GatsbyGlen

So I guess I'll take it off then

Dan333SP

I read the first post and immediately assumed this thread would devolve into arguments about average speed and what's considered fast on flats. Looks like the prophecy was fulfilled.

I have a 50/34 and a 12-25. I spend the vast majority of all rides in the big ring, my area has some rolling hills but only a few places where you need to drop into the 34. 90% of my rides are probably in the 19-21 tooth cog range. Races/group rides obviously are faster.

Scummer

That's right. Strong winds are the climbs of the midwest.
I was riding home on a flat road from a group ride a few years back and I had such a huge headwind, my power meter showed 400W, I had it in the 39x21 and I was barely going 8mph. Ridiculous.

cthenn

How do you find the max gear of 50x12 to be? I know that's a huge gear mostly for sustained descending, but there are some stretches where I am riding in a gear that big. Do you ever feel you spin out not having the 11? I think a 50x12 is right around 30MPH at 90rpm (thereabouts), so it's not an insane speed. I was thinking of going with a 12-28 on a new wheelset to go along with my 11x25 wheelset, so I can have the same gears up to 25 (minus the 11t) and adding a 28t bailout.

MZilliox

I ride mainly the big ring on flats (50tooth) and sometimes the middle (40tooth). in the back i have 12-28 and find myself somewhere around 50-17 or 50-20 depending on what cadence ive settled on for the ride. wind and rollers sometimes make me ride the 40-12 or 40-14, but i try and even do most of my climbing in 50-25 or 50-28. I do like to climb in the top 3 speeds of the 40 as well. i'm not sure ive dropped into the granny on this bike yet, but I'm sure the day will come at the end of a long slog.

I think all the speed claims are fine. I am a mediocre cyclist with some natural talent. I only started cycling this May. I ride primarily a 30-40-50 triple with 12-28 in the back. I live in rolling hills, always, I'm not even sure what flat is like. Kansas i guess. I have a route that is 40.8 miles. There are 2 flat sections, that aren't very flat, the rest is rollers with one big 3 mile climb right at the end. I have now finished it under 2 hours twice. thats just start and stop on a stop watch, no computer tracking my stops and starts, just old fashioned i leave the house at 8am and try to get back before 10am. According to my math that puts me on an average of around 20mph. that's solo with pedals and straps, not clipped in, cycling shorts and a t shirt. If i can do this... a guy who's been cycling his entire life could do much better. I didn;t know i could do this, but when i managed to do the ride the first time in 2 hours 11 minutes, i figured why not try to beat the 2 hour mark? its good to have a goal

MZilliox

I top out at 50-12 and love it! I can ride it on a slight decline (maybe flat on a good day) and get to about 30-35mph at 90-100 rpm for a mile or so. I may spin out a touch on real steep descents, but I don't need to go that fast... I have one area in town where this is safeish and easy to try, and the speed limit is 35mph for cars so i like to pass them, haha.

downtube42

I think lost in the unavoidable pissing match was the question of whether the big ring or small ring is advantageous, in situations where both can achieve the same effective gear ratio.

Friction loss due to cross chaining has been mentioned, which seems legit. Having open cassette gearing up and down seems a legit argument as well, depending on the situation.

There's some hint at improved mechanical efficiency on the bigger ring, but it's awful hard to tease out truth from ego pissing match verbage.

Speaking of ego, that my be the appropriate deciding factor. If your ego is 5 mph faster than your cyclocomputer, go with the small ring as a means of keeping that monster in check. If your abilities are outstripping your ego, unlikely as that seems, go ahead and shift up to the big ring to encourage the poor little guy.

Dan333SP

It's never limited me. I've taken my bike out to the mountains and have done 50+ mph descents, but you're just tucked and holding on for dear life regardless of gearing. It may be a slight limiter if you do a mountain road race and someone attacks you on a descent and you have to bridge, but I avoid those sorts of races. In my average mostly flat crit or road race I can't really hit much more than 36 mph in a sprint (mid pack cat 4) and I normally have a very high cadence anyway so it doesn't seem to hinder my racing either.

chaadster

OMG, so just to be clear, are you the​ prophet, or just a regular prophet?

Dan333SP

I am only a desciple of the Truth of 41.

chaadster

ThermionicScott 

For that matter, I've never found a 48/13 to be all that limiting. That either means I'm an awesome spinner, or I don't ride fast enough. Probably the latter.

Reynolds 

Racers used to say that at the same gear ratio, big/big is better for TT-like steady efforts, small/small for courses that require fast accelerations.

sam_cyclist

Fair enough.

sam_cyclist

How can the big/big be "better" if it's exactly the same gear?

Logically speaking, the small/small is better since it gives you the same gear but allows for faster acceleration since you can downshift more easily to smaller gears for higher cadence.

sam_cyclist

50/19 and 34/13 both yield 2.6. The small ring produces greater crossover in this case.

What do you mean by "open cassette gearing?"

WalksOn2Wheels

If you go back and actually read all of my posts (I understand reading comprehension is difficult for you) then you would see my valid arguments. But I can see it's a whole lot easier for you to get defensive and stay in your insular bubble, rather than have a rational discussion. That's cool, too.

And I mention the bike shop experience because you're giving me your personal experience limited to X amount of bikes and X amount of bicycles, while the time I've spent as a mechanic in a constantly busy shop has given me the chance to see many scenarios. Hell, I even offered a specific example from the road two weeks ago. But again, I understand reading comprehension is difficult for you.

sam_cyclist

Your pearls of wisdom continue to astound. Please, continue.

mLuMaN83

Living in Florida, I'm never in the small ring unless I have to climb an overpass or the occasional hill.

Reynolds 

That's what I thought too, but they said it was from their experience.
BTW, they also said to never shave your legs the night before a race.

WalksOn2Wheels

No, I think your posts make it clear that you're the bigger man here. Please, continue.

Doctor Morbius

You're wasting your time with that guy. Let him cross chain if he wants to. It's his bike and drivetrain to tear up. The downside is he's giving bad advice on a forum where noobs may take it to heart not knowing the difference.

sam_cyclist

Yup, shave right before the race.

Dan333SP

Also wrong. Shave during a race.

sam_cyclist

Yeah, I think I'll let the riders who remove their "pie plates" and "dork discs" tear up their bikes instead.