Cassette change

[gavroche]

I have a Cube Peloton with a granny gear of 30/32 which is the best of my three bikes but, not being a born climber, is it worth changing the cassette to a 34 teeth ? Would it really make a lot of difference when going up steep hills? I would appreciate your valued opinion on that.

 

[DCBassman]

Can't have too many low gears!

 

[Racing roadkill]

2 teeth would make a surprising difference. If you really can’t do hills, 30-34 would be a very low gear to have, it must be a tiny gear inches number only measurable by some sort of atomic clock, or something.

 

[Paulus]

With a 30/34 you should be able to pedal up a brick wall.

 

[sleuthey]

It would make a noticeable difference to how easy it is to pedal at the same rpm however this would be at the cost of a speed decrease

 

[DCBassman]

I have a Cube Peloton with a granny gear of 30/32 which is the best of my three bikes but, not being a born climber, is it worth changing the cassette to a 34 teeth ? Would it really make a lot of difference when going up steep hills? I would appreciate your valued opinion on that.

To be more explicit, I put an11-34 mtb cassette and rd on a Scott roadie, giving 30-34 on a 23lb bike. Still couldn't quite get up my nemesis ramp. Did the same tjing to my old steel mtb, giving 28-34, and got up it on a bike 10lb heavier. It's around 21 or 22 gear inches, maybe less. The mtb is going to get even lower, maybe 22-36!

 

[DCBassman]

And of course, you will spin!

 

[I like Skol]

F'all difference. On either gear you will have to dig deep if you see the climb as a mountain. I have ridden up long alpine climbs and not really noticed the gradient, only the duration.

 

[Moodyman]

Agree with Skolly. It's only 1.5 gear inch lower. So, chances are if you're struggling, you'll still struggle though the magnitude of the struggle may be fractionally less.

 

[Tigerbiten]

When going 32->34, which other sprockets are you changing ??
If you're only altering the 32 sprocket to 34 then fine.
If you're altering 4-5 sprockets to get the 34 sprocket then check you're not putting a nasty step in your most commonly used gears.
Something like a 17-19 step going to 17-20, a 12% step going to 17.5% step.

Luck .........

 

[graham bowers]

Why not do the experiment and decide for yourself? 2 extra teeth on the back gives you a 6% lower ratio. So what is moot is whether a 6% change is worth it. Why not weigh yourself and the bike, add 6% and go and ride. Take that 6% off and ride again. Did you feel the difference and is it worth it?

 

[Globalti]

Just ride for an hour in this heat and you'll lose easily a kilo in weight as you sweat. If you don't believe me, weigh yourself naked before and after riding in hot weather.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I've just checked the specs.
The stock block is an 8 speed 12-32 with a 50-39-30 road triple.
That gives you a nice range of gears, 112.5"-25.3".
If you can find a 12-34 block then it's fine as it only shifts your first gear by roughly 1/2 a gear down.
I wouldn't recommend fitting an 11-34 block, unless you have an 11-32 block fitted, as it will shift all the top gears upward making them harder to use.
That's unless you really want to pedal downhill roughly 10% faser .......

 

[Dogtrousers]

Would it make a difference? Well, my experience of adding the two teeth to give me a 34/34 bottom gear instead of 34/32 was that it did make a significant difference.

It also made me slower because I always go direct to bottom gear (whatever that happens to be) on any hill of any size, and pedal at the same rate, so I just slowed down - but it became easier.

But there are other considerations, like can your derailleur handle it, what effect will it have on all your other gears etc.

 

[justinmg]

I changed my 32 for a SRAM 36. Not sure I would have made the effort for a 34.