Bike purchase question

[magnatom]

Thanks guys. I had a quick look for Trek Pilots, but I can't find any models for this year. Have they changed the model name?

Kyuss, I will certainly try some bikes with the safety levers on (I will try the tricross sport anyway). Who knows that might still be the one. I know that even that is considerably lighter than what I have just now!

Crackle at the moment I have a ridgeback cyclone 19 inch frame (2005 model). Althogh I have always wondered if it was a little small for me. I've attached a pic of me on it.

As for gear ratios, I have no idea! It's a triple of course. On the recent Scottish ride (pretty hilly) I probably maxed out at both ends, but I hope I maxed out at the bottom as I had such a heavy bike!

Oh and that's goo in the background. See how I look so much fresher than he does....

A good LBS would be a good idea. I'll have a look in the LBS recommendation tread, but it would have to be part of the cyclescheme scheme.

 

[Crackle]

Trek have revamped their range and it's gone replaced by the 1 series. The geometry is different to the Pilot range with the 1.2 seeming the most similiar: Got to admit, not so impressed with that. Maybe strike that suggestion off then.

Looking at that pic of you, see the difference between you and Goo there. Your shoulders are back and arms wide and your body much more upright. This is not a position you are trying to replicate on a road bike, instead you need to be leaning forward more, shoulders down, like Goo is.

Looking at that pic, though it could be the angle, it does look a tadge small for you that bike.

As for gears, what's have you got on now. Is it an 8 speed, with what 11-32, triple with 42-32-22, which and which ones do you use, middle and lowest rear 5 or different? I ask because knowing this I can roughly tell you what the equivalent road bike gearing will be you should look for.

 

[magnatom]

I've attached another pic of me on my bike. I bought it in a bit of a rush, although the LBS was supposed to be reasonably good. I have always wondered if I should have gone for a frame size up.

It is an 8 speed cassette, but I'm not sure what the gearing is, as I've never had to worry about that before. I assume I need to count teeth!?

I know I'd want something more at the top (i.e. faster gears) on the new bike as I maxed out quite a bit on my recent rides, and I suppose it would have to have a reasonable range at the bottom (to start with at least). On my commute going through the tunnel I do use the smallest chainring and the second smallest cassette ring, but I need to work on that.

 

[Crackle]

Maggers, is there any chance you're gonna tell me which feckin' gears you use or am I gonna have to guess

Right I know the gearing on your bike now just tell me which gear you cruise in, whether you sat in one gear or whether you are constantly changing to maintain your cadence. I can then say you need a roadbike with the following gearing......

And yes, I'd say it's too small. What are you 5'10"?

 

[magnatom]

Maggers, is there any chance you're gonna tell me which feckin' gears you use or am I gonna have to guess

Right I know the gearing on your bike now just tell me which gear you cruise in, whether you sat in one gear or whether you are constantly changing to maintain your cadence. I can then say you need a roadbike with the following gearing......

And yes, I'd say it's too small. What are you 5'10"?

Sorry! I didn't know you wanted detail! Now you will realise how slow I am....

On my commute on the flat I will sit on the middle chainring and use 4, 5, and 6 depending on road conditions and my speed. Downhill I usually switch onto the largest chainring and on my commute use 5, 6 and 7 on the cassette. Uphill I use either the middle chainring (and 2, 3 or 4) or for bigger hills (like the tunnel hill, which is pretty steep, honest, I drop to the smaller chainring and use 2 or 3. I never use 1 or 8 on my cassette for my commute, but I certainly needed them both on the road rides!

Yes I am about 5'10" (and a bit!). It is fine for my commute, but I found on the longer rides that my lower back would get sore and stiff. I assume that is because I am a bit cramped.

Thanks for the help crackle!

 

[Crackle]

Good man. I'll get back to you later on the gearing, as I am required now. I suspect the stiff back is a result of your too upright position on the bike.

 

[GrahamG]

I'd agree with an audax style road bike, but in reality that just means something that will take guards and a rack so just take a look at the likes of the Giant SCR range (although that might have changed for 2009!) which will accommodate or maybe something steel like the dawes audax bikes. As long as it's got a triple or compact gearing (see the thread started by punkypossum to get an idea of pros/cons and other reasoning for preference) then you'll be golden for commuting duties.

 

[magnatom]

Good man. I'll get back to you later on the gearing, as I am required now. I suspect the stiff back is a result of your too upright position on the bike.

