Gears for Honister Pass

[steve50]

There you have the two different approaches to cycling up hills. To shamelessly exaggerate what was actually said:

(1) it it is a fitness challenge, it's not supposed to be easy, if you can't get up the hill on the sort of gear racers use, you just have to get fitter - people who aren't fit enough can't cycle up hills or shouldn't try.
Absolute rubbish!! that is just your interpretation of what i typed.
(2) it is about pleasure. You cycle because you enjoy it, if you can't enjoy it with your present gears, get lower gears, cycle slower, and stuff all these macho ideas about fitness.
absolutely right as I have stated in many posts.

Not much doubt which camp I'm in (I climbed Honister last on a 24x32)

 

[TheDoctor]

Personally, I'd get a cheap compact on there - 50/34 - and a wide ratio cassette. Like 11/34 wide. That'll get you up anything.
Never quite seen the attractions of a knee-popping sufferfest, myself.

 

[swansonj]

that is just your interpretation of what I typed

Did you miss the bit where I said "to shamelessly exaggerate "?

Nonetheless, you suggested that 37x23 would be suitable for getting up Honister and the rest was fitness. So I'm not sure I did exaggerate that much.

Don't get me wrong, if you or anyone else gets your pleasure from cycling steep hills in high gears, good for you, live and let live say I. But I regard it as incontrovertible that there are an awful lot of people whose pleasures from cycling are curtailed because of the racing-derived norms that hold sway.

 

[Karlt]

Personally, I'd get a cheap compact on there - 50/34 - and a wide ratio cassette. Like 11/34 wide. That'll get you up anything.
Never quite seen the attractions of a knee-popping sufferfest, myself.

SJS have got their own badged one for about 20 notes if I recall.

 

[Neilsmith]

I have a compact 50/34 and have a 11/32 cassette and I think that will get my 50+ legs over anything