Chainsets and gearing

[GreigM]

I went with 32 on the back, struggle on hills as well, does make it a bit easier but I still have to stop for a breather now and then

 

[Hutch118]

Did you have any issue with the rear setup when you changed the cassette Greig? Did you have to change anything to allow the cassette to fit?

 

[Nibor]

I think the widest ratio 9 speed is a 12-36, which should get you up practically anything. You will need an MTB rear mech, and a longer chain, but it will be geared as wide as possible.

Yes I have one on my mountain bike
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/shimano-9-spd-hg400-alivio-cassette/

 

[gbb]

Hi folks, I'm looking for advice on gearing and chainsets for my bike. When I bought it (an Orbea Avant road bike) it came with the factory fitted chainsets and gears. They are Shimano Sora 3550 34/50 chain rings and 12-27, 9 speed rear cartridge

When I'm out on the bike, everything's ok I get on fine but the problem is this, I'm not fit enough at the moment to climb reasonably decent hills, my legs absolutely ache and I inevitably have to stop. Now I know I have to improve my level of fitness, that's obvious, plus I need to improve on the distance and time I'm on the bike. I can do all that.

My query is, can I change the rear gearing sprockets to make climbing a wee bit easier till I improve and what would be the best combination to go for.
The bike came with the Shimano Sora/Claris set up but I really don't know what to go for or what I actually need. I take it the cartridges can be changed. What would suit me better as I don't understand the gearing correctly. Is there a thread I can read so I can understand it better?

Any advice and help ppreciated, thanks. Hutch.

Just worth mentioning, while you know your fitness has yet to improve (and it will), excessively achey legs, particually your thighs can be caused by your saddle being too low.
It may be worth checking.

 

[Eribiste]

When I replaced the chain on my Boardman I also changed the cassette from the standard 9 speed 11 - 26 for a Shimano HG50 9 speed 11 - 30. The medium cage rear derailleur copes admirably with it, and I can cope with the hills somewhat better. Given suitable sprocket tools the replacement is an easy job.

A 20% or more hill will still require me to stop and inspect mudguard/chain/tyre/(insert excuse of your choice here) but hey-ho, I just need to practice more.

 

[Widge]

Hi..........
Late middle-aged cyclist here................

Yup-It is now easier than ever to get some old-bloke-gearing on yer road bike!
Pay no attention to Velominato types and their HTFU suffering ethos!

I have got weak spindlely 60 yr. old legs but just love to ride my road bike. I It has a triple 50-39-30 chainset and I i have retro-fitted it with an 11-30 cassette which gives me a 1=1 climbing gear. It's a god-send where I live on the edge of Dartmoor! I could probably even go to a 32t rear cassette? Absolute heresy!! MTB gearing for chrisake!!!!

It runs flawlessly. All I had to do was replace the rear derailleur with a 'long-cage' version to handle the extra chain length to cover all the gearing options. Since road-biking had its renaissance a few years back, Shimano (in particular) started producing gearing that catered for less than Bronzed-Adonis 20-something riders and all credit to them. Claris-Sora-Tiagra-105 gearing system can all be tweaked now to to handle what the continentals call 'alpine gearing' but which Brit roadies call 'old-man' gearing.

Suffer not and ignore those elitist velominati gain-sayers. Ride the gears you need. It IS all do-able!

Good luck and Happy Ridinge.
w

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Widge my current 105 setup is a front 50/38/26 with a 12-27 10 sp rear even with a 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23 i can get pretty low gearing, and how many can say they ride a 12-23 cassette. if your triple has a 74BCD inner fitting a 28th inner will be no problem.

 

[gbb]

Hi..........
Late middle-aged cyclist here................

Yup-It is now easier than ever to get some old-bloke-gearing on yer road bike!
Pay no attention to Velominato types and their HTFU suffering ethos!

I have got weak spindlely 60 yr. old legs but just love to ride my road bike. I It has a triple 50-39-30 chainset and I i have retro-fitted it with an 11-30 cassette which gives me a 1=1 climbing gear. It's a god-send where I live on the edge of Dartmoor! I could probably even go to a 32t rear cassette? Absolute heresy!! MTB gearing for chrisake!!!!

