Cassettes and cimbing?

[ianrauk]

I don't want MTB gearing,as i said,i can do the hills but i would just like something to help,especially on the steep climbs so the knees and legs don't kill me as much that's all.

Get a triple crankset then.

 

[Peteaud]

Some of the 2013 Dales came with a 12-30, most of the new Ultegra bikes across all makes come with 12-32 so the market must be there.

On your cad it should take a 30T but you will probably have to adjust your b screw and you may need a few extra chain links.

Ignore the shimano tech docs, they lie.

The 105 5700 equiped synapse came from the factory with a 30T, so how can that be if shimano say it wont work

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/2014/bikes/road/endurance-road/synapse/synapse-disc-5-105

 

[YahudaMoon]

Get a triple crankset then.

This is where you need that second bike, low geared bikes for climbing hills all day is something I need nowadays, my compact chainset with a rear 28t dont work for me anymore and prefer the old triple with my old bike

My next hill specific hill climbing bike will be having MTB crank (Quiche)

The compact cranked bike can stay for rolling hills or flat roads

Stronghlight do a excellent compact road version in a triple chain ring with silly low gears Thats my other option

 

[YahudaMoon]

But on climbing the steepest hills,like Sheephouse lane in Rivington i struggle,i never give up and always make it but it beats the hell out of me and my legs.

Would changing the rear cassette to a 12-30 help or not worth the hassle,also what differences would i notice both on the climbs and descents.And also on the flats dont forget.

Seriously though,my knees are not at their best,years of working on building sites and crawling on the floors has not done me any favours so i need to protect them,and my back.

Getting a 30t aint gonna work in my opinion, doubt you'll notice the difference.

Only difference you'll notice here is probably not being able to cycle in years to come due to grinding up hills with your current knees issues

Get some decent low gears, you'll may also get up the hills quicker and suffer less, we all want to think were still in our 20's

 

[Dogtrousers]

An aside: On one relatively flat ride last year (FNRttC Whitstable) I noticed after about 20 miles, I hadn't used the little ring. In a fit of machismo, I decided to show off to myself and stay in the big ring all the way (~70 miles). As noted it's pretty flat with only one significant hill. All the same, I paid for my silliness afterwards as my knees were very sore indeed.

 

[Tigerbiten]

Another vote for a MTB triple in front.
If you want to keep the same top end, then 46/11 is the same as 50/12.
So a 46-34-24 front and a 11-26 at the back would work and give you a lot lower gear without dropping the top end..

 

[Sharky]

A few mentions of knee problems on here. You might find shorter cranks help. I've switched to 150mm on three of my bikes and 145mm on another. This allows you to raise the saddle by 2cm or so and the angle at the hips is much more open and your knees are much less bent at the top of the circle.

You might think a shorter crank is worse for climbing, but in practice, you can stay seated for much longer and are able to ride a smaller gear at a higher cadence.

Cheers keith

PS I'm 64 and still knocking out 27's on our evening 10's and there are older and faster riders!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Ok,although i have been riding for a couple of years and got quite a few miles under the bonnet i am a bit thick regarding gearing.So need your advice.

I currently have a Cannondale Caad 8 105 with the settings as below.I have changed nothing in that time.

But on climbing the steepest hills,like Sheephouse lane in Rivington i struggle,i never give up and always make it but it beats the hell out of me and my legs.Would changing the rear cassette to a 12-30 help or not worth the hassle,also what differences would i notice both on the climbs and descents.And also on the flats dont forget.

Or is there another way to help on the climbs.

Of course i have the usual limits as always such as budget would appreciate your wise knowledge on this matter.


Cranks: Fsa Gossamer, BB30, 50/34
Bottom Bracket: Fsa BB30
Chain: Kmc X10
Rear Cogs: Shimano Tiagra 4600, 12-28, 10-Speed
Front Derailleur: Shimano 105 5700, 31.8mm Clamp
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 5700
Shifters: Shimano 105 5700

I'm in the same boat as you with virtually the same equipment you have listed.

I have just switched from 46/36 x 12-28 to 46/34 x 12-28 and it has helped quite a lot.

I think I will try a 12-30 when my cassette needs replacing - my RD is a 5701 which will take this ok.

Beyond that I think a triple will be the way forward for me if I ever wish to tackle the bigger Lake District climbs.

