Author Topic: Gear range, whats on yours (Read 3603 times)

Beardy · « **on:** 01 February, 2011, 11:22:42 am »

What have you got, and how would you change it?

As I've mentioned in the past, i need to change my gear range as I really think that 15 to 82 inces is a wee bit low for the Grasshopper.

I think I'm going to have to get a new chain ring as the best I can achieve with the current one and a 13 cog sprocket is 19 to 101.

But before I start ordering expensive oval rings from Highpath I thought I'd conduct a straw pole here to see what others have got and thoughts on what you've got. I'm hoping to do some Audax this year, but don't have any real plans to go touring.

Ta

arallsopp · « **Reply #1 on:** 01 February, 2011, 11:55:44 am »

In SL configuration, my Furai runs between 19.5 and 106 gear inches. (520 wheels, 30, 39, 53 chainrings, 11-34 cassette). Keeping her upright at 19.5 is tricky, and on an open flat road, I'm pretty much guaranteed to be in 53/11. When I replace the rings, I'll look for a 60 up front, and maybe run a double, or bottom out with the 39. I top out at about 36mph given suitable conditions.

I've no idea what the SMGTe runs to. Assuming a 39T up front (looks about right) and an 11-34 on the SRAM dual drive at rear (again, roughly correct), Sheldon says 22 - 125.6. That tallies with my experience, to be honest.

I very rarely top out the SMGTe (and never on the flat), and wouldn't change her gearing at all. There's a lovely ratio jump when you pull away at the lower end of the rear and in bottom on the hub (roughly 35 gear inches). A good twist on the hub gear will see you jump to 50, then 70. Considering the weight penalty (+8kgs when bare) she leaps off the lights.

Green! Right. Left. Right and Twist. Left. Right. Left and Twist. Left, Right, and I'm gone.

arvid · « **Reply #2 on:** 01 February, 2011, 12:02:43 pm »

I'm on 18-95 now, and managed Mille Miglia just fine on that.
I did LEL with 17-89.
Last saturday I wished I had lower gears, but I'm not that fit, and the cold wasn't helping either.
I'm not planning to change anything.
I reckon your gears depend on your cadence, I usually spin well over 100rpm. If you think 90rpm is fast, you'll need about 10%-20% heavier gears than me, when your speed is about the same.

Beardy · « **Reply #3 on:** 01 February, 2011, 12:12:29 pm »

Ah, yes, cadence makes a difference. Although I _try_ and spin, I've got a lot of leg (it's as good an excuse as any

) and 90rpm is indeed fast for me.

It sounds like I need to be going with the Great SB as pointed out by arallsopp, especially as I live in the flat(er) lands of East Anglia. Mind you if I was still in Yorkshire I suspect a trike with low gearing and a Speed Drive would be the answer.

tom_e · « **Reply #4 on:** 01 February, 2011, 12:43:01 pm »

Hmm, I have 150mm cranks, and gain factor from 1.38 to 8.53.
Converting that to a 170mm crank equivalent is around 18.5 - 114 GI.

I don't think I'd ever need a lower bottom gear, this gives me reasonable rpm at my lowest balancing speed.

Top chainring is only used if I want the exercise. Middle chainring top gear is around 83" - fine for getting someplace, too low if you want to get exercise / train on the flat.

150mm cranks, 22-44 chainrings, 11-34 cassette, 25.2" marathon racer tyres.
I don't really need this much range, but big wheels and small cranks mean I can use normal mtb chainrings and get 2:1 range at the front with no messing about and not missing a high gear. A narrower cassette might be optimal.

tonycollinet · « **Reply #5 on:** 01 February, 2011, 12:46:04 pm »

I have the stock 16 to 104 on the ICE. I very rarely hit the endstops in either direction at the moment.

Thats 26 36 48 rings, with a 9 to 32 cassette.

