BMC vs Giant

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
markjohnobrien
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by markjohnobrien »

While I like Giant bikes, and have owned one, that gearing of 36x30 is far too high and would have me struggling on some hills and walking on others.

It certainly wouldn’t be good for some of the climbs in the Chilterns. Chinnor Hill - ouch.
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markjohnobrien
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by markjohnobrien »

N.B: you can get up Chinnor Hill on that gear but it wouldn’t be a pleasurable experience, painful in fact, as I’ve done it on a 30x25 and it hurt.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
mattsccm
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by mattsccm »

But if you got up it was fine and you didn't need anything lower :D
Last edited by mattsccm on 3 May 2021, 1:42pm, edited 1 time in total.
markjohnobrien
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by markjohnobrien »

mattsccm wrote: 3 May 2021, 1:33pm But if you gott up kt was fine and you didn't need anything lower :D
It was painful and not something to look forward to again: no bail out gear either.
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Cowsham
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by Cowsham »

Glad you went for Giant -- that would be my choice and changing the chain wheel if you wanted a smaller one wouldn't be an issue. Sometimes the path of least resistance is the best choice to make. Safety in numbers etc.
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Scottish.cyclist.lad
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by Scottish.cyclist.lad »

mattsccm wrote: 3 May 2021, 1:20pm Gear range. If however you need such . A 36 low isn't that high really, it's just higher than many people are used to if they are not super fit or don't want to push things.
Exaclty what you said. You explained it nicely.

And here's also what I think: you become a better cyclist and overall athlete when you push things, when you work hard to make the uncomfortable feel comfortable.

Replacing chainsets in order to make life easier to me just sounds like a way to limit/slow progress and stay a mediocre cyclist for longer.
mattsccm
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by mattsccm »

Assuming you can physically do it I tend to agree. Many of us ride to feel knackered at the end of the day. One of the reasons I commute by bike. I can be knackered twice in a day. Many here will no agree.
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Paulatic
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by Paulatic »

Scottish.cyclist.lad wrote: 3 May 2021, 10:45am and why would I want to do that?
because you said
Yes 11-30 sounds hard :D

I would most certainly swap to an 11-32 as a standard, with an 11-34 to be used for more hilly events
36x32= 29”
34x30= 29”
If you think you are going to get a lot of use out of that extra 5” on 52 then good for you.
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keyboardmonkey
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by keyboardmonkey »

Scottish.cyclist.lad wrote: 3 May 2021, 10:45am
keyboardmonkey wrote: 28 Apr 2021, 9:08pm
Scottish.cyclist.lad wrote: 26 Apr 2021, 1:14pm ... the TCR comes with a 52-36 at the front...
If it's not too late I would recommend a conversation with your bike shop to see if they are able to swap out the chainset for a compact version at the point of sale. Admittedly it was before Covid, but I had a chat with the Giant dealer near me and he was happy to do that at no extra cost. It didn't happen in the end, but FWIW a 52/36 chainset on a bike would be a deal breaker for me.
and why would I want to do that?
Scottish.cyclist.lad wrote: 3 May 2021, 6:08pm
mattsccm wrote: 3 May 2021, 1:20pm Gear range. If however you need such . A 36 low isn't that high really, it's just higher than many people are used to if they are not super fit or don't want to push things.
Exaclty what you said. You explained it nicely.

And here's also what I think: you become a better cyclist and overall athlete when you push things, when you work hard to make the uncomfortable feel comfortable.

Replacing chainsets in order to make life easier to me just sounds like a way to limit/slow progress and stay a mediocre cyclist for longer.
Had I known you were only looking for replies from non-mediocre cyclists I wouldn't have taken up your time with my response.

However, you've come on to what is ostensibly a touring cyclists' forum to ask a newbie question about a road bike. No-one I know (although there's the odd one on here) - whose knees still function properly - chooses to push a 52/11 top gear. Personally, I would be cross-chaining from the big ring to get at the rear sprocket I wanted to use. I also see no point in wilfully denying myself a useable lower gear.

Anyway, I hope you will be happy with your purchase.
cyclop
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by cyclop »

99% of cyclists are "mediocre".Long live "mediocre".(5500mls last year @ 14mph)!
markjohnobrien
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by markjohnobrien »

I’m a touring cyclist and definitely don’t aspire to be an “athlete”.
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iandusud
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by iandusud »

It's worth looking at what gearing professional riders are using on steep climbs and considering how much more powerful than even the best of us are. It's not unknown to see a compact chainset and a 32t sprocket. Can you maintain 400W for an hour? What they do do is to maintain a high cadence and this is what is best IMO. When I was a lot younger I used much higher gearing and very narrow tyres until I discovered mountain biking. At this point I realised that lower gears and wider tyres, when applied to a road bike (not the same as the MTB of course) didn't mean slower climbing or more rolling resistance. Quite the opposite. Of course in those days we copied the pros. However the pros have learned a thing or two since then and are using lower gears and wider tyres and they are not going any slower. On the contrary they are going faster.
scottg
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Re: BMC vs Giant

Post by scottg »

Scottish.cyclist.lad wrote: 3 May 2021, 6:08pm Replacing chainsets in order to make life easier to me just sounds like a way to limit/slow progress and stay a mediocre cyclist for longer.
Remember the words of oncle Henri.....
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Henri did admit people over 45 could use variable gears.
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