Originally Posted by
Jeff Wills
In order to get a 20 or 22-tooth small chainring, you need to switch to a "mountain" crankset, like this:
http://harriscyclery.net/product/fsa...r4240-qc49.htm
Still not a big deal, but front derailleur adjustment can get tricky.
Switching to a 34-tooth big cog in the rear should not be a big deal, but it's pushing the limits of those old derailleurs. It could work, though.
FWIW: My bike has 52/42/24-tooth chainrings and a 11-34-tooth cassette:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-grr/pages/jeff-grr%20001.htm
I rarely need that low gear, but when I need it, I
need it! I'm not riding much faster than walking pace, but I've ridden 15+% slopes with a touring load.
Thanks for the good information Jeff. It's heartening to know that without a lot of back-or-bank breaking work its possible to breathe new life into this bike.
I read here:
http://www.bicycle-touring-guide.com...e-gearing.html
that a good ideal to shoot for for a loaded exped rig is 100-16 gear inches. Here are some numbers:
Rear Front Gear Inches Notes
11/30 52/40 128-36.1 Current rig
11/30 52/42/24 128-27.1 Mountain triple
11/30 42/32/22 103-19.9 Mountain exped triple **
11/34 52/42/24 128-19.1 Mountain triple
11/34 42/32/22 103-17.5 Mountain exped triple **
The two starred ones meet the 100-16 range. I don't think the 4 inches difference is worth the work and price of a new cassette. A suspect the difference would be appreciable between a mountain and exped; and I know you only ever hear people complaining about not having low enough gears; nobody complains about the reverse... The question is, where do you find a mountain exped triple? I think I've seen some, but they're $$$... mountain triples are more common, right? What do you think? Also, thoughts on "If it ain't steel, it ain't real?"
Update:
I've found some cranksets with the right number of teeth with good google fu. I'll find a good component and see how it goes.