Basic gear question or two...
 

I've got about 100 miles on my new Sirrus Elite, and I love the bike. Love it! I ride mostly MUPs and suburban side streets with a few hills but mostly flat. Lots of wind, however, to make up for the lack of hills!

The bike came with a 9 speed cassette: 11-32, and the crankset is 48/36/26.

I find myself riding in the large ring almost all the time, just occasionally dropping to the middle ring (particularly when fighting a head wind). Now, I'm not a speedster - I average about 13-15 mph on these rides (there are few other riders or pedestrians on the path). I also use the small ring once in a while on streets if I encounter hills. If not for that, I'd never use the small ring.

Is that a good use of these gear ratios or would I benefit from a different crankset? My road bike, which I'm not riding at the moment, is a compact double 36/52 and I rode it mostly in the smaller ring, if memory serves. But now, my 36 ring makes me feel like I'm spinning too much. :::confused:::

It seems like youre getting good use out of your gears. However, you do have a few options

1) Keep the triple crank and get a close ratio cassette. This will allow for smaller jumps between shifts and allow you to keep your cadence. A 26t granny with a 28t large cog is plenty low

2) Go for a double crank with a slightly narrower range cassette. Doubles are less problematic than triples and have a lower Q factor. A 110BCD crankset is very flexible, allowing a 34t inner. With a 30t large cog you have a pretty low gear for hilly roads. If you want to drop some weight, this is your best option. A hollowtech II crankset will drop about a pound from your setup.

Or just leave it as is.

I'll second the close ratio cassette. Quickest,easiest,cheapest option.

My old 2002 Jamis Tangier is 3 x 8. My brand new Giant Fastroad is 2 x 10. Even though I almost always run both bikes on the top front ring, I prefer the 2 x 10 more...

I'm facing the same problem with my Giant Escape 3 and considering an upgrade to the drivetrain. I'm maxing out on some runs I do. Not saying I need a lot more but I sometimes find myself reaching for the shifter and finding nothing more there.

The Escape 3 has a Shimano TZ31 14x34, 7-speed freewheel cassette and Shimano M131, 28/38/48 crankset (note I pasted this from their specs, I don't know much about the drivetrain side of things yet!).

You should be getting over 20 mph at 80 rpm pedal cadence (which is a completely reasonable cadence for most riders). If you are riding faster than that regularly, gearing might help. otherwise I would work on spinning instead.

If I am on a descent and hit my max (I am running a 44 tooth large ring, and an 11 tooth sprocket in the rear, which gives me a high gear that I rarely use) I enjoy the coasting... I actually spend 90% of my time on my 34 tooth middle ring, and only use the large if I have a good tail wind, or I am going down hill.

With a freewheel, you probably aren't going to get a smaller cog to get any higher there. And depending on the specific front derailleur, simply replacing the crank or chain ring could get you a higher gear. Going with a cassette would mean a rear wheel replacement, and searching for an evasive 7 speed cassette...

But, if you aren't regularly topping out at 20-25 mph, the best upgrade is your cadence. :)

Yeah 90% of the time I'm getting by fine, but then I'll hit a long flat stretch (I cycle mainly around my neighborhood) and go for a quick burst to get my heart rate up. I'll easily get up to about 25mph if there's little head wind (or a good tail wind) and just feel like I need one more gear.

I'll research cadence as that sounds like the cheaper route :)

I just checked,. and the Tourney front derailleur is rated only up to 48 teeth, so going above that might be an issue in front.

I do notice at least one freewheel available with a 13 tooth high gear, but it only has a 28 tooth low gear, in case you ever need to climb a steep hill. If you rarely if ever go to your small ring on front, it would possibly work for you. This plus a $10 tool is all you would need to get a higher gear (sacrificing lower gears) Amazon.com : Shimano MF-HG37 Tourney Freewheel (13-28T 7 Speed) : Bike Cassettes And Freewheels : Sports & Outdoors

The difference is that at 80 rpm, your high speed would be 23.7 mph instead of 22 mph

You can play with various numbers here:

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

Oh wow, great info -- thanks! I never use the lower gears. The bridge over the freeway is the only hill I ever go over and I can get up that flat out even in the highest gear.

Just saw this, based on one of the questions on the Amazon listing. When I search, it also lists the tool. A bit more expensive, but you can go to 11 teeth. Since you never use the lowest gears, I would suggest sticking with 11-28 if you go this way, since the jumps between gears won't be so big.

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