Imo there are way too few bikes produced with the triple option which seems daft to me.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Well I ran a 32th on a RD5701, only did it the one day, but it worked but can't say more than that like @ColinJ says Spa have some nice kit I am thinking of changing my current chainset from a 52/40/30 to a 50/38/28, and possibly going from a 12-27 to a 12-25 cassette, I lose a tad on the high end about 4.5" down to 109.4" gain a couple on of inch from about 29 to 27" on the 27th but mor importantly to me i get a better mid range from 15-17 as the 38th would make it more like a 16-18 I still have the jump from 17 to 19 but it shouldn't be as bad as i current have.

For the record a 52x13 is the same as a 48x12

 

[Globalti]

Gti told me that theyl did a slightly extended Way of the Roses which came in at 188 miles. I confess that I am surprised that he felt such a boost from it, given that he was pretty fit to start with. I did 190 miles in 3 rides over 5 days in Scotland a couple of weeks ago and didn't feel physically much different when I got back. Maybe a pound lighter, but that's all.

Yes, we did Morecambe to Bridlington, the Way of the Roses, which is officially 170 miles but with detours to campsites etc. we ended up recording 188 miles. I did it on my Tricross disc with rack and a pannier for day stuff, making it quite a heavy bike but I concentrated on spinning the gears smoothly and the workout did my legs a power of good in overall muscle development. Really they did feel remarkably stronger once I had recovered from the effort and the lack of sleep.

The tricross has 30/40/50 and 11-30 so the ratios are perfect for touring. It has Sora shifters with cables heading inwards from the levers, making it fantastically smooth shifting and a pleasure to ride. Going back to my roadie after that, the hidden cable Ultegra shifters felt nasty, choppy, heavy and imprecise by comparison. Hidden cables are a bad fashion.

 

[ColinJ]

The tricross has 30/40/50 and 11-30 so the ratios are perfect for touring. It has Sora shifters with cables heading inwards from the levers, making it fantastically smooth shifting and a pleasure to ride. Going back to my roadie after that, the hidden cable Ultegra shifters felt nasty, choppy, heavy and imprecise by comparison. Hidden cables are a bad fashion.

Very similar to the new gearing on my Cannondale, except for a couple more high gears, but I don't really miss them. (My cadence is fine at 30 mph and I can do 35 mph before the pedal revs start to get too high.)

The shifters and hidden cables on my Campagnolo-equipped bikes work perfectly well!

 

[Globalti]

I think it's to do with the pull ratios; the Sora shifters need a big easy sweep of movement to change one gear and the cable line is very direct; straight out (in really) from the axis of the shifter, through a gentle 90 degree curve and straight down the downtube. By contrast the Ultegra shifters need only a short movement to shift one gear meaning more effort is needed, worsened by the indirect cable route.

 

[Sportiver]

I have a Cannondale CAAD 8 2300 and want to upgrade the wheels to Fulcrum 7's, does anyone know if they will fit and will I need a new shimano 8 cassette to fit to wheels, wheels are 700'/23/25's, thanks

 

[albion]

I, next day,celebrated an easy 100 mile and the fact that my knees felt great by taking my steel high geared road bike out for a 20 mile ride with some hills near the end.

That must have been 4 months ago now. The fact that the next morning, in getting out of bed, I needed a 2nd attempt to 'stand', the knee pain means I have accepted reality and not used the bike since. The flat bar road bike I use for near arthritis free riding has something like a 22-34-44 chainwheel and a 12-32 cassette.

Living close to some of the best routes our country has to offer means that that super low 22-32 combi gets used near daily.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

The tricross has 30/40/50 and 11-30 so the ratios are perfect for touring. It has Sora shifters with cables heading inwards from the levers, making it fantastically smooth shifting and a pleasure to ride. Going back to my roadie after that, the hidden cable Ultegra shifters felt nasty, choppy, heavy and imprecise by comparison. Hidden cables are a bad fashion.

Just upgraded my Sora 3400 triple to a 105 5700/3 triple and I prefer the 105, I did deliberate over the virtues of the Tiagra/105 set ups, the extra gear isn't really where I wanted it an extra high gear 12th, I was happy with the 52x13 and would have preferred a 13/14/15/16/17/18/19/21/24/27 or 28 but they dont do one, and not as easy to make your own. Having said that the range on a 40th is quite amazing really, and i only need to change from the middle for the more steeper climbs/descents ( though maybe I should avoid the extremes 27th and 12th), but that doesn't mean the 30th is not used as it gives better options than the 40x21-27 range.