What has four thumbs and loves climbing in big gears? Those guys!
I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!
— Henri Desgrange
I like to think that any time a rider running a compact punctures, Henri’s spirit is brought just that little bit closer to finding peace; I can only imagine what he might have said about the advent of these sorts of chainsets, let alone the wide-range cassettes we see in wide use today.
The thing that bothers me most about wide-range cassettes is the gaps between the gears. Growing up riding in Minnesota, I trained on a 12-23 and raced on an 12-21 because they were basically a straight block until you got to the lowest gears. Going to the mountains I would reluctantly use a 12-27 but I had to stop myself looking at the back wheel too much because I hated the sight of that 27t dinner plate. I’ve gotten used to what my bikes look like with the 12-25 I’m training on these days, but there are definitely times when I simply can’t find the right gear ratio for the terrain.
Growing up, I was considered a spinner for riding at 80-90 rpm; the thinking at the time was that mashing big gears at low cadences was more efficient. We are greatly influenced by what the Pros are doing, and the famous Cyclists at the time like Hinault and LeMond rode at 60 rpm, so that’s what we punters did, too. Today, I’m still riding at the same cadence, but now people consider me to be a bit of a gear pusher in our modern 100+ rpm climate. I like to flatter myself that the size of my climbing gear intimidates the spinners I ride with; my favorite question to ask them is why they are riding in the little ring already. I usually already know the answer (they are sissies) but I like to ask anyway because I enjoy their slightly bewildered expression before looking at my chainset and realizing that I’m still in the 53. I always give them that special look that makes them wonder whether or not I have noticed that the climb is steep already.
Before spinning high cadences became popular and, shortly after, the abominable 11-28 block became the mainstream choice in gearing, climbers would seek to intimidate one another by how tight they could keep their gearing and how few teeth they needed to use to get over a climb. Climbers like Manuel Fuentes would make sure to always ride in a slightly bigger gear than the rest of the group as a show of defiance to the ferocity of the gradient. In The Rider, Tim Krabbé recounts his suffering on the climbs of the Tour de Mont Aigoual in the South of France. His lowest gear was a 19, one which he considered his “bail out” gear. He was confident he could win the race, and throughout he imagines the onlookers admiring the fact that his 19 never saw the chain, “And his 19 was clean as a whistle,” he imagined them saying.
I personally can’t imagine climbing anything steeper than an overpass in a 19, but I do like to challenge myself to stay off my 39 and ride an entire training route in the 53. And his 39 was clean as a whistle.
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@BacklashJack
Must admit I'm toying with that on #1 as I'm upgrading to 2016 Campy and I can then switch between compact and super compact relatively easily.
@chuckp
That's an odd combination. Is there anybody running a 53/34? That would seem like a sprinters set to get them through the mountain stages. I'm considering going to this. Rule violation?
@BacklashJac
the newest generation front mechs really only like to shift about a max of 16t difference. 53/34 is 19t difference. on older mech setups the shifting will be lousy if it works at all, some pro mechanics can get the shifting working well enough with that big of a ratio difference, but the "mid-compact" 52/36 really doesnt run out of top end speed with an 11 on the rear, and a 36 climbs pretty well with a 25 or 28 on the back(ridiculously easy if your brave enough to ride a 30 or 32 on the rear).
I grew up riding in the late 80s through 90s in the Midwest and only ever had a 5242 or 53/39 up front.
then I moved to Colorado, got heavily into CX, got old, quit road racing and became a mostly adventure rider/graveur.
I run a 50/36 (compromise on my CX bike / all-rounder) and an 11/32 out back.
oh and I race both CX and MTB XC on a 1x11 setup. 38x11-32 for cross, 30x10-46 for MTB.
We'll see if I can post under my new user ID… for whatever reason the good ol' good ol' wilburrox got waylaid in to unpostability… no biggies.
So, long ago I was told, "If you have a smaller gear you'll use it". Is that not the fact?!? I was running a compact that came on a bike and trying the spin thing and after too many times watching folks crest hills in front of me I swapped to a mid compact using the same bcd of the crank. A strd would not work with that crank. And I like it. 52/36 and running a 28 in back and can climb all day long. Often in the big ring.
I still keep the strd 53/39 on the race bike but I am so very temped to acknowledge it is time to move on and swap to mid compact. I sure do like the 53/39 with 12-25 11 sp cassette though.
Cheers all
I like to spin but I also like the look of a tidy cassette.
Living in Toronto allows me to get away with a traditional setup on my number one.
#1 has a 53-39 paired with a SRAM 11/26 - an interesting compromise that I don't think Shimano duplicates. This bike is 10 speed.
#2 has a 52-36 paired with an 11/28 but I've also picked up an 11/25 that I really must get round to installing. This bike is 11 speed and I'm anxious to try out the nice tight gear ratio changes that this cassette offers.
#3 (CX) on this bike I don't give a shit what it looks like. I just need to be able to climb through and over whatever lays in my path. 46-36 and a hideous long cage rear mech to accommodate the HUGE 11/32 that I'm rocking out back!
@kixsand
I did same on my CX bike… started out with the 11-28 and long cage group-san 105 RD and for fun swapped out for a 11-32 105 cassette to give it a try. And yep, it's still on there. And I run 44/34! Sitting in the saddle and spinning up a 20%+ grade of dirt road is something you just have to appreciate being able to do. But, I also appreciate not often having to drop down in to the little ring.
Ultimately I have to believe a 1x is a great set up for a dedicated CX bike (same could also be said for a dedicated crit bike I suppose). Though if a person wants to also ride their CX bike to the park or on dirt roads and such the 2x up front is so much more efficient.
Cheers
@frank-
You know how I feel on the subject of spinning being a trackie-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVbwngNoHm0
Experiment with gears and cadence options while riding a long steady grade with an experienced group. I imagine everyone's different, but my most efficient cadence is clearly not 100+. Probably more like 60 - 70. This is not obvious unless the group pace is very even and you are well up the grade so everything (HR, breathing, blood flow, etc.) has reached equilibrium.
At the start of the season, when the papers reported that Merckx, Maertens and Thurau would be using a number twelve sprocket, Boutonnet rushed off to Italy to buy one. A twelve's what he uses now in our races. He gets teased a little.
"Allez le douze."