OldsCOOL

Try a 14-28 with a road double on our steeper and longer hills. You will swear granny's first name is Jezebel. For me, I keep two chainsets handy....one of them is a compact 50/34. No shame.

BillyD

Fixed.

lenA

I spent a good while finding a decent used road bike with a triple.... took it to LBS and the first thing they said was I should change that out for a nice compact :-)

seypat

No shame at all!

What is funny is my shift pattern. I ride vintage bikes with 52/40/30 triples and 5, 6 or 7 speed rears. The main rider is a 5 speed rear. I usually stay on the middle ring until I get to the 28 cog. Then if I have to I dump it onto the 30 ring. I never ever go to the 30 ring until I am on the 28 cog. It must be a pride thing. Once on the 30 ring I will work back up 2 or 3 cogs before going back to the middle ring. No going to the granny unless I am forced to. Which doesn't seem to take much of a hill at all.

klondike300

Granny on my cyclcross/commuter. Granny on my road bike. Double on the new Scalpel 29er though
45 year old knees beat down from years of wrestling and skateboarding. I'm not racer man dan, what do I care what other people think of my gearing?

Go granny go!

ILUVUK

I'm a flatlander in Iowa. Just spent a week cycling in and around Asheville, NC. I've never been so happy that my bike came stock with a 12-30 Tiagra cassette. 4-mile climbs at an average of 8-9% are not something I'm used to! I could've survived just fine with a 12-27, but there were times I was loving that 30-tooth cog.

hairnet

Mix it up and climb some canyons on a fixed gear.

krobinson103

Ride longer and faster to compensate. At any rate who cares? I don't want to win any races so as long as I can ride 24 hours non stop at a decent pace I'm happy. Heck on an all night ride I'll sometimes walk a hill for a change of pace. Sometimes its faster to walk than ride anyway.

zacster

After years of riding a 50/36 front with an 11/25 rear, I switched to a 34 up front and a 26 rear. Just a little lower but it made a huge difference. Instead of having to mash up some hills I could just spin.

I then attempted to climb Mt Haleakala in Maui, 10000 feet of non-stop climbing. The bike I rented had a 50/34 and 12/27, but I wish it had a 30 or 32 in the rear. I could spin the 34-27 combo all day at 5% grade, but when it hit more like 8% I had to start standing, and that just did me in. I don't know if a 30 or 32 would have made a difference at that point, but I want to find out. I need a good excuse to go back to Maui.

alexaschwanden

My lowest gearing for my road bike is 34-32, it works great on hills that are steep and long.

THSdrummer

Been looking at getting new wheels, which means I'll buy a new cassette to have one on my trainer and one for the road. My first thought is going with a 11-23 just to have one, even if I religate it to the trainer, but in the back of my mind I know a 11-28 would be way more valuable. The 28T would make a nice bail out gear. I was on a short but steep hill in 34/25 when my cadence dropped to 60 RPM. It was brutal and the one time in my life (so far) where I wished I had a lower gearing option. Whenever I think about an 11-23, I think of that hill. On the opposite side, I spun out at 50/12, so the 11 would come in handy.

Bostic

I rented a Trek 4.5 Madone with a 52/39/30 12-27 triple for my ride up Haleakala. I used the 30x27 for the one block of Olinda right after Makawao and for the very final section. A lot of the steep switchback section on Crater road between 4000' and 6000' I used the 30x24. By the time I got to the end a lower gear would not have mattered for me. Cadence would have been the same but 4.2 instead of 4.7 mph perhaps.

zacster

It was the steep switchback section where I had trouble. The one block of Olinda I knew was short so I could just stand and get over it. But those switchbacks were just killer. I had passed the 5500' marker and was up to around 5700-5800' when I just realized I was spent. I could see there were another one or two switchbacks and then the road angled off and up. I was already standing, I had been eating and drinking, and didn't know that the grade would be less steep the rest of the way, that last climb notwithstanding.

So, if I ever go back, where should I rent the bike? Boss Frog's only had doubles, and I was lucky that they had a 12/27 rear. Most of their bikes only have 12/25. I've got to go back soon though, I'm not getting any younger. Maybe it'll be a 60th birthday/25th Anniversary present to myself and my wife. Unfortunately, my kids are sucking all of our money from us by going to college. Sheesh, imagine that. College for them or vacation for us???

Astrozombie

Doesn't it depend on how much you weigh? Easy for a 150lb rider to make fun of a 230lb guy using a "granny gear"

JamesRL

Very true. When I was 150 I got to the point where I rarely changed out of the big gears.

25 years and a few lbs later, I need those gears. I went for a first ride last week (still snow on the ground, but not on the road), and my co-riders were all on triple crank hybrids with road wheels. I was on a road bike with 52/42 crank, and 12-24, and I suffered on the hill, where I'd like to spin. I'm getting a compact double 50/34, but I took a lot of flack in another thread. Some suggested I get a triple, some suggested I get stronger.

timmbo

I will say this, the reason such a wide range of gearing is offered is because everyone is at a different physical level, and everyone is in different riding environments. I can't say I use my 32 much on my 11-32, but there are times when I am going up a steep incline (maybe with the wind in my face) where it comes in handy. It is nice knowing that I can ride my bike in any condition with no excuses. I rarely stand up to power up a hill, just a good steady cadence does the trick. My previous bike was a 50/39/30 with 11-26, and I would take my current setup many times over that.

zacster

Weight and age. I've put on way too many pounds, and I'm now 59. For so long I'd resisted putting anything like a granny gear on my bike. But as long as I'm above ground I want to keep riding, and that includes up hills, up BIG hills.

Thirstyman

I recently put on a 11-32 (39/53) for a week long climbing trip in the Georgia mountains. Boy was i happy to have the 32 on Brasstown!

Latif

Try Maui Cyclery right there in Paia near Baldwin and Hana Hiway where most start their ride. They're on the internet.
I'd like to do Haleakala but not there in conditioning yet. I did make it to Makawao last fall which was a big hurdle and had some left in the tank. I left my Spesh Sectuer with 34/32 Apex rear on Maui so I've got the granny solved, just need a bunch more in the tank. Will be doing my first century in early May with 9400' of climbing and will be going to Maui two days later so will see.

zacster

I went in their store before I did the ride. Let me tell you though, Makawao is barely a warm up going up the mountain. You're not ready if you feel that you only had some left in the tank. You need to be feeling like that was just a few laps of the park at that point.

My post mortem thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...p-volcano.html

Latif

Oh, I'm not fooling myself yet am amazed at how I've progressed in the less than 2 years of road cycling and at age 64. This next trip I may go as far as I can go and luckily have a good friend who lives just past the right turn off from Baldwin past the top of the Olinda grade so can return back to his place. Will see.... Got my first century to get past first.

zymphad

11-28 here with compact crank. I like it, I don't regret not getting 11-25. I don't use 28 often, but it's there if I need it. Sometimes I'm just really tired and my endurance isn't up to snuff. So at 25 mile mark and there is a really steep hill, I sit back on the tops and crank up on 27/28. Whatever.

Also read that Contador on the mountains rides compact with 32 ring. And he's considered one of the best climbers. And almost certaint that both Wiggins and Froome use a 32 with compact. Both good climbers. Do you think they felt ashamed when they won TdF?

jsutkeepspining

i was doing hill repeats with a 39/28 at 6.1 w/kg. Nothing wrong with spinning when training, and when the gaps don't bug you

cerealkilla

No shame, no gain! I've just done 105 mile ride. 7-8 hours, 13,300ft climb, heavy head winds. Gears are 53/39 with 11-28 cassette. No pain the day after and we averaged 16mph over all.