# Boardman Hybrid Comp - is the double chainset a problem on hills



## max1234 (11 May 2010)

Hi,

I am on the verge of buying a Boardman Hybrid Comp but there is just one frustrating issue in the way.

The Boardman Hybrid Comp only has a double chainset.

From time to time I like to go on cycle holidays which involve very hilly routes (the lake district for example) and so I will kick myself if I buy a bike that isn't suited for this.

Can anybody that has this bike tell me how good it is on hills? Does the fact that it is a double chainset and not triple cause any problems? 

Thanks


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## GrasB (11 May 2010)

It depends on the rider really. When combined with a 11-32 cassette I'd say that the range would be more than wide enough for me to deal with all but the steepest (1:3) inclines with ease.


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## yello (11 May 2010)

GrasB said:


> When combined with a 11-*322* cassette



 Yep, you should be able to climb pretty much anything with that! 

Max1234; the little gear on the Boardman is 36x32 I think. Depending on your level of fitness/strength that should be okay for most stuff... but it really is difficult to say without knowing you or your strengths etc.


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## GrasB (11 May 2010)

yello said:


> Yep, you should be able to climb pretty much anything with that!


oops!


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## GrumpyGregry (11 May 2010)

you just develop bigger quads tis all.


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## max1234 (12 May 2010)

Thanks Yello,

Has anyone compared the boardman to another Hybrid in the same price range (£500) but with 3 chainsets instead of 2, and was there a noticeable difference in the bikes ability to handle hills?

I know that different fitness levels will make it easier, but I am interested in pure bike performance here regardless of fitness. I am pretty fit as I do a lot of running, but I don't do any bike riding at the moment. 

Also if someone can explain what 36x32, 11x32 means etc then that will be an added bonus.

Cheers


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## yello (12 May 2010)

max1234 said:


> Also if someone can explain what 36x32, 11x32 means etc then that will be an added bonus.



Sure. And sorry I assumed that you knew.

The first number is the number of teeth on the big sprocket on the front (aka the chainring). Road going triples have something like a 30, a 40 and a 50 tooth chainrings. Compact chainsets (like the Boardman Hybrid) have 2 chainrings; in the Boardman's case a 50 tooth and a 36 tooth. There are other variations, and mountain bike triples normally have smaller chainrings (eg 46,34,24), but hopefully you get the gist. 

The 2nd number is the number of teeth on the rear cog/sprocket. There can be any number of cogs on the rear cassette ('cassette' being the name given to the collection of sprockets), but generally these days it's between 8 and 11... 11 cog cassettes are relatively new. The Boardman has 9 cogs ranging from the smallest of 11 teeth to the biggest at 32 teeth.

So when someone says a gear of 36x32 they mean when the chain is on the 36 tooth front chainring and the 32 tooth rear sprocket. The smallest front to the biggest back gives you the easiest gear to climb in.

36x32 is a little gear, littler than many road going triples littlest! I don't know if the Boardmen Hybrid comes as a triple but my road bike has a little gear of 30x23... that is BIGGER than the Boardman's! You can measure gears in inches, which makes comparison a bit more simple. The Boardman's little gear of 36x32 is around 30", my triple's 30x23 is about 34"... and I can climb pretty much anything on that.

I reckon the compact spec of the Boardman will be okay for fit young bloke like yourself!


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## max1234 (12 May 2010)

Brilliant,

Thanks Yello for an excellent explanation.

I think I just need to pull my finger out and get on with buying the bike!


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## Captain (12 May 2010)

I have that bike and ride it every day on my commute. 

The very last 200m or so of my ride gets pretty steep, really steep! around 1:4/1:3 ish. I find on the boardman that if you drop to the small chainring a little way into the climb you find 5-6 lower gears are still available and at the very steepest parts of my ride I like to stand up in my 3-4 gear. 

I would definately reccomend this bike, I love it. looks good too.


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## Tynan (12 May 2010)

1 in 3 is ludicrous steep surely?


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## fossyant (12 May 2010)

Triple chainsets / compacts..... oh how I weep...... get a double 53 x 39....

Grrrrrr........

PS the Boardman is fine.....honest !


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## bauldbairn (13 May 2010)

I've got the Boardman Pro(same set up as the Comp) - no problems with the gearing.


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## Plax (13 May 2010)

Tynan said:


> 1 in 3 is ludicrous steep surely?



I'd say. I have one on my Tesco route and if I've overloaded my panniers with beer have trouble keeping the front wheel down if I'm not careful! I am in the granny ring on that though (28x34).


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## Shorinjidude (13 May 2010)

Dare I say when you buy go clipless? Great for hills, although I do only commute on my hybrid.


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## Cubist (13 May 2010)

I have one. The last hill on my ride home is steep, and is the last half-mile of a six mile climb. 
After an enforced lay-off I struggled on the steepest part of the last hill, but I wasn't really very fit so I fitted a 34 tooth small chainring. It made just enough differenceto be worth it. 

You can play with the gearing by fitting a 34 tooth smaller chainring, or swapping the rear cassette for a 11-34 tooth one. giving a ratio of 1.18 :1 either way, or both for a 1:1

It'll take a triple too, but you'll need to change the BB to suit.


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## Captain (13 May 2010)

> 1 in 3 is ludicrous steep surely?