Actually, thinking about it, I don't use the larger chainring on the flats as there aren't too many long stretches on my commute where I can build up much speed. On the flats on the road rides (well on PfS, the other ride it was far too windy!) I did get on the larger chainring, probably with 5 or 6.

Graham, I have had a look at the Giants (online). They've replaced the SCR with the Defy bikes. I will certainly have a look at them.

 

[GrahamG]

They're good value and actually have a relaxed enough geometry for non-racers to comfortably enjoy. I don't think you can ignore the big brands for this price - it's a huge chunk of their market so the economies of scale gives you some great value bikes.

 

[Crackle]

Maggers you are using a gear range of 34" to 60" most commonly. I'm guessing from this you are a spinner and those legs of yours are flying around, accounts for all that heavy breathing The Ridgeback has got fairly widely spaced gears around the range you are using and you would almost certainly benefit from some smaller gaps i.e less of a difference between gears.

Personally I'd recommend a triple of the 50/39/30 range with a 10 speed 11-27 rear block. This would see you using the middle almost exclusively with a drop to the inner for the tunnel but your lowest gear would not be anywhere near as low as the one you use now which is around 23".

Just confirm that gear usage to me because you are twiddling quite low gears there and the transition to a road bike gearing, especially the lower gears, might be a shock. If right, the Tricross, with it's 12-32 block would give you similiar gears to now but more of them with less of a jump. Of course you would be riding a lighter faster bike so you would almost certainly use higher gears and find it easier but we just need to set a measure to be sure.

 

[magnatom]

Cheer Crackle! Your a great help. I don't often venture outside commuting and cafe so I sometimes forget how much help there is on this forum. You obviously know a lot. Do you, or have you worked in a bike shop, or is it just years (many?) of experience?

I am a bit of a spinner. It probably stems from the days I used to go to the gym. I would often start with 20 minutes on an excercise bike and I tried to keep an RPM of about 80. I'm probably there or there abouts on the bike. You can see my typical cadance here.

How did you work out my gear ratios though. I have had a new cassette and the chainring has been changed on my ridgeback and after the change it did have a slightly different ratio than the original (I needed to use slightly different gears). If needed I could have a look at the cassette and chainring to confirm what I have. (I might pop out now and take a pic!)

On the way home I did try and pay attention to the gears I use and I think it was fairly accurate.

 

[fossyant]

80-90 rpm is the ideal....

 

[Crackle]

<head in hands> You never said you changed the cassette. What is it now then?

Gear ratios are expressed in inches and are calculated thus:-

Wheel diameter*(number of front teeth/number of rear teeth) This gives you a number, expressed in inches and enables you to compare gears. So a 50x23 is the same as a 42x19 (roughly), hence knowing what you use now really helps to spec what you need on a new bike, bearing in mind that different bikes will make the job easier or harder and so you may use slightly different gears on different bikes.

Now I really need to know what cassette is on the rear and the new chainring, if different, as that will make a big difference or could do. Judging by that vid, the speed you are going and counting your cadence, it does not tally with the standard cassette on the Cyclone.

If you want a comparison, a lot of people use a 64" gear on a fixed bike as it is a good gear for allround use, I myself commonly use 64" or gears around it. A 64" gear at 90rpm will see you moving along at 17mph, 80rpm is 15.5mph.

Experience. Well about 28 years of taking cycling seriously means even thickies like me absorb something in the end, though I've never done huge yearly mileages.

Also, look at Grahamg's post. Off you go and find Punky's posts on bike sizing and choice and look at the Giant Defy series, though I'm not sure if they'll do mudguards, just racks.

 

[magnatom]

LOL! I really am causing problems aren't I!

I went out and had a quick tooth count, remembering it is cold out, pretty dark and my bike is manky at the moment (and I'm in my nice clothes, so I might be out a little) but I think I have 56/38/28 (might be 55/38/28). On the cassette the largest I have is 28 and the smallest 11.

I promise to go away after this!

 

[fossyant]

Crackle has a gear calculator chart in front of him....... I have one in my desk at work...just working out the optimum for my commute if I switch to a fixed..... and a lower gear to go the 'other way' at weekends, as it's hilly where live.

Is the new bike commuter only or commute plus longer rides at weekends...... go for compact or triple if not confident of your abilities. Triple will give you bail out !