Sarals,

The cheapest gearing option is swapping out the rear cluster and getting a larger big cog. Of course, this option comes at the expense of possibly getting into larger gaps between gears. With a 10 speed cluster, gaps are usually not a big problem. A rule of thumb is more than 2 teeth between shifts is not good unless it is that last shift to your biggest cog. Since most riders use the big cog for situations of "I hope it is going to be low enough" a big shift is not such a bad thing on the last cog.

The other solution to getting lower gearing is to go to a triple chain ring system. The small chain ring is not that much smaller on road bikes at 30 teeth. But I understand that one can sneak in a 28 tooth ring and it will work. Combined with a 28 big cog, you have a 27" inch gear which is pretty darn low. But that is an expensive solution requiring either a new bike or new shifters and deraillers on your current ride.

Another option is to go with a cassette that has a really low gear like the 31 people are talking about. That is almost as good as the triple. The shifting probably will have large gaps which is not good. But if you are not riding big hills routinely, you can just swap out the cluster for the "big" days. That option can work well too.

Oddly enough, triple chain rings is an option that many riders eschew in favor of the compact gearing. The weight is about the same. Now I have ridden both systems. I like 2 rings for better shifting. But on a triple, you are not on your small ring unless you are on a honking hill anyway, so shifting is the least of your worries. For long climbs, nothing beats a triple.

Fortunately, here in FL, I can climb the steepest climb in the state in my 39/23 or is it 25? I have not checked in so long.

When I went out of the state to places with mountain climbs, I always used an old bike with a triple.

Excellent, thank you - you answered my OTHER questions!

I went to bed last night with two responses to my thread, and now - well - I'm reading through them!

Thanks to you ALL!!!

No wonder I enjoy the bike so much, the people are GREAT!!!

By the way, I shot this video climbing one of the hills we have here, Barloy Canyon Road (north side of Laguna Seca raceway, if you know it), last fall. I climb better now, but I'm still S L O W...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5glXf1vH-mc

This climb? http://www.strava.com/climbs-by-coun...nyon-rd-288363

It seems short and not so bad?

That's the very one.

It is short, oh, 3 miles, but there are two kicks in it. The first one is about 100 yards long at 13% or more, and the last one is near the top, with a left curve in it, and it's about a quarter mile long. It's 13% or more, too.

I'm a glutton for pain, and I usually climb it at least once a week! I just want some more HELP from the bike!!!! Cat *anything* racer I'm not, and I'm on the 50+ thread because???? - ;~)

For short sections like the ones you noted, sometimes you just have to stand up and gut it out. I could tell that is what you did in the video so really that's what it takes. Sometimes I'll just stay seated and lean over the bars in a low position and try to stay as smooth in the pedal circle as possible. Either way 13% is gonna hurt. The more often you do really steep sections the better you'll get at them. As a side benefit, the 6% stuff will seem a lot easier too.

I feel your pain. I'm still trying to lose weight, so my climbing sucks. I'm 5' 4" and 155 pounds. That means I'm hauling 30 pounds of useless blubber up every hill. Here's one of my videos from 4-10. This is Ridgeview Drive in El Dorado Hills, CA.

I had just put an 11-34 cassette and 24-tooth small chainring on my Specialized Sirrus hybrid, so I figured what better way to test it out than by climbing a steep hill I've never ridden before. This one had a lot of 13% and a maximum of 17% according to my Garmin. I think I managed to stay in the second to lowest gear though. I've ridden this bike on several other steep climbs since this video and so far I haven't had to use the lowest gear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UoYR4Awhfk

I have a Campag 'race' triple comes as 50,40,30, the 30 is on a 74 bcd so I fit a 24t.

Don't ride that bike much , I like the Rohloff better, as each gear is in linear sequence.

I've been on hills like that when I thought if I only steered into that oncoming car the pain would be over faster. lol

I switched from compact to standard (53/39) a few months ago, and like it a lot better for here in Arizona. Cassette is 12-27, and I am (almost) never in the 27. The big test for me will be the San Diego Century on May 21. 8,700' of climbing, with some pretty steep sections. It's not a race, so I just have to be able to get up without walking.

I do stand in the steep sections. I can't do that for long, and my cadence better be low, or I'll flood myself with lactic acid and just die.

I have found my running training (for triathlon) has been very helpful to climbing, especially standing. Most of the same muscles are being used, I would guess. Not withstanding, I still suck at climbing!

:lol:

You know what's odd? That hill didn't hurt too much, just lots of effort. However, the next hill hurt like hell, and it wasn't even as steep! This kind of stuff happens all the time. I'll climb a 15% grade that doesn't hurt or barely hurts, then I'll climb a 10% grade that hurts more. Weird. Maybe it's because the 10% grade happens after a descent, therefore my legs cool off and it's like climbing without being warmed up.

