Originally Posted by mikodipo
What size gearing is best for going both up and down some semi steep hills? I live in top of the hill Daly City and commute to school (pretty hilly) , then to work in Fremont (flat). I'm running 46-15 with 165 cranks. It works, but i'm doing some major back pedaling going down hill and pushing hard going uphill. either way, I can make it up and down, but what size would make it easier. I'm mostly concerned about going downhill because I don't run brakes and the hills go straight to intersections ( they don't flatten out before the intersection) . Does running say a 46-17 make it easier to slow down going down hill, or does it just I needed. Thanks!
i do 16 miles of rollin steep hills on my commute every day, and i've done it with brakes and brakekless. a lot of the downhills hills terminate in an intersection with a stoplight.
i have a dedicated commuter, and I run it at 40x16, or 67 gear inches. you're at 82 gear inches. big difference.
if this is your only bike, then i would suggest something around 46x17 or the low 70's, as it will offer you speed in the flats, and good climbing ability, and good ability to check your speed using backpressure.
when i was going brakeless down hills, i was most definately going slower than with brakes. skipping your wheel does a lot to get you back in control, and depending on traffic, resisting while steering side to side is a lot more effective at dumping speed than resisting while going straight.
if you're frequently riding hills, then i think you should strongly consider throwing a brake on, if only for efficency's sake. it takes all of 2 minutes to take a caliper and lever off if you want to lose it for joyriding.