Originally Posted by
Strawbunyan
it is a double ring up front. 42 and 53. The rear is a 6 speed 13-24...i liked the bailout gears on my MTB for sure. Eventually i will see what i can do about extending my climbing range...i do not normally climb standing but i did on this bike and iy seemed much more natural than trying to stand and pedal on the MTB so that is what ill do in the meantime...or get my old butt off and walk 😆😆😆
I'm so used to seeing 50/34 now, what used to be normal 42, now looks to my eye like half-step.
I made a breakthrough in climbing standing (efficiency) when I figured out, to not be geared too low so cadence too fast, nor too high so having to pull hard on the handlebars, but middle of that where I'm using mostly my weight on the pedal without much pull, and perhaps about 50 cadence or lower, nice and easy. When climbing at higher torque, I try to use whatever chainring gives me the better chainline, to put less stress on the chain. However I still note quicker wear on the chain than when I was always spinning in low, that higher load does have an effect. Also, for my flat-bar bike, bar-ends for a more forward hand position, helps climbing while standing, as well as better hand ergonomics, less wrist angulation when the bike swings laterally.