Gearing changes for the mountains
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Gearing changes for the mountains
I did a group ride this morning in the hills of San Antonio,Fl. I felt good but bottomed out on a compact crank- 50/34 &/11-25 cassette which has me worried about when I do the 3Gap ride of 6Gap later in September! I do have a new 11-28 cassette waiting to be installed. Should I change the chain rings to smaller rings as well?
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It's not so much that Shimano doesn't, it's that the F derailer may not like more then a 16 tooth jump.
I've pushed to 20 but not with an indexed F shifter, only with Bar-Cons.
In any event a different cassette will work, up to a point and that's R derailleur dependent and 11-28 will give you an extra gear, but in truth that maybe all the R derailer will handle as well.
Also pay attention to hill gradient. There are actually steeper hills on my native Long Island then what I encountered on the Bike Tour of Colorado. Thus not so much a need for different gearing, just the fitness and lungs to ascend 8 mile Wolf Creek Pass at 10,000 ft., LOL. Having a bike for these kinds of rides is one reason I keep a triple on my steel Soma.
I've pushed to 20 but not with an indexed F shifter, only with Bar-Cons.
In any event a different cassette will work, up to a point and that's R derailleur dependent and 11-28 will give you an extra gear, but in truth that maybe all the R derailer will handle as well.
Also pay attention to hill gradient. There are actually steeper hills on my native Long Island then what I encountered on the Bike Tour of Colorado. Thus not so much a need for different gearing, just the fitness and lungs to ascend 8 mile Wolf Creek Pass at 10,000 ft., LOL. Having a bike for these kinds of rides is one reason I keep a triple on my steel Soma.
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With advice from a poster here, I determined in gear inches the gearing the size of gears needed for myself in advance. This required customizing a cassette with a 30 tooth largest cog with a triple chainring. You might consider the need for, say, a 30 or 32 tooth cog. There are more choices available today and such a cassette may exist without the need to customize.
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I ride The old Phosphate mines at the Balm Boyette Scrub preserve and Alafia to name a few.
I rode a 27.5" full squish that had a 3 x 9 system,,I used about 6 of these gears. As soon as I wore out a chain I went to a 1 x 11 with a 32T up front and a 11-42 out back.
I still use about 6 gears
I rode a 27.5" full squish that had a 3 x 9 system,,I used about 6 of these gears. As soon as I wore out a chain I went to a 1 x 11 with a 32T up front and a 11-42 out back.
I still use about 6 gears
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I did a group ride this morning in the hills of San Antonio,Fl. I felt good but bottomed out on a compact crank- 50/34 &/11-25 cassette which has me worried about when I do the 3Gap ride of 6Gap later in September! I do have a new 11-28 cassette waiting to be installed. Should I change the chain rings to smaller rings as well?
If in doubt, have a low-low just in case. Doesn't mean you have to use it.
Friends with LBS just got a house a couple miles from the high school and it sleeps 20. Wife and I are staying next to McDonald's at Motel Inn, also a couple miles from the HS.
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You won't be able to simply chage chainring to anything smaller than your 34t.
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Yor 50/34 crankset has a bolt center diameter of 110mm. The smallest ring that will fit is 34T. To go smaller would require a different crank. Only a few double chainring cranks on the market combine road pedal spacing and lower ring capability. The 11-28 cassette will help and will probably work fine with your current rear derailleur.
If you have a Shimano 10 speed setup, you could switch to 9 speed MTB rear derailleur (10 speed RD has a different pull ratio and will not work right) and a cassette with up to 36 teeth. You'll need a longer chain as well.
If you have a Shimano 10 speed setup, you could switch to 9 speed MTB rear derailleur (10 speed RD has a different pull ratio and will not work right) and a cassette with up to 36 teeth. You'll need a longer chain as well.
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I've ridden 6 Gap several times. If 3 Gap doesn't take you over Hogpen you should be fine with the 11-28. However it if does include Hogpen I'd suggest putting on a 11-32 rear cassette and leave the 50/34 as is. I use the 11-32 with a 50-34 and it's just perfect for Hogpen.
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I've ridden 6 Gap several times. If 3 Gap doesn't take you over Hogpen you should be fine with the 11-28. However it if does include Hogpen I'd suggest putting on a 11-32 rear cassette and leave the 50/34 as is. I use the 11-32 with a 50-34 and it's just perfect for Hogpen.
