cpsqlrwn

I am trying to decide on a build for mountain riding. I have a 9 speed Bianchi triple, all Campy, that does very well, but I have a Battaglin I want to modify to give me a second bike for steep climbs. The Bianchi is the only bike I have that is not downtube friction. I really wanted to try a 7 speed double friction setup with a wide range freewheel, say 12-28 or 12-30, on the Battaglin. I am curious about the ride and shifting characteristics when one has a 4 or 5 cog difference between the lower end gears in a mountain area. My guess would be that there would be some times when the rider is "stuck" in between gears where the gear you are in is a little too easy but the next gear up is a little too difficult and you are left to spin up the climb in the lower gear. Does this happen a lot? Do you just get used to it after a while? Am I concerned with something that is not that big a deal? Also what is shifting like with such a large range? I could resolve this by going to a triple, but I have never ridden a friction triple, so I am also curious about hearing firsthand experience on that as well. Thanks for any input and I'd welcome any suggestions.

scozim 

How steep and long are the climbs in your area? I have a 6 spd double (52-42) set up at 13-26 and rode it earlier this year on a 7 mile climb at 7-8% grade. While it was a little harder at the 8% areas I was still able to keep the cadence up for my knees sake. The only frustrating thing with this set up is the 3 cog difference from 20-23-26. My 6 spd 14-24 bike has several 2 cog jumps and I'm used to that from my 8 spd bike. But the 3 cog jump took some getting used to.

I have one bike set up with a 53-39 front and 12-28 7 spd on the rear. I haven't ridden it on hills yet, but have in 20+ mph wind and still haven't had to get into the 28. I'm comfortable that the 39-28 would handle most of what I'm going to climb in my area.

cpsqlrwn

I'm in the east, in the George Washington forest in western Virginia, the Shenandoah area. The issue here is not so much the length of the climbs as it is the steepness.

What is the feeling when you are shifting over 3 cogs like that? What about it took some getting used to?

bbattle

Put a compact crankset on there. Big ring for flat riding, small ring for climbing. I've seen those steep climbs, you won't be worrying about the gears being too low.

scozim 

I've always ridden with a higher cadence 95-105 and the only issue I've had with the three cog jump is I sometimes end up with a cadence that's a little too high if I shift too early in a climb because I'm tired. Initially it really bugged me, but I've gotten used to it and just plan for it - usually by pushing just a little longer before the shift. It even helped me get stronger by holding on that extra distance before a shift.

For me it was really just a mental change on how and when I shifted gears. Over half of my mileage this year has been on a bike with a 6 spd freewheel vs. my one with an 8 spd cassette and brifters and it's taken some time for the switch in how I ride. I'll jump on the 8 spd bike and suddenly realize - 'oh yeah, there's another gear right there I can use' instead of pushing through a little longer.

My lowest gear on this set up is 42.5 gear inches (42-26). With the 39-28 set up I'm down to 36.6 inches on the low end which is good for the steep stuff around here and the next gear up is at 42.7 inches - about the same as my 52-42 bike.

Depending on how strong you are I think you could do it. As bbattle says you could always go with a compact 50-34. I just happened to have the 53-39 on hand and was trying to set mine up as cost effectively as possible.

treebound 

Back in the old 10-speed days you just adapted to your gearing. Sometimes one gearset would be off on a regular basis so that would drive the decision to try a different freewheel or cog/tooth count change. And when making the shifts just get in the habit of easing up on the pedal pressure when making the shift. Hard to ease up when the hill is getting steeper but you'll adapt.

Not a big deal, give what you've got a try and adjust as necessary.

Tigerprawn

I also have a very similar if not the same gearing that Scozim has (52-42 and 13-26) on my Peugeot. I have very limited climbing experience, but did these two climbs the other month. It was quite a challenge, but very doable.

Sometimes when I'm riding around and climbing I think it myself, "I bet some of the old school TdF guys used this kinda gearing and did crazier climbs. If they could do it, I could at least try to live up to that."

Probably not a good way to think, but it helps me when I'm struggling. HAHA

Pagemill
Location Palo Alto
Latitude 37.3875198364258
Longitude -122.163948059082
Length 508936
Altitude Gain 2494 feet
Gradient 0.5 %
Max Gradient 15 %

Tunitas Creek
Location San Mateo County
Latitude 37.358829498291
Longitude -122.397567749023
Length 46880
Altitude Gain 2033 feet
Gradient 4.3 %
Max Gradient 18 %

wrk101

The question is not which gearing is the best, it is all about the motor. I live in the mountains and am motor limited. So I often ride my 1995 Giant Kronos: 46/36/26 up front, 11/24 seven speed rear. Pretty wimpy, but it fits the rider (me). I also have a second bike with even more generous gearing: Miyata 215ST.





For flatter terrain, I ride my standard double Colnago.



My fourth (and final) bike is an older Trek 950 MTB, also with generous gearing.

N+1 is where it is at. Everything steel, everything lugged.

RFC

+1. Compact cranks make much better sense. I have them on two and maybe soon three bikes. Gives you more lower gears and you avoid the redundancy of a standard 52-42.