Originally Posted by
LeeG
J Higgins, My $.02 is to not focus so much on 100+ top gear but usable high gears just below your highest gear. Ok I see you have platform pedals, yeah that does reduce useful high rpm spinning. So its having a useful second to highest gear in the high 80s then the 100 top gear. I had a 20 wheel folding bike with 93 top gear which I discovered was more than high enough for touring as getting in an aerodynamic tuck made more difference on descents than a big gear I could spin. With all that Id get the 38 chainring and accept that the price is what it is.
I just ordered it. The Renthal ring that was mentioned would have been my choice, but but the ordering software that Bike Inn is using just bleeped and went blank when I pressed the complete order button, and no one in USA has that ring in 38T. All is well.
Originally Posted by
GamblerGORD53
Yup, 87 GI high is laughable. You sure don't need 22 GI on an unloaded bike.
My SA RD3 is 48 to 84. Goes up 10% hills and wizzes at 28 mph.
Last year I did 133.6 miles on my 73 lb tour bike with my SA XL-RD5w. It was 46 to 117 GI.
With any tiny downslope, I was using 4th at 98 GI, for a little while anyway. LOL.
On my last tour the Rohloff14 was at 46/ 16T, 21 to 115 GIs. High was NOT seldom used at all. It's great for keeping momentum at the bottom of a hill or going back up.
Hey now, I've got a set of wheels laced up with that very same SA hub, and a matching SA genny hub for the front. I was going to use them in a post-apocalypse-themed rat bike, but never got back to that project. You say that this is your tour bike? How does it work out for you? Just curious, because those wheels are brand new. I should probably make an attempt to use them.
I think you know what I mean about the low top-end gearing. I think that you get it, which is great because a lot of people have given me every suggestion other than what I asked. I'm no finely tuned athlete. All I need is a little more top end and I'm fine. I actually did the same thing with my ECR. When I built that bike, I started out with a couple different ring sizes. After a dozen or so rides, I finally landed on 34T for that one.