So, what do you do when you can't do something for as long as you want/need to? You do a lot more of it! Going OTS is like anything else, you just need to train it up. Set time goals for how many seconds you stay standing, and gradually increase them, while working on being smooth and relaxed. You'll get there.

Not as much as me:p I just watched your video and compared it to mine. We're both climbing 13% grades, but you're climbing them faster than me.

Ummm...I doubt that! I passed only three people on a climb at Tierra Bella last weekend, and they were pushing their bikes uphill as they walked...

;~)

I just asked in your other post, if you were riding the Look and I see you are. I don't know what grade I was climbing here, but I had my heart rate pegged at my max which is 170. I did pick up a lot of strength riding in big winds here. I don't know if it's as windy out there.

Sarals, you got a lot of answers and some are even helpful. But some fundamental perspective might help. Then you can implement the solution however your budget and existing components allow. It isn't complicated...

Barrettscv hit it close with his gear chart. In the old days they used to compute gear number as the equivalent wheel diameter you would have if your cranks were connected directly to the pedals like a highwheeler. Doing that calculation is easy. Divide your chainring tooth count by the rear cog tooth count. Since you are interested in the low gear, use 34 / 25. Then multiply that by the diameter of the rear wheel. For the accuracy required here you can just use 27". That gives you a low of about 36.7 "gear-inches", or just 37 inches.

Now for the perspective part. In the old days, i.e. the 70's bike boom, a general-use 10-speed (i.e. 2x5) sport bike came with a gear range of 38 to 100. Anyone who bought a new bike back then and did their first riding discoverd that 38 was good enough for minor hills but not for real ones. Your 36.7 isn't really lower enough to be different.

However a gear closer to, say, 30 will feel much easier. That's 18% lower than yours. You can get a gear like that any way you wish. My two bikes use 34/28 (for 32.8 inches) and 36/30 (for 32.4 inches). Any combination of this large a chainring and this small a cog will do, as long as your derailleurs can handle it.

Thank you, Jim!

Actually, you anticipated my next question - my rear derailleur. Reading up on the Shimano Ultegra 6700 12-28t cassette, it says "Shimano RD-6700 rear derailleur required". Yeup, do I have an RD-6700? I don't know! It is Ultegra gruppo on my Look, but it seems that's not completely true, because the cassette is apparently a 105. How do I find out?

Thanks again!

A quarter mile finish with 13% grades is a tough climb for most riders!

With a 34-25 and a 13% grade, I'd be standing and balancing the bike below 4 mph, using my weight on the downstroke. That's a cadence between 35 and 40 rpm. (30 rpm is just one pedal stroke a second). I've been as low as 29 rpm, 2.7 mph on some climbs here. If I tried to maintain the cadence I was using while sitting, my heart rate would max out.

On longer climbs, I'll keep an eye on my heart rate monitor, so I don't go so hard that I blow up before the top of the climb.


I'd much rather have a 12-27 instead of an 11-28. I would rarely need the 50-11 top gear, only on downhills over 35 mph. The 12-27 keeps the 16 cog, which cuts the big jump from 15 to 17 in half.
At 90 rpm, the 50 chainring and 17,16,15 cogs is 20.6 mph, 21.9 mph, and 23.4 mph.
At 90 rpm, the 34 chainring and 17,16,15 cogs is 14.0 mph, 14.9 mph, and 15.9 mph.

On your setup, I think the largest you can go is a 27. Any bigger you'll have to change the derailluer.

Hi Sarals,

If the plan is to use a 12-28 cassette, any Ultegra Derailleur will work. The 2010/2011 6700 is rated for 28, but will take a 30 or even a 32 cog, depending on the length of the hanger that it is attached to. The older 6600 is rated for 27, but a 28 will fit no matter how long the bike hanger.

Michael

OK, OK, it's probably the helmet cam vs. my handlebar-mounted cam then:p I have noticed that helmet cam videos look faster than handlebar cam ones:p:D

Speaking of gears, I put the same setup on my road bike last summer and it rocks! The bike is a 2011 Specialized Dolce Triple that came with a 13-26 cassette and a 30-tooth small chainring. After a sufferfest of a climb up Donner Pass Road, I replaced the cassette with a Shimano MegaRange 11-34 and the small chainring with a 24 (see, I told you I suck at climbing:p). After doing all that I had to replace the rear derailleur with a Shimano Deore long-cage mtb derailleur.

That Sirrus hybrid I rode in my video I bought used and it only had a 24-tooth largest rear cog and a 28-tooth small chainring. The 11-34 cassette/24-tooth chainring combo is the lowest gearing possible on both bikes.

Well, thanks fellas. I'm going to go ahead and order a 11-28t cassette. I have a new set of (used, but nice) Easton EA90 Aero wheels that I'll put the cassette on, and then swap with the Fulcrum 7's already on the bike. Every little bit should help!

Done - Shimano Ultegra 6700 11-28t cassette on the way to me...

Don't forget the tools needed to install it!