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Google Rotonda West and that's my front yard. Will be riding 135 miles July 9th for my 66th birthday around there and surrounding area where I should have about 125' of total climbing since things are soooooo flat. Last year at Six Gap I had my 53/39 with a 12/28 and rode the 103 miles 11,000+' of climbing without major issue on 10 days of notice. My 39/28 is a 36.6 and your 34/28 would be a 31.9 compared to your current 34/25 at 35.8. If your rear can handle it, you might want a 32 for extra cushion if in doubt 34/32 at 28. For as short as it is, Sugarloaf is a good climb for Florida Flatlanders especially at the almost end of the Horrible Hundred and the % is the cause of that compared to the mostly gradual climbing at Six Gap.
If in doubt, have a low-low just in case. Doesn't mean you have to use it.
Friends with LBS just got a house a couple miles from the high school and it sleeps 20. Wife and I are staying next to McDonald's at Motel Inn, also a couple miles from the HS.
If in doubt, have a low-low just in case. Doesn't mean you have to use it.
Friends with LBS just got a house a couple miles from the high school and it sleeps 20. Wife and I are staying next to McDonald's at Motel Inn, also a couple miles from the HS.
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Thanks for everyone's advice! I'll be installing the 11-28 cassette this week and getting a feel of what it'll be like whilst doing the same San Antonio route this coming weekend!
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While it may not be the same as to what you will be doing in 3Gap, I have done Sugarloaf on a compact with an 11/25 cassette. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. I don't know what the grades are for the three climbs you will be doing in GA but Sugarloaf goes from a 6% to 9% to 13% grade pretty quickly. If you've never ridden Sugarloaf, here's what to expect:
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The RD may well be able to handle a larger cassette than a 28; you may want to use the max cassette in the rear.
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I've ridden 6 Gap several times. If 3 Gap doesn't take you over Hogpen you should be fine with the 11-28. However it if does include Hogpen I'd suggest putting on a 11-32 rear cassette and leave the 50/34 as is. I use the 11-32 with a 50-34 and it's just perfect for Hogpen.
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John V: Very nice picture, for gearing it is a question of fitness besides grades--if one mostly rides flats it will be harder to ride hills. I don't have a choice where I ride so I do enjoy hills except when it is so hot like yesterday at 98 degrees with no wind!
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While it may not be the same as to what you will be doing in 3Gap, I have done Sugarloaf on a compact with an 11/25 cassette. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. I don't know what the grades are for the three climbs you will be doing in GA but Sugarloaf goes from a 6% to 9% to 13% grade pretty quickly. If you've never ridden Sugarloaf, here's what to expect:
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Of course the fatbike weight penalty (33 pounds) and my weight penalty () reminds me that I'm ascending as a touring level cyclist. But it makes riding the Colnago that much sweeter. And my knees thank me.
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Thanks for posting this John as that's THE Best picture I've seen of Sugarloaf!!! You really get a nice perspective of the different gradients of the hill! Oh, I'll be showing my northern friends this pic to let them know there really are hills of note in here in FLAT FLORIDA!!!
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What should be taken into consideration is that the climbing done on that one short hill is more than all the climbing combined for 500 to 1,000 miles worth of bicycling here in SW FL where I live.
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While it may not be the same as to what you will be doing in 3Gap, I have done Sugarloaf on a compact with an 11/25 cassette. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. I don't know what the grades are for the three climbs you will be doing in GA but Sugarloaf goes from a 6% to 9% to 13% grade pretty quickly. If you've never ridden Sugarloaf, here's what to expect:
I think I spotted at least 7 people pushing their bikes........it probably does feel steeper if you're coming off of flats all day. I wonder how'd they feel facing 3 miles of a climb like that after riding close to 100 miles (Mountains of Misery in Va).
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but moving DOWN 4 teeth in the front isn't as helpful as moving UP 4 teeth in the rear.
So an 11-32 on the rear (32 - 25 = 7) is going to be massively better for climbing than doing anything on the front.
I have a 50/34 and 11-32, and normally leave my 32 for just in case moments. Not sure what my next size gear is one away from the 32 -- maybe a 28? Either way, the 2nd ring in the back will get me up ~10% for a mile...but it's a struggle.
So an 11-32 on the rear (32 - 25 = 7) is going to be massively better for climbing than doing anything on the front.
I have a 50/34 and 11-32, and normally leave my 32 for just in case moments. Not sure what my next size gear is one away from the 32 -- maybe a 28? Either way, the 2nd ring in the back will get me up ~10% for a mile...but it's a struggle.