58 tooth chainring?

[gaz]

I don't think you can go any smaller on the inner ring with a 53 tooth front ring. Going to have difficulties getting the chain between the two.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I don't think you can go any smaller on the inner ring with a 53 tooth front ring. Going to have difficulties getting the chain between the two.

I had a feeling that might be the case. Not a problem . Technique. Technique, technique it is then.

 

[Rapples]

Angelfish your front mech will only handle a certain maximum difference in teeth, 53-39 is probably close to it. The rear mech also will have a maximum but that can depend on whether it's long medium or short cage, and what spread you have on the cassette. Whatever it's set up with is probabaly close to the maximum it can cope with.

you've got quite a wide spread on that cassette which covers most things unless you change to a compact chainset which won't help your topspeed. I'd leave things as they are, it's better to spin out downhilll, that walk to the top from the other side

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Angelfish your front mech will only handle a certain maximum difference in teeth, 53-39 is probably close to it. The rear mech also will have a maximum but that can depend on whether it's long medium or short cage, and what spread you have on the cassette. Whatever it's set up with is probabaly close to the maximum it can cope with.

you've got quite a wide spread on that cassette which covers most things unless you change to a compact chainset which won't help your topspeed. I'd leave things as they are, it's better to spin out downhilll, that walk to the top from the other side

Chees one and all. Will leave bike the way it is

 

[MacB]

Yep, with a 39/53 and 14-28, assuming a 700x23 tyre, you're getting:-

39t - 37 to 73 gear inches
53t - 50 to 100 gear inches

The cogs at the back make much more difference than at the front, for example a 26/42 setup with 11-23 gives:-

26t - 30 to 62 gear inches
42t - 48 to 100 gear inches

It does depend on how you ride, grind/spin, how much you like to change gear to keep a cadence or if you don't mind altering cadence to suit terrain. I've just switched things around again and have:-

MTB 56mm tyres 24/34/46 with 11-34 giving me:-

24t - 20 to 63 gear inches - this is for serious hills or tricky stuff
34t - 29 to 90 gear inches - general riding
46t - 40 to 121 gear inches - fast stuff

Road 32mm tyres 24/40 with 11-28:-

24t - 23 to 59 inches
40t - 39 to 98 inches

like you I'd probably max out at 30mph on the flat, I can get above but 30mph is about the 100rpm mark, I struggle to maintain a spin above that level at present. When fitter I found that I could spin around 110 quite well, above that things got a bit ragged

 

[Rob3rt]

Buy some rollers and learn to spin smoothly. Probly be able to pick some up on ebay for not a bad price.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I just need to get out on one of the few flat stretches of road and practice I think

 

[montage]

You're constantly spinning out on a 53-14 gear on the flat?
What pro team do you cycle for?


​

 

[Angelfishsolo]

You're constantly spinning out on a 53-14 gear on the flat?
What pro team do you cycle for?


​

No spinning out down hill

 

[MacB]

by the way, to give you an idea of reference a jump to a 58t ring would give you a top of 58/14 which is the same as 46/11, 50/12, 53/13, roughly.

 

[Rapples]

No spinning out down hill

My top gear coming down Mont Ventoux was 50/13 I felt no desire to pedal at any time

 

[Angelfishsolo]

by the way, to give you an idea of reference a jump to a 58t ring would give you a top of 58/14 which is the same as 46/11, 50/12, 53/13, roughly.

That is very interesting indeed. Nice one

 

[gds58]

Would I be mad to move from a 53 to a 58 or 60 tooth outer chainring rather than swap the rear from a 14-28 to 11-24 or so. Am after better flat and downhill speed.

Chainrings of this size (58 - 60) are only ever really used on racing Tandems where the speeds are much higher than a solo. Even the pro's only generally use a 53 ring or in a Time Trial they may use a 54 0r 55 and they regularly ride at a constant 30 - 40 mph on the flat. It is by far more efficient to train yourself to spin faster. You can do this very effectively by riding a fixed gear bike for some of the time or simply making yourself ride in a lower gear than you would normally.

When Chris Boardman first broke the 25 mile Competition Record in a time of 46 mins 17 secs he rode a 108" fixed gear which is 52 x 13 which equates to an average speed of approximately 32.6 mph!!! Whilst I accept that he was an exceptional athlete it shows that with the ability to spin a gear at around 110 to 120 rpm this is what can be achieved without the need for ridiculously high gears.

All of your riding will improve if you can condition yourself to spinning lower gears at a high cadence, it's why a lot of road racers will ride a fixed gear through the winter time.

Hope this helps, Graham

Oh sorry.. in answer to your question.. YES you would be mad!!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Chainrings of this size (58 - 60) are only ever really used on racing Tandems where the speeds are much higher than a solo. Even the pro's only generally use a 53 ring or in a Time Trial they may use a 54 0r 55 and they regularly ride at a constant 30 - 40 mph on the flat. It is by far more efficient to train yourself to spin faster. You can do this very effectively by riding a fixed gear bike for some of the time or simply making yourself ride in a lower gear than you would normally.

When Chris Boardman first broke the 25 mile Competition Record in a time of 46 mins 17 secs he rode a 108" fixed gear which is 52 x 13 which equates to an average speed of approximately 32.6 mph!!! Whilst I accept that he was an exceptional athlete it shows that with the ability to spin a gear at around 110 to 120 rpm this is what can be achieved without the need for ridiculously high gears.

All of your riding will improve if you can condition yourself to spinning lower gears at a high cadence, it's why a lot of road racers will ride a fixed gear through the winter time.

Hope this helps, Graham

Thank you very much indeed.

So in summary - Body Aerodynamics, Technique and Cadence. All good stuff to work on

 

[SportMonkey]

I can hit 50-55Mph on a down hill with a 53/11

Happy to sit at 25-30 on the flat and can knock out a 40-45Mph sprint

Wouldn't really want anything bigger (ohhh errrr misses) spin spin spin

Have you been competing, those kind of speeds and a bit of training you'd be knocking on selection pace.