What gearing do you use?

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sogood
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Postby sogood » Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:56 pm

531db wrote:44/16 fixed :D on my most often ridden bike.
Look Ma - no gears!
Buzz... Wrong! Single gear. :P
Bianchi, Ridley, Tern, Montague and All things Apple :)
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.

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jasimon
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Postby jasimon » Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:21 pm

sogood wrote:
531db wrote:44/16 fixed :D on my most often ridden bike.
Look Ma - no gears!
Buzz... Wrong! Single gear. :P
Image

No gears!

beeb1506
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Postby beeb1506 » Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:47 pm

LuckyPierre wrote:I'm late to this thread, but I've just moved to 12-23 cassettes on both my bikes - both have 53/39 chainrrings. I ran a 12-27 cassette on my 9-speed Ultegra-euipped bike with no problems, although I did need to lengthen the chain when I first put the 12-27 on as I was replacing an 11-21 cassette on a used bike.
So why did you make this switch, were you not using the lower ratios or did you not like the 'holes' in the gearing?

beeb1506
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Postby beeb1506 » Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:50 pm

531db wrote:44/16 fixed :D on my most often ridden bike.

Look Ma - no gears!
Never tried a fixie, I think my brother has one over in the states - it's quite flat near where he lives, I'll have to give it a try sometime.

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LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:18 pm

beeb1506 wrote:
LuckyPierre wrote: ... I've just moved to 12-23 cassettes on both my bikes - both have 53/39 chainrrings. I ran a 12-27 cassette on my 9-speed Ultegra-euipped bike with no problems ...
So why did you make this switch, were you not using the lower ratios or did you not like the 'holes' in the gearing?
I used the 12-27 purely because I needed it - I didn't have the strength / fitness to get around Canberra without gearing that low. When I first started riding I was 16kg heavier than I am now and had carry-over problems from lots of knee surgery. Standing to pedal on hills is really tough until you have some level of fitness, so I needed gearing that would let me tackle them by sitting and spinning. It's been quite a while since I used my lowest gear, but it was difficult to give my 'safety blanket' away.
It's only been two weeks and I haven't done any real climbs (Coppins Crossing is short and steep, but doesn't really figure on our local climbs list) but I'm hoping that I've reached a milestone in my progress.
I'm not going to fuss if I have to put it back on - the 12-27 cassette is pretty smooth across its range (from memory, it goes 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-27 - yes, I'm a 9-speed kind of guy). The 3 tooth changes were a bit clunky under pressure, but barely noticeable otherwise.
ps. I used 12-27 Shimano 9-speed gear (Ultegra) initially, then switched to 13-26 9-speed Campagnolo (Record) and I'm now using 12-23 9-speed Campagnolo (Veloce I think).
Litespeed Classic - 3Al/2.5V titanium tube set, Record 9-speed groupset, Open Corsa Evo CX
Alchemy Diablo - Columbus Zonal tubing, Ultegra 9-speed groupset, UltraGatorskins
Gitane Rocks T1 - U6 tubing, Deore/XT groupset, CrossMarks

beeb1506
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Postby beeb1506 » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:55 pm

LuckyPierre wrote:ps. I used 12-27 Shimano 9-speed gear (Ultegra) initially, then switched to 13-26 9-speed Campagnolo (Record) and I'm now using 12-23 9-speed Campagnolo (Veloce I think).
I didn't think the 2 were in any way compatible - did you change the hub, brake levers, cassette, RD, and chain all in one go?

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LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:21 pm

beeb1506 wrote:
LuckyPierre wrote:ps. I used 12-27 Shimano 9-speed gear (Ultegra) initially, then switched to 13-26 9-speed Campagnolo (Record) and I'm now using 12-23 9-speed Campagnolo (Veloce I think).
I didn't think the 2 were in any way compatible - did you change the hub, brake levers, cassette, RD, and chain all in one go?
Doh! Silly me - I should explain. Two different bikes! I have an Alchemy Diablo (Columbus Zonal frame with Ultegra 9-speed gear) and a Litespeed Classic (3Al/2.5V titanium with Record 9-speed gear). I used the Campagnolo groupset on a steel Hillbrick for a while, but couldn't resist the titanium bling.
Litespeed Classic - 3Al/2.5V titanium tube set, Record 9-speed groupset, Open Corsa Evo CX
Alchemy Diablo - Columbus Zonal tubing, Ultegra 9-speed groupset, UltraGatorskins
Gitane Rocks T1 - U6 tubing, Deore/XT groupset, CrossMarks

mikeg
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Postby mikeg » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:30 pm

All you young fit blokes!

on the flat bar road bike 52/42/30 with 9 speed 11-34 and on the tange magnalloy road bike 52/42/30 with 8 speed 11-32.

with being 50, and 115 kg I need that sort of gearing.
Mike G.

