Why can’t I get past 8?
10-03-18, 07:48 AM
#51
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Maybe if you switched your avatar from Gorbachev to something more modern, that would help get you out of your 80s kind of rut? The CCCP has been out of business for a while; just sayin . . .
Last edited by bikemig; 10-03-18 at 08:17 AM.
10-03-18, 09:08 AM
#52
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I like having a lot of gears, my main rando bike is 3x10 and I use it for quick group rides too, 50-39-24 and an 12-30 gimme all the gears I can actually use for almost any situation. I have a cross bike with a similar setup for gravel rides and it sees some brevets too. My touring bike is 3x9 now but I rode it as 3x7 for a long time and found it to be quite rideable in either configuration. I have a 3x5 px-10 and it's also got good enough range for the rolling terrain around here, I've never taken it out of this area but it would do alright in the mountains with a bigger freewheel on the back. 10 speed stuff is tiagra level now and chains are around 20$ online so I change 'em fairly frequently to avoid wearing the sprockets too much.
10-03-18, 09:37 AM
#53
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@clasher, I just have to say hello to a fellow 3x10 user, as it's a rare combination. My gearing isn't as wide, but it's good enough for me. Chainrings are 53/39/30, and cassette is 12-27. Bottom gear is 30 inches, and top is 119 inches. Gear changes are between 7 and 11 percent, and that's what matters to me most.
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
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10-03-18, 05:20 PM
#54
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I had a really nice 2x8 Dura Ace drivetrain, and rode a century on it with norskagent. About 50 miles in, I decided a 12-19 was not exactly the range I needed.
I seem to remember a lost of cassettes in 8sp 12-27 or so, and they were fine, but most 8sp cassettes I had were a nice 7sp + a bailout cog.
8 is generally enough, but I've yet to find much fault with "more." I just wish there were 11sp DT shifters and nice modernish brake levers that were as comfortable as the 11-sp STI's I have.
10-03-18, 06:42 PM
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@clasher, I just have to say hello to a fellow 3x10 user, as it's a rare combination. My gearing isn't as wide, but it's good enough for me. Chainrings are 53/39/30, and cassette is 12-27. Bottom gear is 30 inches, and top is 119 inches. Gear changes are between 7 and 11 percent, and that's what matters to me most.
10-03-18, 06:54 PM
#56
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I’m going from 7 to 8 this time. Mostly because I already have the 8 speed bar ends.
10-03-18, 10:56 PM
#57
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I seem to remember a lot of cassettes in 8sp 12-27 or so, and they were fine, but most 8sp cassettes I had were a nice 7sp + a bailout cog.
10-04-18, 03:48 AM
#58
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11-52t fw
ARRGH! or RALPH! or as the folks from OZ say, I think I'm going have a chunder!
11-52T 12 speed cassette!
@noglider "I just have to say hello to a fellow 3x10 user"
Well sort of... My 1964 Bridgestone randonneur bike: 10x2x3
It came with 51-44T chainrings and a 15-16-17-19-21T freewheel with Huret derailleurs.There were a lot of high speed rail crossings where I was located in Japan. In some places there were 5-6 tracks. A bell would start ringing when a train was coming and a few seconds later the gates came down. The Huret derailleurs didn't shift fast enough so I had a 3 speed Suntour or Shimano hub installed.
WOW! I had a 30 speed bike in 1964! I could climb walls with it.
The most over geared bike I have these days is my 1990 Bianchi Mondiale - 24 speeds 50-40-30T chainrings, 11-28T 8 speed cassette. I only use the 3 largest rear cogs with the 30T chainring.
To use Frank Berto's term, I was a "gear freak" back in the mid 70's. Using graph paper I came up with a perfect half step setup. 49-45T x 13-26T 5 speed FW with 5% or 10 % jumps between 45 and 101 inches. I used that combo on most of my classic road bikes until I went on my first CR Group ride in 2007.I discovered that all of the olde guys were running lower gears so I switched to FWs with 28T and smaller chainrings: 42, 40, 39 or 38T depending on the cranks.
