Maelochs

Dude, when you post nonsense like this, people see immediately that you have no clue about anything bicycle.

First off .... "most good bikes"? The BIKE doesn't climb anything. The rider does. A "good' or a "bad" bike (what, is that a bike that curses?) with a 39x27 has .... a 39x27 gear ratio. The Rider can either climb a given hill in that ratio or cannot.

Some people carry huge loads. Some people ride 19,000 feet of elevation gain in 100 miles. Some people only ride occasionally and on the flat, and a ten-mile, ten-percent climb is impossible for them.

You Yourself admitted that you have to walk up some hills. And in another thread, you say you are switching to a 50-34 crankset because the hills around Ontario are too steep for you.

Are You Insane? (Nothing against insane people ... I have quite a few mental/emotional issues myself. I recommend meditation, exercise, and total honesty, compassion and tolerance towards oneself (towards others, too, but that is also hard.)))

Further .... the gearing you use does not increase or decrease your wattage. Yes, you can probably sustain higher overall output with certain ratios/cadence .... but that is part of why the whole "Most good bikes can climb most hills with 39/27" sounds so stupid.

Then you go after Livedarklions .... but do it badly .....

yeah .... first you explain that a "good " bike only needs a low of 39x27 .... and then you talk about why there are gears .... and "ideal" cadence.

Yeah .... do you get that every person has a different "ideal" cadence in every situation? My "perfect" cadence (pressure and rpm, actually) varies day by day. Some days I can power up a short climb in about 50x17, the next day I might be down in 34x25 or something and only going half as fast or slower .... "Ideal" cadence matches your optimal pressure, breathing, and heart rate to the terrain you are on At That Moment.

Livedarklions rides a lot of miles at a very low cadence in very big gears. Most people would find this impossible or damaging. But he does not.

I look back to when Drugmaster Lance used to climb at 130 rpm (probably 39x27, for what it is worth) while behind him Lars Ulrich or Ivan Basso were in the big ring (52 or53) and 23, 25, or 27 .... grinding out huge power, and making the same climbs .... Those guys were climbing almost as fast as the EPO-fueled Armstrong (yeah, they were on drugs too, but lance had the better program and better-integrated program) and using an entirely different method.

I recall Alberto Contador climbing at a high cadence out of the saddle, while others competed with him grinding lower gears in or out of the saddle, or high ratios while seated .... different strokes for different folks.

If you read through Livedarklion's posts .... he isn't bragging about how macho he is .... in fact usually people are attacking him for "doing it wrong ... " but if the old guy can ride a 65 cadence up a steep hill, in the middle of a 100+ mile ride, and do it weekly .... it doesn't sound wrong to me.

Wrong For me ... I couldn't do it and wouldn't try--but he does it and does it regularly.

Sorry if that bothers you.

Maybe some of what bothers others .... is some of your posting habits.

You have said that cycling is not good for the knees---when in fact it is one of the most prescribed exercise routines for people with knee-replacements because it is low-impact and can be done seated, with precise control over load.

You claim to have--or pretend to have--a ton of knowledge about cycling, but then reveal the paucity of your knowledge in your posts.

You tell people about "proper" gearing in a couple threads, then in yet another thread ask everyone's opinion about what gearing to use .... and suggest that you are going to 50-34 while here you are telling everyone that 53-39 is all anyone needs.

Don't do that stuff. No one is fooled, no one is impressed. Most of the posters here have been riding longer than you have been alive. We know when someone is trying to BS his/her way through a post.

I have nothing against you, and you seem like a decent person .... but maybe try to calm down before you post ... maybe re-read your post, pretending you are one of the other posters, before you post.

It has taken me years to learn how to control myself on this forum ... years, and many bans. I have learned to control myself, and to express myself, without running afoul of too many other posters or the mods. Forget bike advice .... I have some useful insight into interacting on BF.

You are new here ... you can make your reputation as an obnoxious person with an over-inflated sense of self-wroth and a dearth of bike knowledge ... or a quirky guy (or girl--don't know or care) who has a unique viewpoint and some interesting experiences and observations.

So ... have you installed the 50-34 chainrings on your KHS 720? Have you taken some other advice and considered installing a wider-range cassette instead? (New to Moisture - XL KHS Flite 720) You said you had a 53-39 paired with a 12-25 (so I assume you have that magic "good bike" 12-27 on another bike?) and needed lower gearing for the Ontario hills .... no irony here, folks, just move along .... and I suggested that a new cassette might be a better investment .... unless, of course, you would also need a long-cage derailleur ..... then it becomes a process of price-matching.

Personally I find that I am happy with a high gear of 50x11 (or 50x12 on one bike) and I like having the lower gearing---I'd rather wear out the middle and top gears of an 11-28 cassette than do all my riding in the lowest three cogs .... but you are stronger than I, so whatever suits you.