The cassette is a special for ICE though, so expensive to replace. When I get to needing a replacment, I'll look at upgrading to an alfine 11, which will probably give somthing like 24 to 100 on a single front ring.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #6 on:** 01 February, 2011, 12:55:39 pm »

13"-87" on the Trice; 14"-105" on the Speedmachine; 37"-106" on Cosimo the Stealth Baron (who only gets used for racing).

Quint · « **Reply #7 on:** 01 February, 2011, 01:13:50 pm »

Yes, length of leg would explain a lot on spinning, Barbara is approx 32" inside leg and finds impossible to get the revs up hence a 26 inner ring on her new Sprint, I put one on the Catrike she had and she found that just right.

Quote from: Beardy on 01 February, 2011, 12:12:29 pm

Ah, yes, cadence makes a difference. Although I _try_ and spin, I've got a lot of leg (it's as good an excuse as any ) and 90rpm is indeed fast for me.

It sounds like I need to be going with the Great SB as pointed out by arallsopp, especially as I live in the flat(er) lands of East Anglia. Mind you if I was still in Yorkshire I suspect a trike with low gearing and a Speed Drive would be the answer.

Tigerbiten · « **Reply #8 on:** 01 February, 2011, 05:20:33 pm »

12.8"-99" on my Trice Q.
Tyres Marathon Racers 40-406, Front rings 48-36-22, Back block 9-32.
I swopped the inner ring from a 26 down to a 22 , which gives me one gear lower than the standard setup.
I tend to use the front middle ring the most as it goes from ~5.5 mph upto ~24 mph.
The big ring gives me 2 most gears above this so I spinout at ~34 mph.
The little ring gives me 3 gears lower and I can winch myself up hills at ~2.5 mph.

I would love to extend the range both ways by fitting a mountain/speed drive and getting something like 10"-120".

Kim · « **Reply #9 on:** 01 February, 2011, 07:54:26 pm »

My SMGT had 19-118" (GR 1.4-8.8) before I replaced the 170mm cranks with 155mm ones (requiring a new set of chainrings, which I lowered to compensate). It now has GR 1.4-9.3 - top end's a bit on the high side - I hadn't anticipated how much easier it would be to spin higher cadences with sensibly-sized cranks, but there's a lot less duplication of ratios, so it's still a win. Need to solve the knee issue (sadly smaller cranks didn't magically cure it) before I can put some mileage in with the new configuration, though.

The bottom end's about right for a two-wheeler, I reckon. It got me up Smalldean Lane, hitting a minimum speed of about 1.6mph. There isn't much point in going lower than that. The top end's less well defined - in the absence of load to wreck the aerodynamics, the SMGT is astoundingly good at descending, so having gears that allow you to go all the way to R17 without spinning out is fun, if not strictly sensible.

Quint · « **Reply #10 on:** 01 February, 2011, 08:00:59 pm »

any news on improving knees would be greatly appreciated, Barbara has had problems with hers for donkeys

Kim · « **Reply #11 on:** 01 February, 2011, 08:09:11 pm »

Only the general stuff - low gears and spin, try to keep your foot straight (or at least at the angle it naturally wants to be at), stop if it hurts, that sort of thing.

My current issue is ITB pain (so not actually the knee joint) and is significantly worse on the recumbent than on an upright, possibly related to a seat being less forgiving of unequal leg lengths than a saddle. I'm currently working my way through possible bike-setup tweaks to work out what helps.

Wendy · « **Reply #12 on:** 02 February, 2011, 09:35:06 am »

31.7 to 117 gear inches on my Fujin SLII. That's with 650C rear wheel, 11-23 9spd sprocket, and 53/39/30 rings. The bottom gear is a little on the high side for the days when I'm super tired, but the closer ratios are very nice.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #13 on:** 02 February, 2011, 11:12:01 am »

Quote from: Quint on 01 February, 2011, 08:00:59 pm

any news on improving knees would be greatly appreciated, Barbara has had problems with hers for donkeys

There are those who recommend short cranks as being good for knees, and many of the BHPC old guard have moved to cranks of l < 150mm. Ordinary ally cranks (not Hollowtech, obv.) may be shortened by crossing the palm of Mr. M. Burrows with silver.

arvid · « **Reply #14 on:** 02 February, 2011, 11:22:13 am »

On kneepain:
I'm told the use of a clipless system with more free play than SPD can also solve/prevent problems.
Examples are Time Atac, Look Quartz, Speedplay, Crank Brothers and Bebop.