Over the years I've found that I can manage larger jumps in gears at the high and low ranges preferring closer ratios in the 50" to 85" range.
verktyg
11-52T 12 speed cassette!
@noglider "I just have to say hello to a fellow 3x10 user"
Well sort of... My 1964 Bridgestone randonneur bike: 10x2x3
It came with 51-44T chainrings and a 15-16-17-19-21T freewheel with Huret derailleurs.There were a lot of high speed rail crossings where I was located in Japan. In some places there were 5-6 tracks. A bell would start ringing when a train was coming and a few seconds later the gates came down. The Huret derailleurs didn't shift fast enough so I had a 3 speed Suntour or Shimano hub installed.WOW! I had a 30 speed bike in 1964! I could climb walls with it.
The most over geared bike I have these days is my 1990 Bianchi Mondiale - 24 speeds 50-40-30T chainrings, 11-28T 8 speed cassette. I only use the 3 largest rear cogs with the 30T chainring.
To use Frank Berto's term, I was a "gear freak" back in the mid 70's. Using graph paper I came up with a perfect half step setup. 49-45T x 13-26T 5 speed FW with 5% or 10 % jumps between 45 and 101 inches. I used that combo on most of my classic road bikes until I went on my first CR Group ride in 2007.I discovered that all of the olde guys were running lower gears so I switched to FWs with 28T and smaller chainrings: 42, 40, 39 or 38T depending on the cranks.
Over the years I've found that I can manage larger jumps in gears at the high and low ranges preferring closer ratios in the 50" to 85" range.
verktyg
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Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
Chas. ;-)
Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
Chas. ;-)
Last edited by verktyg; 10-04-18 at 04:42 PM.
10-04-18, 06:41 AM
#59
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@clasher, I just have to say hello to a fellow 3x10 user, as it's a rare combination. My gearing isn't as wide, but it's good enough for me. Chainrings are 53/39/30, and cassette is 12-27. Bottom gear is 30 inches, and top is 119 inches. Gear changes are between 7 and 11 percent, and that's what matters to me most.
10-04-18, 07:43 AM
#60
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It was a relatively economical build. I already had the crankset. Also, my previous commute had a very steep climb or two. There's the hill along the Hudson River Greenway just north of the George Washington Bridge. And then occasionally, I went through Inwood Hill Park to the Henry Hudson Bridge which has another very steep climb. And now the extra gears don't add a lot of weight or trouble, so I keep them.
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
10-04-18, 07:49 AM
#61
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Call me crazy but I have built entire drivetrains around a particular hub ! Being a Shimano UniGlide fan, I will mention that Dura Ace 7402 eight speed was the end of the line for UniGlide. These cassettes were very robust. The matte nickel plating is not only classy, it also is super-durable. And contrary to a lot of the HG fans who profess the absolute superiority of Hyperglide over UG - I think the UniGlide shifts just fine. Also, as already mentioned - the use of individual cogs in 8 speed makes customizing ratios very convenient! It can also be much more cost effective to run a single cassette for many tens of thousands of miles. It is kind of a shame that UniGlide parts are now so rare. The Dura Ace 7400/7402/7403 to me is a lifetime part - beautiful, durable, precise - a bit heavy by modern standards but not bad.
As a retrogrouch former teen racer who raced in the late 70’s on 2x6 close ratio drivetrains, it is a fun exercise to create 3x drivetrains in this same spirit. Moderate (southern Ohio grade) hills can be handled with a 12/23 cassette and a 30/39/52 triple crank. So I can climb hillls yet still have close ratios for pace line riding.
The most dicey group ride maneuver for me for me is when, in a spirited pace line over rolling terrain - and you have somebody tightly clinging to your wheel. If the climb turns steeper and I drop to the “granny” ring, it is necessary to upshift several rear cogs in order to keep velocity drop off less drastic.
