Gear inches, what bars,
 

good morning everyone,
a few questions,

as Ive mentioned in the past I have a very nice Falcon road bike that is a lugged 531 frame and fork.

the bike is all apart at the moment as I used many of its part to build up my cross check commuter.

well the cross check is all new now so I can put the "Blue" Falcon back together and I like the idea of a SS.

1) my area is somwhat hilly so what is the standard Gear inches reccomended for hilly terrain? or at least a starting place.

2) what bars? I have a set of Drops that are 46 wide or I was thinking moustache bars would work well esp for the hills??

thats it , I just want to get this thing put back together, and ride it.

many thanks

"John"

figure out gear inches on your cross check. just don't shift.

as for bars, everybody's got their opinion. for climbing i like bullhorns, and regular ole drops and hoods, but i've never tried moustache. set up your bars however you'd like to try em out, but don't wrap them. ride around for a few days and then if you want to change it'll be that much easier.

bullhorns are good for hills, and they don't look as goofy. i'd try to get around 70 and 75 gear inches...i just dropped to 70 from 85 and my cadence is getting better already. gotta get ready for track season!

I ride promenade bars (which are a similar set up for climbing as moustache bars) in San Francisco, and they're actually really rad for going up hills, except that you catch wind like a sail. I would try them all out and decide for yourself. My friend swears by track drops for hills, others think horns are the best.

If this is going to be ss rather then fixed you can easily gear down to the 60's if your going to be climbing alot then just coast on the descents.

There is little middle ground with mustache bars people seem to love them or hate them. Provided you have nice brake hoods I would give the mustache a try or stick with the drops you already have. Bullhorns aren't going to provide much advantage over that anyway.

bullhorns are designed to emulat drop brs with brake hoods , I like mustache bars althought ugly many crazy hand positions and very comfy

For really hilly I'd go for 65-68 gear inches. Bars-wise moustaches are nice for short, steep climbs. 46cm drops with road levers will be more comfortable over long distances though.