Originally Posted by
Fullcount
Okay, question for all you hill climbers. I have a Trek 520 that has the stock 30 tooth chain ring up front and a 32 tooth in the back. From what I can tell from reading here, not the most exciting set up for climbing a hill. Forgot to mention, running Continental Touring Plus 700 x 32c tires. So about 25 gear inches.
As I look at the stock Surly LHT and REI Novara Touring bike, I see much lower gearing inches in the 18 to 19 range. My question is, can you really spin your crank that fast and stay upright on a prolonged climb? I only have short climbs here in eastern VA, and found I can get out of the saddle to make it up the hill. So before I spend money and time on a new set of gears, what should I really be looking for on the front and rear set up. How low should a normal touring bike go for the dollar spent?
Please give particulars on what I would need (cables, shifters, derailuers, etc...) and where is the best place to go for the gearing.
The lowest gear I've ridden is a 16/34 with a 26" mountain bike wheel. To save you the math, that's a 13" gear or 2.3mph at 60 rpm. And that was off-road on steeper terrain than you'll find most roads. You can't get that low with your Trek...you can go down to a 24 tooth inner. If you changed to a mountain bike crank, you could easily drop it to a 20 tooth. There are no real equipment changes that you would need to make other than the ring. Your chain might need a little shortening.
Riding in a low gear at slow speed just takes practice.