Gearing on your bicycle

[numbnuts]

On my trike 48-36-20, 11-32 rear, she a heavy old girl + a 250w motor

 

[ianrauk]

My touring bike has 11-27 on the rear coupled with a 46-36 on the front.
that gets me up near vertical inclines

 

[All uphill]

My new bike has 2 x9,

46/30 and 11/40

The first few rides confirm that I will use the full range here in Somerset/Devon without spinning out.

Thanks for the great advice, Spa Cycles.

 

[TheDoctor]

For years my tourer had a 36T chainring, and 12-32 7 speed cassette. It's now 13-32 8 speed. My old 531ST will have 11-36 8 speed, and either 34 or 34-44, depending on what bits I can find. My Brompton has standard 6 speed at the moment, roughly like a 12-36 with a 40 chainset or so.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My touring bike has 11-27 on the rear coupled with a 46-36 on the front.
that gets me up near vertical inclines

About 18 degree inclines then 😉

 

[ianrauk]

About 18 degree inclines then 😉

20 dear chap, 20

 

[fossyant]

Road bikes 53-39 coupled to 13-24T on one bike and a 13-26T on the other. It does not get me up vertical walls.

 

[All uphill]

Road bikes 53-39 coupled to 13-24T on one bike and a 13-26T on the other. It does not get me up vertical walls.

For me they would be singlespeed bikes. ;-)

 

[Fredo76]

The bike I started on again after my hip replacements is a Jamis Citizen 1 step-through. It has a 48-38-28 and a 14-34. But what is interesting is the spacing of the rear cogs - 14-16-18-20-22-24-34 - six 2T steps, then a 10T step to the granny gear. I really like that setup - I like the close ratios most of the time, but that 10T jump to the last cog (which shifts just fine, btw) can be a real leg saver!

Now I've kinda gone crazy with gearing options on my old racing bike. I have 5,6,7 and 8-speed wheels, some I haven't even tried yet. Currently it has a 46-42 and a 6-speed 14-28 on the rear. That is enough to get me up some of the hills around here, but not the steep ones (I'm old...), so I have an alternate setup with a 48-38-28 crank, wider range derailleurs, and an 11-34 cassette to try soon.

It's funny how the old "macho" thing about big chainrings and small clusters still affects my thinking. I have some clusters I bought that I'll probably never use. Oh, well!

 

[Blue Hills]

My touring bike has 11-27 on the rear coupled with a 46-36 on the front.
that gets me up near vertical inclines

Do you tour with full loads though?

 

[GeekDadZoid]

I have a 52-39 on the front of my road bike and 11-32 on the back. Don't tour on it but occasionally commute on it with a laptop and change of clothes etc, I would suggest that plus me weighs more than most people's touring loads

 

[ianrauk]

Do you tour with full loads though?

Yes fully panniered, over French and Spanish mountain passes.

 

[CXRAndy]

Wow to much for me to handle.

I rarely use the smallest gear, but I can use it for >25% climbs, stay seated and maintain a fair cadence.

I also use it to drop effort right down and recover on moderate hills upto 10%.

I can also hit 55mph pedaling downhill

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes fully panniered, over French and Spanish mountain passes.

I thought I'd seen pics that seemed rather light/swift - any camping cooking or sleeping gear or staying in hotels/hostels?

 

[rivers]

52/36 and an 11-28 on my TT bike (soon to be a 55/42). 50/34 and 11-28 on my road bike. Gets me up everything I need it to. And 46/30 and 11-32 on my gravel bike. But I think I'm going to experiment a bit with a mullet drive train and try an 11-42 on the back.