Bike group sets advice? Is more gears better?

[Dogtrousers]

I like the single click of Shimano vs the double click of SRam and Campy also seems a bit of a faff as well?

To answer just one of your points. I've used both SRAM (Apex) and Shimano (105) and it takes no time at all to reprogram your fingers and swap between them. I wouldn't say that either was better than the other, both systems work well. So if I were you I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

 

[presta]

I only ever use the middle front cog, as it seems to catch on any others so I just ignore the front mech. I get up most hills on my routes OK, a few longer or steeper ones are still a problem though.

So how do you know the gears you've already got aren't adequate if you can't use them all? I think the first thing to do is fix them and try them, then you'll have a better idea whether you actually need something different, and if so, what.

I have this Deore 3x9 setup giving me 18"-110", which is adequate for fully laden touring in places like the Lake District.

 

[si_c]

So how do you know the gears you've already got aren't adequate if you can't use them all? I think the first thing to do is fix them and try them, then you'll have a better idea whether you actually need something different, and if so, what.

I have this Deore 3x9 setup giving me 18"-110", which is adequate for fully laden touring in places like the Lake District.

I like that tool, particularly it's Compare option.

 

[nickb]

I have this Deore 3x9 setup giving me 18"-110", which is adequate for fully laden touring in places like the Lake District.

Pretty sure that's the same gearing as the 'Mega-9' XT/XTR setup that's on my 2001 Gary Fisher XC bike. Still going strong and climbs like a mountain goat...

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Pretty sure that's the same gearing as the 'Mega-9' XT/XTR setup that's on my 2001 Gary Fisher XC bike. Still going strong and climbs like a mountain goat...
View attachment 649927

Keeps stopping to eat the vegetation?

 

[nickb]

Keeps stopping to eat the vegetation?

It’s me that has to keep stopping

 

[kingrollo]

fwiw I've 10 speed tiagra on my winter bike and the shifting is fine.

 

[slowmotion]

The only thing that matters to me is the lowest gear, the one that stops me grinding to a halt on steep hills. Personally, the highest gear doesn't matter. I don't race, and fear kicks in far sooner going downhill than my desire to win the TdF. All the gears in between those two extremes are just things I fiddle with to make me comfortable at that instant. I don't care if there are thirty or twenty of them.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Some very good responses on here but also some rubbish. Teeth numbers front and back are key, not brands.

One thing I rarely see mentioned in these types of threads is the cost - not just the initial outlay but also the cost of components such as chains and cassettes. Worth looking at.

However, this stands out for me:

I only ever use the middle front cog, as it seems to catch on any others so I just ignore the front mech.

Why not fix this problem first of all?
If you're not using the front chainring hills are going to be harder.
And the same could easily happen (and will!) on the new bike. What will you do then? Get another new bike?

My suggestion is to postpone your purchase decision until your present bike is in full working order ( a great learning experience, especially on an older bike that you're already planning to replace) then you'll be in a far better place to know what you need and how to determine if a potential bike meets it.

Newer is not always better! Apologies for the heresy on a cycling forum

 

[T4tomo]

If you’re happy with your existing bike, that’s the way to go!

existing bike is a MTB and from the OP talking about 105 sora tiagra. I assume @Sloth fancies a road bike.

That said, retro fitting a Spa super compact chainset to a 2nd hand bike is an option. He just need to make sure that it has a threaded bottom bracket so it can take a square taper bottom bracket which Spa's chainsets need.

 

[Dogtrousers]

And even if you do end up buying a new bike, if you sort out your current gearing you will end up with two bikes with full-range gears instead of one!

 

[Sloth]

Thanks for ll the advice guys, I appreciate it.
For clarity I should have mentioned that I do want something lighter and quicker, although I am not interested in going particuarly fast TBH, just steady and to have options up hills. A lighter bike will be easier up hills.
I may keep the CB MTB for spare/winter, or I may sell it, not sure yet and it depends on what I'd get for it.
But my 60th birthday is approaching and m,y wife is buying me a new bike (or new to me anyway) and I'd like to try something that isn't a MTB. Possibly a hybrid/gravel or even a flat bar road bike.
I have not ridden a drop bar bike but my gut tells me that for what I want to do a flat bar would be better and is what I'm used to.
I don't want an aggressive riding position that limits my view of the lovely countryside I'm riding through!
No club, no races, no pressure other than to get fit and enjoy doing it.
Basically I just want a new bike, it's nice top have a nice new toy to enjoy so why not take the opportunity to get something lighter, sexier and smoother.

So if the number of gears is not as important as the ratio of the low/lowest gear/s then what size or number of teeth should I look for in the smallest/lowest gear cog, to facilitate easier hill climbs?
Maths is not my thing so please try to keep it simple!
Thanks

 

[november4]

34, 34

Is it windy where you live, you may be surprised at drop bars, in that you don't cycle bent right over with hands in drops, most of the time hands are on hoods and so body more relaxed, look for endurance frames for relaxed geometry

I went from a flat bar to road bike and its much much easier to cycle in a moderate breeze

 

[T4tomo]

So if the number of gears is not as important as the ratio of the low/lowest gear/s then what size or number of teeth should I look for in the smallest/lowest gear cog, to facilitate easier hill climbs?
Maths is not my thing so please try to keep it simple!

very few road bikes come as 3x anything now, but if you can find a triple great. Most are a 50-34 double up front. avoid anything that is 52-39, that's no good for you, too much high gears not enough low ones.

look for something with preferably a 34 at the back e.g. 11-34, be that claris, sora, tiagra, 105 or whatever. If you are at or close to 1:1 lowest gear (i.e 34-34) that's fine for on road stuff. 34-32 will also probably suffice.

the good news is a lot of manufacturers have realise this over last 10-15 years and whereas 11-25 used to be a standard stock cassette 11-28, 11-32 11-34 are now much more common.

However if you are going for a flat bar road bike / hybrid you may find that in a triple, something like 50/40/30 and an 11:28 at the rear gets you almost to te magic 1:1 ratio for "about as easy as you need for steep hills without grinding to a halt with your legs spinning madly as you are going so slow you'd be better off walking.

The best advice is sort out existing bike, work out what teeth it has and see if you need anything lower than you already have when you can actually use the granny (small) chain ring.

 

[wafter]

Essentially more sprockets on the cassette can give you a wider range or smaller increments in gearing for a given range which allows you to better match your ideal cadence for a given speed.

My road bike has Tiagra 4700 2x10 with I think 12-28 and the gravel bike has 105 R7000 2x11 with an 11-34 cassette. I appreciate the extra range of the 105 setup on the hills but you could get close to this with 10sp (I think you can get up to 32 teeth). The 105 setup is a bit nicer to use but not enermously so and the Tiagra is very good.

As more speeds are added generally sprockets and chains tend to get thinner which suggests they'll not last as long; however 11sp was until recently the defacto "top end" configuration (shared by 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace) making the addition of higher-spec components a more viable option as speed-specific components such as the shifters, cassette and to a lesser extent wheels are interchangeable, while sticking with anything less means you're effectively "trapped" within that one group set (and in future lesser offerings as each progressively gets upped to a greater sprocket count).

FWIW I now consider 105 (or GRX) the only groupset I wish to use as IMO it represents the perfect middle ground - tangibly better than the groupsets beneath and far better value than the higher-end offerings while functionally nearly identical in many ways.