Originally Posted by
dynaryder
15-17" is pretty ridiculously low;my Safari's granny is a touch under 20",and I've only used it a handful of times(and I guarantee I've got hills as bad as you do). 69-79" is also pretty low;I'd constantly spin that out going down my local hills.
Really? Like this one, where my sister lives?
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/slide...to-1668018.php
I don't spin out downhill now because I have zero interest in riding that fast.
Originally Posted by
dynaryder
You'll want to pay close attention to your gearing before dropping the dosh for an expensive upgrade like a 6spd conversion or Schlumpf. How bad is it getting up your hills? Might be a good idea,in terms of both time and money,to swap a 16t cog on the rear and see if that fixes things before doing major surgery. Also,how much have you been riding(daily,weekly)? When I first started out on my old commute with a hybrid,it killed me. Took me a good week and a half before I could get into work without having to get off the bike and push,and a good three weeks before I could do it coming home. A few years later,I got tagged for weekend duty,and over the course of two days had to make the round trip 5 times on a cross bike(36/28 'granny') and managed ok.
It would suck if you spent all that money on upgrades,only to find out in a year's time you don't really need them,and in fact hate spinning out on the downhills.
Spinning out on downhills -- not going to happen. Ever. Even when I rode 140 miles a week and kicked everyone's ass on the uphills, they all beat me going down. And not riding super fast served me well the day an ******* decided to cross a double yellow and hit me head on. But that's another story...
I do know my ability well, and I also have stories of hills absolutely kicking my ass and then becoming effortless. These are much steeper hills and I am older. I need lower gears. Maybe I don't need 15"-17", but I seriously do not need any higher. I have higher on three other bikes. I never, ever use them. I never will. I only ever rode fast because I had to to ride with the group I was riding with. I don't want to do that anymore. I live a continent away from them and I just want to get around town and maybe ride to a campsite on one of the islands.
I don't think a 16 is going to do it, but I'm not sold on the Schlumpf, either. Maybe I do the six speed conversion. It would ALSO suck to spend the money on that and find it not low enough for my needs.
I'm going to ride some of those hills on my big bikes and do some calculating.