Originally Posted by
crashmo
So, Climbing a-sucks. I'm a 240 lb. land monster, and about 70" tall. I am relatively fit, and can maintain a 140-150bpm heart rate for a couple hours, blasting away on the flats. But when I climb, it all goes to hell. I can putt along in my 36/25 up the grade, but it is miserable.
How much of that is my gearing, and how much is my weight? As I continue to drop the pounds hopefully it gets easier.
Would I be wise to run a 28 or 30 in the back? Riding a cyclocross bike on mostly paved paths.
Thanks!
Originally Posted by
jsigone
the short cage rear d is usually limted to 28t max. you may need a mid cage or would be way cheaper just to change out the 36ring for a 34t. Sub 50ish vs nearly 200 (rear D, cassette & chain)
you can plug the info to some gear calculator but if you can pedal a 36/25 already, I doubt you will use the 30t under effort
The point is to get to where climbing isn't miserable. Plugging the numbers into a gear inch calculator, 36/25 is a relatively tall 38.4 gear inches. Changing the small chainring out from 36 to 24 teeth and keeping the road cassette gets you down to just 36.3 gear inches, or hardly noticeable. Going to a 30 or 32 tooth cassette and switching from a 36 to a 34 tooth small chainring gets OP down to a far more clyde friendly 28 gear inches.