Just wondering...... What gearing do you have?

[jimboalee]

Not this again

Please publish YOUR methodology.

How do YOU decide what gears to fit for steep hills?

 

[Steve Austin]

Your theory is rather dull Jim, yet you seem intent on pushing it in every beginners thread that dares to mentions the word gear. Give it a rest. its boring

My theory is this. All beginners will find your theory confusing, complicated and obtuse. Maybe your desire to debate Gear ratios would be better placed in Know How.

 

[tandemman]

48X16 with the rohloff on he tandem
52 42 30 and 12 25 road bike
48 38 28 and 11 32 mountain bike
just ordered a bob jackson end to end and don't know which way to go with the gears, only using it for light touring so triple or compact double ????????

 

[alecstilleyedye]

30-42-52 x 13-25

42-52 x 13-25

46 x 14

 

[jimboalee]

Your theory is rather dull Jim, yet you seem intent on pushing it in every beginners thread that dares to mentions the word gear. Give it a rest. its boring

My theory is this. All beginners will find your theory confusing, complicated and obtuse. Maybe your desire to debate Gear ratios would be better placed in Know How.

Until someone demonstrates a 'brighter than dull' method of deciding gearing, I will continue to help the novice cyclist with the only ( quite simple ) method of estimating gearing for hills.

I'm happy for you to hide your head in the sand or place your hands over your ears and scream loud enough to drown my voice. Novice and beginner cyclists might, just might, be interested to know how the 'older generation' built bikes.

If you are determined to tell me I'm wrong, please, please, please tell me what gearing I should have?

As a sideline, Rider Rich if you're still reading, go on any website that talks about bicycle gearing and it will tell you how to calculate lengths and developments of what you've got. You'll have a long, hard search to find someone who will tell you what gearing you need based on the bike and trip you intend to ride.
Fortunately, mass manufacturers have done the work, but try to access their data!
Good old LBS chaps will be able to tell, but you can't read their minds to find out how they got the answers.

 

[Steve Austin]

but you fail to take into account resistance, so your simplistic theory is fatally flawed, so it is wrong.

So your rather longwinded wrong theory is worthless to anyone, let alone beginners. Yet every beginners thread that has the word gear in it, you trot out your old theory and it gets debated over and over again.

Its not theory, its an opinion, and its wrong

 

[jimboalee]

but you fail to take into account resistance, so your simplistic theory is fatally flawed, so it is wrong.

So your rather longwinded wrong theory is worthless to anyone, let alone beginners. Yet every beginners thread that has the word gear in it, you trot out your old theory and it gets debated over and over again.

Its not theory, its an opinion, and its wrong

What resistance would that be?

 

[Crackle]

46-38-28 with a 12-25 rear. I like the close ratio rear and have sacrificed top end gears for a more middling spread which suits my power range/speed and cadence. Each front ring corresponds to flat road (46) - up/down/short hills(38) - longer/steeper climbs(28).

 

[peanut]

50x34 compact 12-27 cassette
I need all the help I can get around here. Hills everywhere ....well you lot would probably call them inclines but they seem like mountains to me.

 

[jimboalee]

Ah yes, I know. Its the wind resistance of a howling gale blowing against you as you struggle up a 10% hill in the darkest backwaters of Cumbria.

What you have to ask yourself is "is this normal?" and "will I have the same on the return trip?".

If the answer to either of these questions is "No", its just a bad weather day and its a bit of tough luck.
If the answer is "yes", you'll have to buy some time in a wind tunnel on a dynamometer like the pros.

Time on a wind tunnel dyno' cost money, but not as much as swapping and changing rings and sprockets to exactly match the occasion.
The least expensive way forward is to listen to an experienced bike builder like I did and fit a 'will do the job' gearset on his recommendations.

 

[peanut]

ok jimbo its time to test your theory methinks

I want to see what gearing you would recommend for my bike with the calculations and we'll compare it with what I've actually got
Should be interesting to see the results and it will be a chance to prove the accuracy of your theory..

Ask all the questions you need to .

Mmm we won't hyjack this thread we'll start another .

 

[Tharg2007]

46 x 16

need to go 48 though

 

[Rider Rich]

I am not going to do any alterations to my gearing. Just keep the original set up of 50/34 11-25 and keep riding until I improve.

I don't want this thread to turn into the 'Struggling with hills' one, I was just asking out of interest what gearing others had on their bikes.

Cheers

Richard

 

[jimboalee]

ok jimbo its time to test your theory methinks

I want to see what gearing you would recommend for my bike with the calculations and we'll compare it with what I've actually got
Should be interesting to see the results and it will be a chance to prove the accuracy of your theory..

Ask all the questions you need to .

Mmm we won't hyjack this thread we'll start another .

Ok, let's follow the 'new and improved' Jimbo theory ( to include excess bodyweight which the original Charlie 'dancing uphills' Holland method didn't ) and see what we get.

How tall are you?
What is your wrist circumference?
What is your Supra illiac skinfold measurement? ( Kellogs 'pinch an inch' test )
How heavy are you?
How heavy is your bike?
How heavy is all it's luggage?


I have another question. What are you going to compare my result with?
You could go to PowerCalc and punch in your details for 30 kmh flat road cruising, and find for a 10% slope, you would need to double your power output to get up the slope. Believe me, you will!

What's that got to do with gearing? you ask. The answer is keeping a reasonable cadence where power can be produced.

OK, send me your details and I'll come back when I've adapted my BodyFat% spreadsheet with your numbers. Probably after I get home tonight.

 

[Steve Austin]

This shouldn't be in beginners Jim.

As i've said, its confusing, and misleading. and Based on nothing but your musings.

I do hope any beginners reading don't take it in, as it would put folk off cycling and not enlighten.