are not sustained.

Go with campy, my friend! Smooth as silk!

I'll typically use the granny (30 x 21) when the the grade goes over 12% for at least a half-mile with no good run-up or for extended climbs longer than a mile that are more than 10%. I sometimes alternate between spinning up the hill seated with the granny and riding endurance intervals in the middle chainring. If I am riding with a slower group I'll use the granny and take an easy spin up. I hold the 23 & 26 tooth cogs in reserve in case I start to cramp up.

Go with campy, my friend! Smooth as silk!

I'll typically use the granny (30 x 21) when the the grade goes over 12% for at least a half-mile with no good run-up or for extended climbs longer than a mile that are more than 10%. I sometimes alternate between spinning up the hill seated with the granny and riding endurance intervals in the middle chainring. If I am riding with a slower group I'll use the granny and take an easy spin up. I hold the 23 & 26 tooth cogs in reserve in case I start to cramp up.

Steve,
I'm also from the Bay Area and noticed several of your posts - including the recent one on climbing Bohlman. Did you stay in the granny for most of that? What would you use on Old La Honda?
I have been riding for almost a year and pleased with my progress to date. Right now I'm working hard on climbing but hardly in your league - I'm happy to get up Old La Honda without stopping!! :)

Jim

Use it when I need it; it never makes a peep.
I swapped that useless Shimano 30 for a 26 on one bike and a 24 on the other, and I use them occasionally without embarrassment. I've DONE the macho stuff; now I just like to ride in comfort.
Why should the granny make noise, though? I've had probably eight or 10 bikes with triples, counting mountain bikes, and none of them, all the way down to 20 teeth, ever made a sound.

Steve,
I'm also from the Bay Area and noticed several of your posts - including the recent one on climbing Bohlman. Did you stay in the granny for most of that? What would you use on Old La Honda?
I have been riding for almost a year and pleased with my progress to date. Right now I'm working hard on climbing but hardly in your league - I'm happy to get up Old La Honda without stopping!! :)

JimBohlman is definitely one for the small chainring! On climbs like Bohlman, which hits 10% after .25 miles and probably averages 12% for almost 3.25 miles before letting up, that I immediately go for the granny and just plug away. I would've tested my mettle on On-Orbit than day but the chain kept slipping off so I only had the 30x23. If anyone is interested in the metrics for this climb you can find them
here (http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/~lucasp/grade/bohlmanonorbit.html). On OLH, lately I've been using either the 42x26 or the 42x23. When I go out with my wife and she wants some company. I'll drop into the granny and noodle along with her. Most of the time she'd rather I let her suffer in peace. She's improving though and has done OLH in about 28 minutes, I think. I giving her a bike computer for her birthday this Friday, so she can track it for herself.

Thanks for the compliment on my climbing prowess, but it pales in comparison to a lot of other folks I ride with. Including at least one who frequents this forum! You know who you are!

As has been stated many times, the best way to get better at climbing hills is to climb more of them. That, in itself, is a good reason to have a triple. The triple, for a lot of folks, gives them the confidence to try anything. Hills that were once off limits are now fair game. Once you succeed on your lowest gear, you can start working toward riding up in the next higher gear. Who knows? Maybe one day you won't need the triple anymore. And at least you won't be walking. Nothing is worse than having to walk your bike up a hill.

PS For all the macho contributers, please spear us from the "Get the double" comments. I know that it might be smoother, but I also have riden much steeper hills in the Rockies.

??? Weight of bike\ rider\ angle. Gears are calculations. I 'calculated' 7and 8 rear, single 38 tooth chainring front. 28\12 small high rev cogs.
3 rings? I'd just custom a>2 to suit my bike\ weight \ terrain. - $30? for a ring/ I swap occasionally if going uphilling?
Changing chairings is easy, a double is totally the way to go.

I've ridden Canadian rockies, now right down to tha sea. Push it harder. I have much respect for ss riders abilities. singledoubletriplemonosingledoubletriplemono.

Front deraillers are fer flunkies. Droll-mops. :D I'm kidding right?

O.k, how about swapping the 30-26 chainring.
Oh ya, I ride mtbs :rolleyes: derailler cage issues?

26 ring -Minus 4 teeth front will drop you back a cog..I THINK? onto your 24 t cog.
I had to work this out for my mtb. Mtb granny are 24 (heavy bikes, extreme grades)

2 teeth front is one rear and not a big difference.

Yes, having only one front chairing goes to my head. :rolleyes:
I was celebrating last night so my post was funny\ or not.

Jef.

Tripple? whats that? LOL.........embrace the pain, it rules in the long run. beside, Granny died several years ago; never could sing.

My older Shimano RSX triple makes no noise in the granny ring.

mine sings all too often, and my shimano 105 tripple also makes no noise on the granny, unless i'm on the smallest cog.