As a retrogrouch former teen racer who raced in the late 70’s on 2x6 close ratio drivetrains, it is a fun exercise to create 3x drivetrains in this same spirit. Moderate (southern Ohio grade) hills can be handled with a 12/23 cassette and a 30/39/52 triple crank. So I can climb hillls yet still have close ratios for pace line riding.
The most dicey group ride maneuver for me for me is when, in a spirited pace line over rolling terrain - and you have somebody tightly clinging to your wheel. If the climb turns steeper and I drop to the “granny” ring, it is necessary to upshift several rear cogs in order to keep velocity drop off less drastic.
10-04-18, 08:12 AM
#62
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Well, sure it depends on your needs, but 8 speeds can satisfy most people's needs pretty well.
I'm still learning about riding a tandem. It seems that larger jumps between gears is OK since the strength to weight ratio is lower, at least with our team. I'm replacing our 7-speed cassette with an 11-speed cassette. I chose 11-speed rather than 8- or 9- or 10-speed because parts availability is better. My impetus is that we need both a higher top and a lower bottom. We will get closer steps between gears as well, but I'm not sure it's important to us.
@verktyg, you can see I'm a gear freak, too.
I'm still learning about riding a tandem. It seems that larger jumps between gears is OK since the strength to weight ratio is lower, at least with our team. I'm replacing our 7-speed cassette with an 11-speed cassette. I chose 11-speed rather than 8- or 9- or 10-speed because parts availability is better. My impetus is that we need both a higher top and a lower bottom. We will get closer steps between gears as well, but I'm not sure it's important to us.
@verktyg, you can see I'm a gear freak, too.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
10-04-18, 12:33 PM
#63
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It was a relatively economical build. I already had the crankset. Also, my previous commute had a very steep climb or two. There's the hill along the Hudson River Greenway just north of the George Washington Bridge. And then occasionally, I went through Inwood Hill Park to the Henry Hudson Bridge which has another very steep climb. And now the extra gears don't add a lot of weight or trouble, so I keep them.
10-04-18, 01:22 PM
#64
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All my bikes are 7 speed indexed shifting. BUT I fell into a set of new 105 11 speed brifters and because of that I built a bike around them. I had to buy pretty much everything else: wheels, rear derailleur, new fancy non-compressing cables, and a high priced chain. Dang that chain was expensive! I put it all on an old Gitane that I got from BikeMig here. That bike has become my weapon of choice. The bike ride fantastic and I used every gear yesterday riding in the wind with some hills. That very small step between gears has me hooked!
10-04-18, 05:13 PM
#65
tantum vehi
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Well, sure it depends on your needs, but 8 speeds can satisfy most people's needs pretty well.
I'm still learning about riding a tandem. It seems that larger jumps between gears is OK since the strength to weight ratio is lower, at least with our team. I'm replacing our 7-speed cassette with an 11-speed cassette.
I'm still learning about riding a tandem. It seems that larger jumps between gears is OK since the strength to weight ratio is lower, at least with our team. I'm replacing our 7-speed cassette with an 11-speed cassette.
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10-04-18, 06:11 PM
#66
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You need to check out my 50/45 x 14-17-21-26-32 combo - it's dreamy!
Last edited by mountaindave; 10-05-18 at 04:26 PM.
10-05-18, 10:59 AM
#67
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Stuck at 7's with no hope of ever going past it.
10-05-18, 04:21 PM
#68
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Just finished rebuilding my '88 Panasonic PT-3500 from an SIS indexed 6-speed freewheel to a 9-speed 12 - 36 cassette. The older I get, the bigger those hills are.
I stuck with 9-speed because I was hesitant about trying to run 10-speed on the original crankset designed for 6-speed.
I stuck with 9-speed because I was hesitant about trying to run 10-speed on the original crankset designed for 6-speed.
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1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo(frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame),
1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame),
1974 Peugeot UO-8, 1988 Panasonic PT-3500, 2002 Bianchi Veloce, 2004 Bianchi Pista
1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo(frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame),
1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame),
1974 Peugeot UO-8, 1988 Panasonic PT-3500, 2002 Bianchi Veloce, 2004 Bianchi Pista
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