upcoming alps trip, equipment advice needed

[Mark R]

hi

I need to get to the Arolla in the Swiss Alps by mid June and am planning to make the trip by bike with luggage (Newhaven-Dieppe then down through France), I have a Simoncini 700c touring bike and also a 1963 F-frame series 1 Moulton. I would need to buy new racks and panniers for the Simoncini whereas the huge rack on the Moulton would accommodate a large hiking rucksack which I have. Besides I think it would be amusing to take the Moulton and I am currently upgrading the bike with this in mind.

I have the following dilemmas:

1, I have built the rear wheel around a sachs/sram S7 coaster brake hub gear and need to decide on sprocket sizes. one possible combination would give a range of 32 to 99 gear inches. Could anyone advise whether it is on to ride alpine passes loaded with a 32 inch ratio. I realise modern touring bikes go much lower but I am thinking people must have toured in the past with small gear ranges? or would they have been pushing their bikes up to the passes? any thoughts appreciated.

2, I have toured before with clip-less pedals and cleated shoes and disliked not being able to vary the position of my feet on the pedals. The bike has comfortable plastic platform pedals but they do not have any means of attaching toe straps. My question is do toe straps add much to the ergonomics of a touring bike, i.e does riding without them result in more fatigue?

3, Lastly handlebars, the bars currently fitted are flat, and slightly backswept, unfortunately when riding I suffer aching wrists and occasional numb hands, fitting foam grips did not improve things much so I need to find something more comfortable. Despite the discomfort the flat bars gave excellent control on loose surfaces, I would be grateful for any pointers as to what styles of handle bar people use which give good comfort without loosing too much control.

Thanks
Mark

[nirakaro]

The first question, I think, depends entirely on you legs: I'm sure Alberto Contador could take a loaded bike over the Alps on a 32" gear; I probably couldn't. Alpine passes tend to have about a 5% gradient, so find a slope like that nearby and give it a try?
For the second question, I couldn't get on with clipless pedals, and went back to toeclips and straps, which seem to me to make a huge difference. I find it dispiritingly hard work riding plain flat pedals. For the price of a new pair of pedals...
Newhaven-Dieppe: good choice, nice countryside, as long as you don't mind the 4am start!

[psmiffy]

32 sounds very high to me particulaly with some load - but as nirokaro says go find a piece of 5% preferably at least a couple of ks long and try it with an equivalant weight of luggage -see how you feel and then extend it your minds eye for another 22k with a bit of 8% to 10% thrown in - I would err on the side of caution but I am a middle aged portly geezer of poor athletic background

I would say that some form of clip is a must - going slowly uphill and loosing a pedal is a sure way to come a cropper - similarly going down it is a good idea to be secure on the pedals - I switched from clips to clipless because spd pedals and relatively comfortable mtb shoes were available

I use a flat wrap round bar that gives me plenty of hand and body positions - I always used to have trouble with my hands regarless of being upright or streched out - two layer of phat bar tape and a robust pair of mitts sort it for me

Dieppe is good, I did Troye, Dijon, Annecy, Meriallet, Rosemund, Isere, Madelaine, Cenis, Montgeneve a few years back

I was not familiar with the Moulton so I googled it and I agree it is quirky for a ride of this nature - main advantage seems to be that you will not be able to carry much - be interesting over the Jura and down into Lake Geneva - I assume it has good brakes - and the 1300m climb from the valley floor to Araolla will be interesting (i did Farclaz etc a few years back) - However, the Swiss if they did not actually invent the term "integrated transport system" they soon made it their own - I am sure there will be a bus.

[julk]

I found Ergon GP1 grips on 'flat, slightly sweptback bars' much more comfortable for long rides.

[andrew_s]

People do tour in the Alps without gears as low as 32", but it really depends how fit you are. I went over the Veleta (3200m, 40km@6%, even gradient) without going under 32". At the time I was doing regular 90m Sunday club rides (CTC "A" ride), 200k audax in about 9h. A plus is that you will have had a fair bit of training by the time you get to
If you want a try-out, bear in mind that a 6% gradient means climbing 300ft/100m in a mile, not a 6% road sign. It would also be more realistic if you had ridden far/fast enough to be getting tired when you reach the test hill.

The main loss with using flat pedals is that you can't force your way up short sections that are too steep for your bottom gear in the same way. With clipless you can get a good bit of extra grunt by pulling on the ascending pedal. For normal cruising you don't lose much, provided you are used to flats rather than clipless or straps.

I've found that numbness/tingling when using flat bars is due to the palm facing downwards rather than inwards. I now use bars that have a considerable backwards sweep (On-One Mary, upside down with inboard bar-ends). Buying again, I'd also consider H-bars

[Mark R]

Thanks very much for the suggestions and advice chaps, food for thought indeed. I guess I will be prudent to sacrifice some top speed in favour of lower gears, or I may carry a smaller front chain-ring seeing as they are so light as insurance against overgearing.

[Jezrant]

If you're going via Lake Léman and the Rhone valley, there are no cols to cross all the way to Arolla. But the last few kms after Les Haudères is a slog.
If you're going via Chamonix, the Montets and Forclaz passes aren't particularly high, steep, or long for the Alps. I've done them with 42 x 23 a few times, but on a racing bike. There's a good cafe at the Forclaz pass to catch your breath.
If you're doing it the scenic way, via both the Petit and the Grand Saint Bernard passes, good luck! Seriously tough passes. Only done the GSB once with 30 x 26. The Italian side of the GSB pass sometimes also has stretches of very rough roadworks.

[Mark R]

Hi

Yes I will be going via Lake Léman and the Rhone valley but I may come back a different way. I quite like the idea of joining the Rhine and trying to follow it up to Holland, I haven't checked the route but I reckon there's bound to be a few passes between the watersheds. I am slightly concerned about overheating my brakes on the decents as I will be be using a hub gear coaster brake, I am thinking of refitting the rear rim brake to spread the heat .

[Jezrant]

One assumes one will be suitably attired for said expedition and in possession of the prerequisite accoutrements. You will be taking your plus fours?

[willem jongman]

1 get lower gearing if you want to be happy.
2 coaster brake hub brakes are seriously dangerous in the mountains, because they do indeed overheat.
Willem