EdinburghFixed · « **Reply #15 on:** 02 February, 2011, 12:56:20 pm »

26.8 - 116"

That's a 70/50 with 11-34 cassette. The obvious problem is that the jumps are sometimes a little large, but with a small drivewheel I can't run a triple & corncob.

Quint · « **Reply #16 on:** 02 February, 2011, 01:50:28 pm »

Re knees, Barbara uses the Crank bros Candy pedals, she tells me that part of the problem is "a womans one" I presume this means the ebb and flow of various things like oestrogeon etc. Sometimes Chondroitin pills help, if I can ever afford enough dynamite I may be able to get her to consult a doctor

Kim · « **Reply #17 on:** 02 February, 2011, 04:16:17 pm »

Progesterone related joint loosening seems to be par for the course for some women. Barakta gets it quite badly, and she's got some pretty unusual joints to begin with. I'm not sure there's an awful lot you can do about it, other than the obvious, and knowing when to take things easy. $:-\$

Quint · « **Reply #18 on:** 02 February, 2011, 08:14:01 pm »

I don't quite know what (your) obvious is (I am probably being dense) but understand she trys to eat sensibly, soya milk on cereals etc any other tips appreciated

Kim · « **Reply #19 on:** 02 February, 2011, 09:29:11 pm »

Sorry: knobbling one's menstrual cycle with the cycle-knobbling contraceptive of choice.

Quint · « **Reply #20 on:** 02 February, 2011, 10:15:22 pm »

Ah

, had snip

, so will try other food/supplement ideas to replicate if poss

Beardy · « **Reply #21 on:** 02 February, 2011, 10:50:37 pm »

Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude and I know that it's a sensitive topic, but please...

Bugger off and get your own thread

Quint · « **Reply #22 on:** 02 February, 2011, 10:56:36 pm »

you quite right, but nice to helped anyway

Jon P · « **Reply #23 on:** 04 February, 2011, 12:34:27 pm »

Speed Ross - 36 - 27 lowest, 52 - 11 highest = about 120". This is fine for touring, anything lower and the front wheel starts lifting up.

Toxy ZR - SRAM 3-in-1 with 65 chainring and 11-24 block - I can still get up Edge Hill on it and be pedalling at 40mph downhill, which is v nice. The bike isn't suited to steeper hills than this as it's FWD.

A lot of these top gears do seem a bit low, if people don't mind the comment!

Von Broad · « **Reply #24 on:** 04 February, 2011, 03:48:32 pm »

Quote from: Beardy on 01 February, 2011, 11:22:42 am

What have you got, and how would you change it?

As I've mentioned in the past, i need to change my gear range as I really think that 15 to 82 inces is a wee bit low for the Grasshopper.

I think I'm going to have to get a new chain ring as the best I can achieve with the current one and a 13 cog sprocket is 19 to 101.

But before I start ordering expensive oval rings from Highpath I thought I'd conduct a straw pole here to see what others have got and thoughts on what you've got. I'm hoping to do some Audax this year, but don't have any real plans to go touring.

Ta

I use a wide a range as I can. On a 700c wheel I've got it down to 50-36-22 32-11.

You mention oval rings. I made some last year out of 6082 2.5mm aluminium. For recumbents I think they're definitely worth trying. I haven't ridden enough since putting them on so it's hard to review their effectiveness, but the smoothing out of the 'dead spot' is very noticeable indeed. It's important to get them on the right place though. Try some if you can first, they can be expensive.