Lowest gear for touring including load-pulling

[Tigerbiten]

There is something to be said for the old half-step and granny set-up.
Space the cassette at around 14% and then step the two top chainrings at 7-8%.
Try something like 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36 and 45-42-30.
That way you can fine tune to top half of the gears as needed while keeping the ultra low bottom end.
The hardest part is finding a dérailleur that works with a 3 tooth difference.

[andymiller]

There is something to be said for the old half-step and granny set-up.
Space the cassette at around 14% and then step the two top chainrings at 7-8%.
Try something like 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36 and 45-42-30.
That way you can fine tune to top half of the gears as needed while keeping the ultra low bottom end.
The hardest part is finding a dérailleur that works with a 3 tooth difference.

Out of interest - how did you get a cassette with that range? So far as I can see if you're looking at stock cassettes then it's 11-32 or 11-34.

[Neilo]

There is something to be said for the old half-step and granny set-up.
Space the cassette at around 14% and then step the two top chainrings at 7-8%.
Try something like 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36 and 45-42-30.
That way you can fine tune to top half of the gears as needed while keeping the ultra low bottom end.
The hardest part is finding a dérailleur that works with a 3 tooth difference.

Out of interest - how did you get a cassette with that range? So far as I can see if you're looking at stock cassettes then it's 11-32 or 11-34.

Here

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-cs-hg400-9-speed-cassette-prod36278/

[andymiller]

Thanks Neilo.

[Tigerbiten]

There is something to be said for the old half-step and granny set-up.
Space the cassette at around 14% and then step the two top chainrings at 7-8%.
Try something like 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36 and 45-42-30.
That way you can fine tune to top half of the gears as needed while keeping the ultra low bottom end.
The hardest part is finding a dérailleur that works with a 3 tooth difference.

Out of interest - how did you get a cassette with that range? So far as I can see if you're looking at stock cassettes then it's 11-32 or 11-34.

Here

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-cs-hg400-9-speed-cassette-prod36278/

I'm surprised it exists as I made it up as it give the correct steps ..........

[trilathon]

mine is less than a 1:1, 28x34 I think, as one chap said ''the lowest you can get'', I've done plenty of racing on bicycles and used use a 56 x 11 in TT's and triathlons, some of which I would win, but for long tours the lower the better. I've been so glad of that gear some days

[Manc33]

mine is less than a 1:1, 28x34 I think, as one chap said ''the lowest you can get'', I've done plenty of racing on bicycles and used use a 56 x 11 in TT's and triathlons, some of which I would win, but for long tours the lower the better. I've been so glad of that gear some days

Same here with my lowest gear, I remember coming up Snake Pass pushing the lever and the gear wasn't there... that was on a heavy MTB with slicks, with a 42-32-22 chainset and 12-23t cassette so I only had 22x23 as a lowest gear, but then that side of Snake Pass isn't steep - I had been in the saddle for over 5 hours.

Its amazing how weak you can get and still be able to pedal - IF you've got that silly gear (under 20" gear inches).

On a 11-32t with a 22t granny even I am thinking about a 20t granny and if it would work at all @ 64 BCD. I know ones are available but the big S's don't make them and if they could be made reliable I am sure they would be doing. The best option I saw was a 64BCD to 58BCD adaptor, but I think they are rarer than 20t grannies. Why though... WHY is something like that always hard to find and costly, or both?!

Code: Select all

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b34s113p906

Look at the price of it though and my crank arm would need an adaptor... when you're looking at £40 or £50 just to knock 2 teeth off your granny is it worth it?!

[Annoying Twit]

Wow, this thread just keeps on going and going, like a cyclist climbing Great Dun Fell with a 12" gear

Seriously though, this thread has been very educational in that it shows the importance of gear choices when touring through hilly/difficulty terrain with equipment.

[pq]

The lowest gear I've ever used was 20x32 with 26" wheels.

Conditions were quite extreme - I was fully loaded on very poor dirt roads going over multiple 5000m passes. Gradients were always quite gentle, but the boulder strewn surface and thin air were brutal. I found myself pleased to have such a low gear and I used it from time to time, but it certainly wasn't essential and I can't imagine a situation where a lower gear would be of any use at all, at least on a normal bike.

The other element to my set-up was abandoning all high gears so that I could have lots of fairly closely spaced low gears. As I recall my highest gear was 42x14, which in the circumstances was plenty - I don't really buy in to the argument that a touring cyclist should maximise range - no point having gears you don't need, and closely spaced gears are a benefit.