CAMWEST member

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LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:44 pm

mikeg wrote:All you young fit blokes!
If only you knew :lol:
Litespeed Classic - 3Al/2.5V titanium tube set, Record 9-speed groupset, Open Corsa Evo CX
Alchemy Diablo - Columbus Zonal tubing, Ultegra 9-speed groupset, UltraGatorskins
Gitane Rocks T1 - U6 tubing, Deore/XT groupset, CrossMarks

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sandman
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Postby sandman » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:57 pm

LuckyPierre wrote:
mikeg wrote:All you young fit blokes!
If only you knew :lol:
I couldn't quite see you in that Canberra Fog Pete :-)
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sandman
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Postby sandman » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:05 pm

I'm looking at a new bike that has 53/39 -> 11/28. Just checked Sheldon's site, tells me a lower ratio to climb and a better top end than my compact 50/34 -> 11/23. Be interesting how many holes I find in different terrain....

Pete
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beeb1506
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Postby beeb1506 » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:34 pm

sandman wrote:I'm looking at a new bike that has 53/39 -> 11/28. Just checked Sheldon's site, tells me a lower ratio to climb and a better top end than my compact 50/34 -> 11/23. Be interesting how many holes I find in different terrain....

Pete
That's very close to what I'll have once I fit it this weekend, looking forward to trying it out.

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LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:38 pm

While we're crapping on about gearing - most of the softies like me run 12-25 with their compact cranks, which would give you the lower ratio for climbing, but would be worse on the top end. Given that you pretty much scampered up Mt Ainslie, I can't see you needing a lower ratio for climbing anyway - I'd look at something more like 53/39 chain rings and a 12-25 cassette, but expect to run out of the 12 pretty quickly. Is there such a thing as an 11-25?
ps. I can put one together, but I use that lovely Campagnolo stuff. :wink:
Litespeed Classic - 3Al/2.5V titanium tube set, Record 9-speed groupset, Open Corsa Evo CX
Alchemy Diablo - Columbus Zonal tubing, Ultegra 9-speed groupset, UltraGatorskins
Gitane Rocks T1 - U6 tubing, Deore/XT groupset, CrossMarks

lukas
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Postby lukas » Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:12 pm

I recently switched to 50/34 compact / 12-27 cassette. I can spin up just about anything now. The compact gearing frustrates me a little bit at times, especially when shifting chainrings, but I love it when the road tilts upwards. I don't think I've used the 34/27 combo once, but it's nice to know it's there.

I'm closing in on buying a Cervelo R3, and will probably stick with the 53/39 / 12-25 it comes with, at least for a while.

beeb1506
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Postby beeb1506 » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:16 pm

lukas wrote:I recently switched to 50/34 compact / 12-27 cassette.
I've noticed a number of people mention 'compact' chainsets, are they physically different to normal or is it just a term to denote a small inner cog?

lukas
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Postby lukas » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:15 pm

Both chainrings are smaller. Standard double is usually 53/39, whereas the usual compact is 50/34 or 50/36.

They give you a bit more on the low end without changing to a triple.

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LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:58 am

As well as the smaller chain rings, the 'bolt circle diameter' is also smaller, so you can't just put small chain rings on an existing crankset. Clever people these product designers, aren't they. :)
Litespeed Classic - 3Al/2.5V titanium tube set, Record 9-speed groupset, Open Corsa Evo CX
Alchemy Diablo - Columbus Zonal tubing, Ultegra 9-speed groupset, UltraGatorskins
Gitane Rocks T1 - U6 tubing, Deore/XT groupset, CrossMarks

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Andrew69
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Postby Andrew69 » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:16 pm

LuckyPierre wrote:While we're crapping on about gearing - most of the softies like me run 12-25 with their compact cranks, which would give you the lower ratio for climbing, but would be worse on the top end. Given that you pretty much scampered up Mt Ainslie, I can't see you needing a lower ratio for climbing anyway - I'd look at something more like 53/39 chain rings and a 12-25 cassette, but expect to run out of the 12 pretty quickly. Is there such a thing as an 11-25?
ps. I can put one together, but I use that lovely Campagnolo stuff. :wink:
You would run out of the 12 with a 53/39? :shock:
Ive barely managed to use the 53x12 combo on my bike (slight downhill)

531db
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Postby 531db » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:44 pm

LuckyPierre wrote:As well as the smaller chain rings, the 'bolt circle diameter' is also smaller, so you can't just put small chain rings on an existing crankset. Clever people these product designers, aren't they. :)
For example, Shimano use the 'Road Standard' 130mm BCD on 'standard' cranks, eg 53/42 and 52/39, and 'MTB Standard' 110mm BCD on 'compact' cranks, eg 50/36, 48/34 etc.

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