First Road Bike

[ndwgolf]

Alright. Try doing that route again, but only using your top three or four gears.

sorry. I don't get it........why only the top 3 gears, I used a lot of my gears the last time especially on the asents..........nearly had to get off and walk at one stage, but I guess practice makes perfect......right?

Neil

[ndwgolf]

This is the gear ratio of my MTB .........not to far off what the Trek Madone has right
Neil

[random37]

The point I'm trying to make (rather clumsily, I admit), is that you might struggle to ride a bike with close ratio gearing up steep hills, to the point where you don't want to use it.

I would consider looking at something with at least a larger cassette. This might mean a new mech, too. Honestly, it's nice to have nice things, but you would go further and faster on a machine that you were more comfortable riding. Go and try the bike fitting. It could be the best money you ever spend.

[ndwgolf]

Go and try the bike fitting. It could be the best money you ever spend.

I will definitely do that mate. I will also ask Trek if they can add a different cassette for me......do you have a cassette range in mine that would be good for me on the hills.....I'm sure who ever is fitting me will be able to advise the best fit
Neil

[NetworkMan]

Did you use your lowest gear on that last ride? If so then you have a problem since I don't think you'll find a road bike that goes that low. If I read the spec right It has a low gear of around 34/50*29 = 20 gear-inches. That trek bike has a low gear of around 34/28*26.5 = 32 gear-inches. This means that on the Trek bike you will be pushing on the pedals about 60% harder and will travel 60% further each time the pedals go round.
Remember what I wrote upthread about gear teeth on the back and front? You bike has 34 teeth on the front and 50 on the back while the Trek bike has 34 on the front but only 28 on the back. Your bike has bigger wheels which make the difference less than it would otherwise be. I can guarantee they won't be able to put 50 teeth on the back of the Trek for you!
Why not just put some good quality road tyres on your bike and see how you get on?

[ndwgolf]

Did you use your lowest gear on that last ride? If so then you have a problem since I don't think you'll find a road bike that goes that low. If I read the spec right It has a low gear of around 34/50*29 = 20 gear-inches. That trek bike has a low gear of around 34/28*26.5 = 32 gear-inches. This means that on the Trek bike you will be pushing on the pedals about 60% harder and will travel 60% further each time the pedals go round.
Remember what I wrote upthread about gear teeth on the back and front? You bike has 34 teeth on the front and 50 on the back while the Trek bike has 34 on the front but only 28 on the back. Your bike has bigger wheels which make the difference less than it would otherwise be. I can guarantee they won't be able to put 50 teeth on the back of the Trek for you!
Why not just put some good quality road tyres on your bike and see how you get on?

the biggest hill on my last ride was all done on the large front cog and somewhere in the middle to high rear cog
Neil

[roubaixtuesday]

That MTB has a 34 tooth front chainring, and a 50 tooth rear for lowest gear.

Your proposed road bike has 34 teeth front and 28 teeth rear.

The ratio of the two (plus adjustment for relative diameter of the tyres) defines your lowest gear. That's ~1.8 times harder with the road bike!! In other words, a 1:10 hill on the MTB will feel like a 1:6 hill on the road bike, if you do both in bottom gear.

The MTB will be *much* easier to ride up steep hills, and your circuit looks to have plenty of those (1500m climbing in 50k is really very hilly!).

The biggest cassette you'll be able to get on the road bike is likely a 32, so it's fundamentally unable to give you the same ratios.

So you can expect your circuit to be faster but harder on the road machine. Likely a *lot* harder, unless you never use the lowest 3 or four gears on the MTB.

If you want a road bike capable of the same gear ratios as your MTB, you need a very different bike. Standard road race style bikes simply aren't provided in those ratios. As I said earlier, as a minimum, I'd recommend getting a bike with a 32 rear cassette (or getting that one changed to a 32 if your heart is set on it).

[random37]

If I was in your shoes, I would want a triple. The road bike is more efficient than the MTB, and you will be able to go in higher gears. As above, you can't get as low as an MTB with that sort of road bike, at least not without non-standard parts.

It's really worth getting an expert opinion. After visiting Hewitt, they will have a list of machines for you to choose, or even make something to order!

[ndwgolf]

That MTB has a 34 tooth front chainring, and a 50 tooth rear for lowest gear.

Your proposed road bike has 34 teeth front and 28 teeth rear.

The ratio of the two (plus adjustment for relative diameter of the tyres) defines your lowest gear. That's ~1.8 times harder with the road bike!! In other words, a 1:10 hill on the MTB will feel like a 1:6 hill on the road bike, if you do both in bottom gear.

The MTB will be *much* easier to ride up steep hills, and your circuit looks to have plenty of those (1500m climbing in 50k is really very hilly!).

The biggest cassette you'll be able to get on the road bike is likely a 32, so it's fundamentally unable to give you the same ratios.

So you can expect your circuit to be faster but harder on the road machine. Likely a *lot* harder, unless you never use the lowest 3 or four gears on the MTB.

If you want a road bike capable of the same gear ratios as your MTB, you need a very different bike. Standard road race style bikes simply aren't provided in those ratios. As I said earlier, as a minimum, I'd recommend getting a bike with a 32 rear cassette (or getting that one changed to a 32 if your heart is set on it).

Hi Brian
I really appreciate all the advice you and everyone on here has given me. Tomorrow I'm going to see the Trek bike in the flesh, I will put all the questions and concerns to the people at the Trek shop and hear what options I have.....
While riding my mountain I only ever recall using the lowest gears once and that was riding up my mates driveway to his condominium and to be honest it would not only be near impossible on a bike but also walking.....I managed on the bike after the 3rd attempt and that was using the small front ring. On the ride I showed you from last week I never did drop to the small front ring and from what I can remember I was somewhere in the middle of the rear cassette on the monster long clime.
To be honest we probably won't do that route again as it was just too tough with to many hills (maybe when I get stronger......maybe

Neil

[ndwgolf]

So today I did the bike fitting for the Trek Madone 7 SLR......I didn't realize how intense a fitting could be. It was recommended to me to get the 52/36 crank with a 11/34 cassette along with the Di2 shifters.
I upgraded the wheel set to the Aeouls XXX 4 TLR carbon wheels as they were the only ones with the white and red decals
It should look like this when it's finished
Neil

[roubaixtuesday]

That's quite a machine, I'm sure you'll love it.

I didn't realise an 11-34 cassette was possible on a standard road setup - teh google tells me they only launched that this year.

Enjoy!

[ndwgolf]

Well it took a while. Here she is on the back of my truck. I picked the bike up on Tuesday. Went for a 40 kilometers test ride and then drove from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Phuket Thailand. We are about 60 kilometers from home having some lunch after a ~900 kilometers drive...... looking forward to going for a ride tomorrow morning here in Thailand.

[pwa]

It looks like two water bottle weather to me. Enjoy.

[thelawnet]

It looks like two water bottle weather to me. Enjoy.

I'm a no-water-bottle man in the tropics tbh. Best stop for a cold drink (or two, or three) on the roadside every now & then.

[ndwgolf]

It looks like two water bottle weather to me. Enjoy.

I'm a no-water-bottle man in the tropics tbh. Best stop for a cold drink (or two, or three) on the roadside every now & then.

That’s exactly what we do, we normally stop every 20 klicks for a Nice fresh coconut or mango shake.......I take water with me but rarely drink it
Neil