Originally Posted by
saddlesores
your drinking buddy won't be the one painfully dragging a bike uphill!
figger out what you have now, plug it into a gear calculator.
what do you have now?
fiddle around to get lower lows and lower highs.
(you're not likely to complain about not having a high enough high gear)
plenty of parts available on ebay.
any mechanic at any shop can switch chainrings and cassettes.
Originally Posted by
rivers
Don't go 1x for a tour like that! You're going definitely going to want some lower gearing for the terrain/length of tour. I'm in the midst of swapping out pretty much everything but the brifters and front derailleur on my gravel bike. A few youtube videos and a bit of swearing later, I'm a much more competent bike mechanic. It's not as daunting as a task as I thought it would be.
That's what I thought myself. He's a good friend, but only started working on bikes a few years ago, so that is his experience - make em all sporty for the youngsters.
The LBS mechanic has been there for years. She was as young as me when I bought my first Schwinn Sierra MTB back in the 80's at the same shop so she ought to know her stuff by now.
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TroyM - bike riding, guitar playing, retired high school agriculture teacher and regular guy.
Last edited by countrydirt; 05-25-22 at 10:21 AM.