Write up of the trip is here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Occupiedterritories

[Manc33]

I view 22x32 and such as a touring/bonking gear.

One thing is, no matter how skinny the tyres are and lightweight the bike is, I ain't getting up hills on a double. Not even a double with a 32t low sprocket.

I like the thought that if I am nearly hitting the wall I have that gear. When you're in that state, having 22x32 can mean you can stay on the bike and get your breath back as you pedal. People see it so linearly all the time... why not have the low gears I say, people are scared of being laughed at because they have a triple lol.

[Sweep]

having 22x32 can mean you can stay on the bike and get your breath back as you pedall.

Excellent point.

[pwa]

It is better to have a lowest gear that you don't use much than to have a lowest gear that is used on nearly every hill. You need that drop in gear for the occasional steep hairpin bend, or for when fatigue and heat start to get to you. 26 / 32 or 26 / 34 is just about right for me on a road tour with four panniers and camping gear.

[Manc33]

Having 44-32-22 chainset is perfect for me on a 11-32t cassette but on 11-32t I found 8-speed intolerable and went to 9-speed where there's hardly any jumps in the cassette. I checked into going to 10-speed and 11-speed and there's no real advantage to it where the gear ratio's are concerned, not like going from 8-speed to 9-speed was.

I can't stand cassettes that go 11-12-14-16 and a lot of 8-speed and 9-speed 11-32t cassettes do, even the old XT/XTR stuff has that 12-14 sprockets, which causes a jump.

44x11 is my absolute lowest high gear I can deal with. Quite often I go for the next gear and it isn't there so I pedal a bit faster instead. I am not on clips or whatever and don't want to pedal like a sewing machine. Its all about being comfy to me. Its the convenience factor too, I want a bike I can jump on and ride, not one I have to put special shoes on to ride, what the hell.

I also want a bike that if I have not been on it a while I can manage, so the low gearing comes in then too. Last night I was on 32x32 up a pretty normal hill.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I have 42-32-22 on 11-32 and admit there are jumps, this is for being able to use it for touring up hill off road and still be able to use it s a road bike on 8 Speed.

I do wonder when you say that 42 - 11 is too low how often you need to pedal at that speed, I can happily turn over 25 mph on that so could most others, even going up to and above 35mph If I want.

Are we time trailing.............................I am not.

One compromise of the jumps can be handled by double changes sometimes, but toleration of the steps makes you stronger.

When you analise the pro's you will find that cruising brings lower cadence.
So high cadence is at high speed and high power output.
Begs the question who long you can sit on a 42 x 11 without changing down

You say you use 32 x 32 on a normal hill but need a bigger than 42 x 11, just having gears is a good talking point down the pub but do you need it..............

P.S. When a Rolls Royce for the rich kids was a 2 x 5 derailleur drop handlebar bike, I had a 3 x 5 (5S block brazed onto a sturmy 3 S) but did I ever use those gears effectively..probably not, it was just a school boy playground bragging factor

[al_yrpal]

Having 44-32-22 chainset is perfect for me on a 11-32t cassette but on 11-32t I found 8-speed intolerable and went to 9-speed where there's hardly any jumps in the cassette. I checked into going to 10-speed and 11-speed and there's no real advantage to it where the gear ratio's are concerned, not like going from 8-speed to 9-speed was.

I can't stand cassettes that go 11-12-14-16 and a lot of 8-speed and 9-speed 11-32t cassettes do, even the old XT/XTR stuff has that 12-14 sprockets, which causes a jump.

44x11 is my absolute lowest high gear I can deal with. Quite often I go for the next gear and it isn't there so I pedal a bit faster instead. I am not on clips or whatever and don't want to pedal like a sewing machine. Its all about being comfy to me. Its the convenience factor too, I want a bike I can jump on and ride, not one I have to put special shoes on to ride, what the hell.

I also want a bike that if I have not been on it a while I can manage, so the low gearing comes in then too. Last night I was on 32x32 up a pretty normal hill.

I agree with you 100% although I do have a 50 chainwheel, useful for getting some speed up on slopes. The reason its there is that apart from the 24t that I retrofitted the 50t came on the standard bike. Agree on pedals too. Clip ons are a pain and my clipless cycling shoes are acceptable everywhere.

Al