Originally Posted by Greg200
I do have a triple. What confuses me is that I cruise on the big ring, 52, and the 17. When I hit the hill I gear down to the 42 and then I'm shifting down quickly. I think part of my problem is I don't keep my cadence up so by the time I hit the little gear, 30, I'm having to hammer to get my cadence up and I exhaust my legs. By then even the granny gear seems tough. Is there a better way to manage my gearing?
If it's a short hill you may be able to power over it with minimal shifting, but on a long hill I would suggest you get into a low (maybe even the granny) gear right away and try to find a speed that you can maintain without blowing up. When I get on a wall-type climb I don't think about cadence or mph, I just try to make the legs as comfortable as possible. If it's too easy you can always shift up. You may get stronger and be able to use the middle ring, but some of us climb slow no matter what. We can still get to where we can climb all day, though.