I am 72 yrs old, 6'1", 230#, out of shape and 40# overweight. I may have half the strength of my racing days of 50yrs ago. A typical ride around here might include 1300 ft of climbing during an eight mile ride. Some of the hills remain a grind for me even after a year of fairing steady improvement in strength and fitness.
My year-old Cannondale Synapse came with a 30/39/50 triple and 12-28 cassette. I was able to fit a 24T to the front and an 11-32 cassette with no other changes. The new gearing gives me a 21” low and 127” high. The high gear is silly but it that’s what the cassette came with.
The changes were simple and relatively inexpensive. As I grow stronger and more fit, the 21” low may remain good enough for touring with the “Extra Wheel” trailer I intend to buy. However, at this point in time and training, the 21” low would not be low enough for me to tour from Eureka to LA along PCH as I wish to do. Getting to 18” would be expensive for me (retired/limited income). I would need to change the front triple crank set and the cassette as well as the chain.
Most of us ride at between 60 & 80 rpm. This range is comfortable, allows the easy use of platform pedals and is still fast enough for reasonable efficiency. I am sure that I go down to 40 or so on steep hills at times. Mainly, though, I ride for comfort; if I feel like I’m spinning too fast I gear up; if too slow (knee pressure, quad stress) I gear down. If the lowest gear isn’t low enough, I slow down.
BTW: If I lived in Florida, I’m sure the original gearing would have been fine. Might even have gone to a closer ratio casstte. You see ---- It All Depends ;o)
Joe
Last edited by Joe Minton; 08-22-14 at 10:54 AM.