Do you make use of your 52 tooth chain-ring?
10-26-18, 02:32 AM
#101
Senior Member
In recent years, I have been satisfied with a smaller big ring and organizing a close-ratio set of options using a vintage freewheel. It has made shifting smoother and I the selections suit my riding. I still have a bike with a modern, mass-market freewheel — the type with a big bail-out sprocket. I'm still keeping the '52' on that one until I can mount a more compact FW. All in all, I'm not worried about speed as much as I am exercise and how the bikes "feels" to ride.
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Vitus 979, Simplon 4 Star, Gazelle Champion Mondial, Woodrup Giro, Dawes Atlantis
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10-26-18, 04:47 AM
#102
What??? Only 2 wheels?
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Yep. When I built the Masi I chose to keep the Campy Record crank which limited the small ring to 42T (or 41 for a small fortune). So I paired it with a 47T big ring and a wide-ratio 6-speed FW for a nice half-step crossover shift pattern. More recently when I built up the PFN10 with a Stronglight 104 crank I did the same. Both bikes work well.
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10-26-18, 06:21 AM
#103
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It's flat-rolling where I live. A 52 (or 53) tooth ring gets the vast majority of the mileage. When I started racing-back in the Pleistocene- and was moving up in categories I convinced myself I needed a 53 tooth ring to accommodate the higher speeds. This coincided with the introduction of an extra cog or two in the back and also with cranksets that would accommodate a 39 tooth inner. The switch from 42/52 to 39/53 made sense with relatively close ratio rear cogsets as it "spread the range" a bit already overlapping ratios.
10-26-18, 04:08 PM
#104
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Our bike group leader tries to talk all buyers of new bikes who are over 50 years old to get a triple. That way they can stay in the middle chain ring nearly all day using the granny for steep hills. Inevitably the bike shop talks them into a double because that's what they have.
What is wrong with doubles? Nothing. Especially for anyone on this forum. But go out riding in the general public and you will find people cross chained into big-big small-small combos everywhere. They shift the rear derailleur and pay no mind to what front ring they're in. My 70 y.o. step mother regularly climbs having left the chain on the 50t ring and arrives at the top and comments "That hill was tough!".
What is wrong with doubles? Nothing. Especially for anyone on this forum. But go out riding in the general public and you will find people cross chained into big-big small-small combos everywhere. They shift the rear derailleur and pay no mind to what front ring they're in. My 70 y.o. step mother regularly climbs having left the chain on the 50t ring and arrives at the top and comments "That hill was tough!".
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(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
