Cycling UK Forum

RideToWorky wrote:Hiya all,

Road bike Commuting up hills - 16, 22 or 24 Gears?

Q1) 16 Gears on a road bike (2x8 Shimano Claris ) - Is that really enough gears for commutes - with long up hills sections?
Q2) 22 Gears on a road bike (2x11 Shimano 105) - Does the extra 7 gears give much lower gears, or is it the higher end again?
Q3) 24 Gears on a road bike (3x8 ??) - Are we getting in mountain bike territory here?! I'm still knackered from commuting on my 24 Speed hybrid


Regards
Martin

RickH wrote:

Dynamite_funk wrote:Go to Spa cycles - They will sort you out

I'm sure they would but it depends on whether it is within practical distance for the OP to get to.

Some alternative suggestions.

If you are near London or Manchester then you could have a mooch round The London Bike Show - 11-14 Feb - or Manchester Bike Expo - 18-20 March. You may find something of interest that an LBS could get in for you.

Or there are possible options from the big chains (that may have a branch near you) - a brief search found the following three

• Triban 520 at Decathlon - £450
• Revolution Cross Sport Disc & Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op - £425
• Trek Crossrip Comp at Evans - £800

I'm sure there are others.

Rick.

Freddie wrote:Q1: Largely

Q2: It follows that if Q1 is so, than this is too

Q3: A complete bike with a triple chainset, is that what you mean? If yes, then yes, as above

I don't know exactly what question you are asking. There are two things that matter with respect to gearing, range (difference between high and low) and ratios (the % change in gears from one to another). A typical 50/34 double chainset may have you struggling to get low enough gears for very steep climbs, if you live in a flat county this might not matter. It is easier to achieve lower gears with a triple chainset, than a double, the high gears are usually practically the same.

Ratios are the percent difference between gears. For racing, people often want close ratios (1 or 2 teeth different between rear gears), for audax it is not so important and having a large sprocket at the rear (or triple chainset) for the odd climb is probably more important.

Given that 2x11 speed bikes are more expensive, a better way to get more gear range would be to have something like 3x9 or 3x10. The drivetrain (chain, chainrings, cassette) typically last longer than 11 speed too.

Has this answered your question, if not you might have to rephrase it to make it more clear what you are asking.

Brucey wrote:if you want to climb steep hills easily then using low gears will do it. You just have to accept that you won't be going that fast.

As per your thread about gearing, the cheapest solution is to buy

- a cassette with bigger sprockets eg CS-HG41 11-34 (8s)
- an MTB rear mech eg RD-M591 (9s, will work 8s very happily)
- new chain (best to match new sprockets, it will need to be longer anyway).

Total cost for parts is around £60, less if you shop around.

This will give you a nice low bottom gear of around 28" (c.f. with your present 28T bottom sprocket, about 34" bottom gear) i.e. around 20% lower gearing.

cheers

Vorpal wrote:

RideToWorky wrote:Q: How often are you doing this?
A: 5 days a week, hence come friday I'm knackered

Q:How long have you been doing it?
A:
Built up to it
March 2015 started cycling
Late summer 2015 built up enough, to cycle to work
Started 1, 2, then 3 days a week,
November - 5 days a week
Dec15, Jan16 - stopped, various reasons outside of cycling
Feb 2016 - starting up again

Regards
Martin

How did you feel doing in it in November? I think that you will get used to it. When I moved to Norway from Essex, I started a daily commute that included 1000 feet of climbing. Even though I was an experienced cyclist with roughly 5000 miles in the previous 12 months cycling, I found that hill every day hard going, and I was tired by the end of the week, every week for a couple of months, at least. Two years ago I injured my ribs & was off the bike for a couple of months, and when I started again, that hill was every bit as hard as the first time I did it. It wasn't *quite* starting over, if only because I knew I could do it, but I began in 2014 with less fitness than in 2012, and I didn't even try to do it every day at first.

That doesn't mean that lower gearing isn't appropriate, but I will caution you that if it helps with the tiredness, it will likely be because you are doing it more slowly.

p.s. have you calculated any of the gear arrangements to compare to your current bikes? Do you know what your curent bikes are?

Vorpal wrote:

RideToWorky wrote:The uphill run:
Bristol Concorde Way:
St Werburghs all the way past the MOD
St Werburghs, at the start, up past the allotments. this is the steepest section... at the very start
4 Ascent sections, I think
6.5 miles approx
Come friday night, I'm knackered!
45 Years old, No injuries, not much stamina though.
8st 12, skinny runt with no reserves or stamina... working on the fitness
Not expecting miracles in imnprovement! Read somewhere over the weekend - over 40yers of age - takes longer to recover from exercise etc. (Cycling weekly I think)

How often are you doing this? How long have you been doing it? These questions are more pertinent than your age and weight.

It can take a while to get used to doing something like that. Do you have any alternatives? Can you cycle 2 times per week for a few weeks, then 3 times per week, and build up gradually?

Otherwise, I think if you just stick with it, eat well, and get plenty of sleep, your body will probably adjust to it. If you want a new bike (shiny!), that's one thing, but if you are expecting it to cure your Friday night knackerdness, you may be in for disappointment.

Merry_Wanderer wrote:Martin - what sort of budget do you have?

Merry_Wanderer wrote:My commute has 2 stiff hills in the first 2 miles and my commuting bike had until today, a 48/38/28 Alivio set up with an 8 speed cassette of 11-32. I have now changed the chainset to 42/32/22 as I have tended to use the 28/32 gear every day and the 48 chainring precisely never. This bike has 26" wheels and 26 x 2 inch tyres. My other bikes are 9 speed with a highest gear of 46/11 x 700. FWIW I am the same age as the OP. Until the last event my Audax bike had a gear range of 17 to 104. Probably excessively low for most people but I have found as I have got older and my knees more decrepit, I am really grateful for very low gearing and a higher cadence