-- michael

I had to stand and crank out 30-23 on a 15% grade a few weeks ago. When the road turned upward to 22%, I had no choice but to weave back and forth to keep the bike upright. 23 is as much as I had with me, next time I'll bring a 25.

Granny usually makes an appearence for me at around 10%

-mark

Tripple? whats that? LOL.........embrace the pain, it rules in the long run. beside, Granny died several years ago; never could sing.


http://www.ohio200.org/news/release.asp?PID=43

'nough said.

I probably need to correct myself a bit. It is actually not the granny that makes noise, it my chain rubbing the front derailleur and only when it is on the granny and on one of the three largest cogs. Otherwise, everything there is quiet. My crank is Truevita or so and the little story from Shimano came with the derailleur explaining that the noise is normal when extreme gears are being used. I am not talking about cross shifting here. Anyway, I will replace the train as soon as some bigger problem appears.

I admire all the good climbers who have replied to my original post. Can you also keep your cadence high when you use relatively high gears climbing? My main problem is that I want to keep spinning at higher than 75 to protect my knees etc. I believe that I could get to the top without the small ring, but I would have to push harder. Thanks,

D.

it my chain rubbing the front derailleur and only when it is on the granny and on one of the three largest cogs. Otherwise, everything there is quiet.If it rubs the inside (left side) of the cage, then you'll need to adjust the lower limit screw to allow the derailleur to move in a bit more. If rubbing the outside (right side) of the cage, then adjust the lower limit screw so the derailleur doesn't move as far to the inside.



Can you also keep your cadence high when you use relatively high gears climbing? My main problem is that I want to keep spinning at higher than 75 to protect my knees etc.

I wish I could keep up my cadence as I push higher gears, 'cause then I would be climbing a whole lot faster!

I am finding out that I can push harder gears at a lower cadence without straining my knees as my miles have increased. I think that the supporting tissue around my knees has increased/gotten stronger. I do endurance intervals on hill climbs as a way to increase leg strength. 5-10 minutes in a higher gear (45-55 rpm) , followed by at least 5 minutes of full recovery in a very easy gear. I would work my way up to this and back off a the first sign of knee pain. If you're climbing a hill in your second to largest cog, try climbing in the 3rd to largest.

SteveE

I bought a triple and have used the granny once when i actually wanted to for a hill, the other times were just to mess around, but it is a very slient gear.

My granny is a 12 year old Shimano Deore and it is silent.

I use my granny on every ride. We have some long hills that my overweight, overage knees just can't handle and I refuse to walk it up.

http://www.ohio200.org/news/release.asp?PID=43

'nough said.
You ride with Granny! I checked.......LOL ! figures...dont have to knock me cause I dont. Maybe we should start posting pictures of our legs here instead of our bikes? Cant buy legs at your LBS? bummer dude...they are available,you just have to pay for them in a different way. Probably have everyone pi$$ed at me now. well almost eveyone...... oh well.

You ride with Granny! I checked.......LOL ! figures...dont have to knock me cause I dont. Maybe we should start posting pictures of our legs here instead of our bikes? Cant buy legs at your LBS? bummer dude...they are available,you just have to pay for them in a different way. Probably have everyone pi$$ed at me now. well almost eveyone...... oh well.CG,

It sure seemed like you were knocking those of us who ride with triples. Sparky2 was merely pointing out the fact that it was certainly understandable that you don't have a triple because Ohio doesn't have any serious long climbs. Out here in the Bay area, the terrain is such that we don't have much in the way of rolling terrain. We live in a valley and all of the bottom land is developed. You get into some pretty serious hills climbing as soon as you start heading either east or west.

SteveE

You ride with Granny! I checked.......LOL ! figures...dont have to knock me cause I dont. Maybe we should start posting pictures of our legs here instead of our bikes? Cant buy legs at your LBS? bummer dude...they are available,you just have to pay for them in a different way. Probably have everyone pi$$ed at me now. well almost eveyone...... oh well.

I absolutely ride with a Granny - when I need it. I do over 6,000 feet of climbing weekly - with some grades over 15%. I've got the legs, don't need to buy any - just working to build them up. Here are some of my local climbs.

http://www.actc.org/billygoats/bgoats.htm

I know that I can do most of the 4s and some of the 5s - with a granny. If you think that you can do all of those rides, and all of the 6s on a double more power to you!!

You ride with Granny! I checked.......LOL ! figures...dont have to knock me cause I dont. Maybe we should start posting pictures of our legs here instead of our bikes? Cant buy legs at your LBS? bummer dude...they are available,you just have to pay for them in a different way. Probably have everyone pi$$ed at me now. well almost eveyone...... oh well.

I have lived my whole life in Ohio and can't remember anything that I would need a granny for anyway. There are lots of short hills, but nothing that I havent been able to handle with a 42x21. I have a triple because it is what my bike came with along with an 11-21 cassette and I have never used the granny.