This is a steep bit of tarmac
It's probably less than 1 in 3 but it's steep. 
I may have a to take a photo in the morning. 

I don't think this bike has any problem on hills. but the hills I ride are short and sharp - @Cubist: bloody hell thats a long time going uphill.


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## barney magrew (13 May 2010)

*boardman compact*

I have been using my boardman comp since Feb , I really like it on my commute approx 7 miles e/w I have a long gradient to climb, not being an expert I have tried various combinations with the gearing and would be more than confident to tackle most hills with this bike.


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## TheDoctor (13 May 2010)

Tynan said:


> 1 in 3 is ludicrous steep surely?



Steepest I've been up (I think) is a stretch of 1:5 on Horseshoe Pass, Llangollen.
On a scale of 1 to steep it was STEEP!!!!
There's some 1:3.5 in Llandudno IIRC that I completely failed to get up when I was 16. I doubt I'd do any better now.


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## GrasB (13 May 2010)

GrasB said:


> It depends on the rider really. When combined with a 11-32 cassette I'd say that the range would be more than wide enough for me to deal with all but the steepest (1:3) inclines with ease.


I suppose when I say with ease I mean that yes it would hurt & be hard work but I wouldn't really need to push my self to the limit of my abilities to get up a 1:3 on that gearing.


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## jimboalee (14 May 2010)

TheDoctor said:


> Steepest I've been up (I think) is a stretch of 1:5 on *Horseshoe Pass*, Llangollen.
> On a scale of 1 to steep it was STEEP!!!!
> There's some 1:3.5 in Llandudno IIRC that I completely failed to get up when I was 16. I doubt I'd do any better now.



I got up there on my SWorks with 39 x 25. 3.5 mph at the slowest point. 325ish Watts I reckon, at 30 rpm.


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## PpPete (14 May 2010)

We can't all put out 300+ watts ! And the SWorks is a seriously light bike too.

Personally I'd want a triple on a hybrid. But then I failed to get up a 1 in 5 in a 26" gear in the middle of my first 100k. I've got smaller chainrings now.


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## Plax (14 May 2010)

TheDoctor said:


> Steepest I've been up (I think) is a stretch of 1:5 on Horseshoe Pass, Llangollen.
> On a scale of 1 to steep it was STEEP!!!!
> There's some 1:3.5 in Llandudno IIRC that I completely failed to get up when I was 16. I doubt I'd do any better now.



Great Orme. Want to have another go next time your over?


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## TheDoctor (14 May 2010)

No, I do not. It was just stupid.
I quite fancy the toll road round the Great Orme though.


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## TheDoctor (14 May 2010)

Duplicate post


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## TheDoctor (14 May 2010)

PC went a bit strange there!!!


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## Captain (17 May 2010)

I tried climbing this hill the other day after reading this thread.
It's the same as the one on my way to work but a lot longer. 
I must say upon closer inspection 1 in 3 is more likely 1 in 4. to me pretty damn steep.


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## GrumpyGregry (17 May 2010)

the B3122 which runs parallel gets a single < on the OS map suggesting it is between 1 in 7 (14%) and 1 in 5 (20%) whilst bikehike suggest St Agnes itself is a climb of 18m over about 200m.

I know from my own, albeit rural, commute that roads with < on them can have significantly steeper micro-climbs on them, piffling to the internal combustion engine but decidedly awkward for my legs.


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## deckertim (24 May 2010)

I did the Evans King of the Down Sportive yesterday. I am not that fit, soI was glad I had a triple with 28 front and 34 back for some of the hills as I was able to cycle up all of them. Albeit stopping for a breather half way up. There were plenty of younger fitter guys than me who had compact chainsets that were having to walk up.


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## Captain (25 May 2010)

@GregCollins: I stand corrected! 
It's damn steep is the main point really. 
I dont know what it would be like with any kind of load though - i've only climbed it with my saddlebag on.

There is a road I am building up to trying that I dont know the gradient of except that the bricks in the wall next to it are cut in half corner to corner. 
Thought I had gradient notage sorted but is that 1 in 2?


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## Sally (23 Aug 2010)

Can I ask for some related advice?

I have just got a Boardman's Womens Hybrid Comp, and I'm really enjoying it but struggling a bit with gear sequencing on my commute to work.
It's pretty busy traffic wise and has a short steepish hill and quite a few pedestrian crossings (not in the same stretch thank goodness!)
The range of the gears is absolutely fine for my journey but my last bike had a hub gear so I'm out of practice and struggling to get my head round using a double chainset rather than a triple as I was previously used to

So two specific issues I am finding

1. If I'm in top gear (2 and 9 front and back respectively) and the predestrian crossing lights change so I need a quick stop, I am struggling a bit to change down to 2 and 5 which is comfortable for a standing start and brake at the same time. Is this just a case of getting used to doing this? I am assuming that I shouldn't shift to 1 and 9 as that wouldn't be good for the gears?

2. As I start my ascent I am in 2 and 5, whereas at the top I will want to be in about 1 and 3. What's a sensible sequence to move between these without losing too much momentum?

Any advice gratefully received (though if it's try harder / build your quads please remember there's lots of traffic so I do need to keep quite an eye on the cars and stay flexible to avoid them!!)

thanks

Sally


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