It runs flawlessly. All I had to do was replace the rear derailleur with a 'long-cage' version to handle the extra chain length to cover all the gearing options. Since road-biking had its renaissance a few years back, Shimano (in particular) started producing gearing that catered for less than Bronzed-Adonis 20-something riders and all credit to them. Claris-Sora-Tiagra-105 gearing system can all be tweaked now to to handle what the continentals call 'alpine gearing' but which Brit roadies call 'old-man' gearing.

Suffer not and ignore those elitist velominati gain-sayers. Ride the gears you need. It IS all do-able!

Good luck and Happy Ridinge.
w

I suspect you're saying that tongue in cheek, but I suspect 99% of folk on here would say, there are no rules and if it works for you, that's all that matters.
What you get from riding a bike is more important than the bike itself.

 

[Racing roadkill]

One of my bikes has a Sora nine speed set up, with a triple up front, and a 12:27 cassette. It's the bike I use when I'm reccy ing an unknown route, and I'm not sure of the hillyness. With a bit of riding time / practice , you should be able to get up pretty much anything you'll encounter on these shores, with the 34 ring and up to the 27 rear sprocket. I'd say try to avoid low balling your gearing, as that will be counter productive in the long term.

 

[ColinJ]

With a bit of riding time / practice , you should be able to get up pretty much anything you'll encounter on these shores, with the 34 ring and up to the 27 rear sprocket. I'd say try to avoid low balling your gearing, as that will be counter productive in the long term.

Whereas I would say exactly the opposite ... make sure that you are not overgeared, as avoiding steep hills because you can't get up them will do SFA for your fitness!

34/27 may well be fine for short stretches of 10-15% but once you start hitting 20+% for any significant distance, you will have a much nicer time with something lower at your disposal, should you feel the need!

I have low gears on all of my bikes. I modded my CAAD5 to suit the local hills, replacing the old 53/39 double with a more hill-friendly 48/36/28 triple. I have also replaced the 13-29 cassette with a 12-30. I do stay on the middle ring for shorter/less steep hills. I can get up short stretches of 20+% in 36/27 or 36/30 but I'd much rather spin on longer hills so I'd go up them on the 28 ring and choose whatever big sprocket suited me.

25+% is always going to be hard, so why make it harder by not using low enough gears?

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'd say try to avoid low balling your gearing, as that will be counter productive in the long term.

Why do you say that?

 

[T4tomo]

One of my bikes has a Sora nine speed set up, with a triple up front, and a 12:27 cassette. It's the bike I use when I'm reccy ing an unknown route, and I'm not sure of the hillyness. With a bit of riding time / practice , you should be able to get up pretty much anything you'll encounter on these shores, with the 34 ring and up to the 27 rear sprocket. I'd say try to avoid low balling your gearing, as that will be counter productive in the long term.

"You" could be anything from an 18 to an 81 year old.
"anything you encounter on these shores" has a massive variation from not a lot in most parts to the likes of Hardnott, wynatts, Rosedale chimney etc.
By your own admission you take your triple out when hilly, which I assume has bottom gear of 30-27 or lower.

Best advice is no one has every worried about running out of high gears (freewheel works) but there are times when you can never have enough low gears, ie when you knackered, its v steep, long, into the wind, carrying luggage etc

 

[phantasmagoriana]

I go for low gears too - having a bail-out gear never hurts, and personally I don't need anything more than 50x11 at the top end. I'm running 34x32 as the lowest gear on two of my bikes, and 30x30 (triple) on the other. Quite frankly, I don't care what anyone thinks - I'd rather sit and spin happily than tire myself out grinding too high a gear. If I were riding somewhere really hilly, I wouldn't hesitate to go to a 36 on the back...

 

[Eribiste]

Fortunately my bicycle has Shimano A530 double sided pedals. If I think I'm going anywhere near a hill I can ride in my climbing boots so I can walk up the hill in comfort.