big chainring 

This has become quite the discussion. There is a point that hasn't been discussed. Can the Team Pro even handle anything larger than a 42 tooth small chainring. Most racing frames from the mid 70's on, had limited clearance at the chainstay. The Team Pro probably does not have much of a chainstay "dimple" as the bike was meant to use a Campy 42 tooth ring. Of course you could use a longer spindle but chain line problems will become problematic.

EDIT, Oops, a renewed old thread. Oh well.

John E

That is similar to my commuter setup: 45-42/13-15-17-20-23-26, controlled by barcons. 43 to 93 gear inches

FD = standard road double Shimano Titlist
RD = SunTour Cyclone II, short cage
Both crosschain ratios work well with an SRAM PC-58 chain.

Lenton58 

I am basically a maths moron, although ratios, geometric progression and some similar blah-blah make sense sense to me.

My everyday riding for aerobic exercise, is something like John's selection. For everyday-riders, John's solution suggests a practical solution to an older six-cog transmission. Like many of us on this forum, all my bikes are racing frames — or at least "sports/clubman" frames in the English tradition: race on Sunday, then stick the fenders back on and ride to work on Monday.

The stock ratios, say on my Vitus 979 or my Gazelle AB were strictly 'racing'. They are way out of the range that is useful to me. In general, fewer teeth on the front and perhaps a bailout on the rear serves me well. And, in my opinion would closer ration would suit most of us here in Vintage ID. If a big descent should present itself — well when your cadence exceeds 120 — coast! Think of the finer points of closer ratios in relation to the front and rear combos.

IMHO, a lot of the 'back-in-the days' stock ratios were designed for racers who (unless they were doing criteriums) had to do descents that could exceed any decent cadence in the selection that either John, or I have made

I have explored and incorporated this general revision on a couple of my bikes. The argument has so far stood the test. Thus, I seem to have a collection of 52-53-54T ... and some 42T chain rings hanging on the wall.

BTW: my record time over a course I usually do to get my dose of endorphins on non-hilly terrain is on my Simplon — made to single speed @ 44/39T. Cadence sometimes becomes frenetic. But, that does not last long. Blasting headwinds out of Siberia can really punish me. And there is a few hundred metres that coating outruns my cadence. Never mind!

SS taught me something about useful gearing along with some realizations:

(a) I am not racing. I am just — dancing as fast as I feel on any given day.

(b) I got over the embarrassment of abandoning 53/42 como chaninweels and a 13-21 freewheel. Oh yes ... I've done it. But I discovered that the best ratios for me — and perhaps many of you are similar.

Salubrious

The Rolhoff IGH allows for progressive shift and not a lot of thinking about it. Its also so a wider range, so only one chainwheel is needed. For my purposes I have been running a 40T on the front, which gives me 100 gear inches in high and 18 gear inches in low. As my riding ability has improved recently I have been thinking of going to a 42T in front. Yes its a little heavier but the shift is instant (by comparison the best derailleurs are slow; indexing is handled by the hub not the shifter), it does not have to be moving to shift and you can stand up off the saddle on any gear (its rated for tandem use).

John E

The Rolhoff is a well-made hub, but pricey, and the ratio steps are wider than the 7 percent I would prefer. I like your choice of a 100-inch high, since I so rarely have occasion to use anything higher. In exchange, it has given you a wall-climbing low. I did the same thing with my 12-speed hybrid (14-20 cog cluster on a standard Sturmey Archer wide-ratio 3-speed with 0.75, 1.0, 1.33 gearing). With a 40T chainring and 26" tires, I obtained a perfect-for-commuting 39 to 99 gear-inch range with 10 unique ratios and redundancies where the Sturmey gear ranges overlapped.

Phil_gretz

Here's the bike from last Friday's ride. New cables, bottom bracket greased and adjusted, headset greased and adjusted, new bar tape and new 8-speed chain. Replaced tubes and tires. Swapped in a longer stem and Power Shifters in place of the Shimano 600s. Plus, I cleaned the derailleurs and replaced the Gran Compe pads with cartridge Kool Stop pads. I didn't want to touch the Phil hubs - man are they smooth! I've decided to go ahead with the 47T inner ring, and will have it by Thanksgiving. Phil G.

Alaska Dave

If any of you don't have "HTML5" Gear Calculator (aka.https://ritzelrechner.de) on your computers now; I would urge you to get it. I take lots of screen shots, and it is a marvelous B… S… detector. Both internally and otherwise.
Alaska Dave