Most common gearing on a road bike

[rogerzilla]

If this was 1990, I'd say 52/42 and 13-21

Some more entry-level bikes had 13-23 for weaklings and girls.

A 13-21 cassette is a really beautiful thing to behold and to use, as long as you live in the flatlands.

 

[StuAff]

If this was 1990, I'd say 52/42 and 13-21

Some more entry-level bikes had 13-23 for weaklings and girls.

A 13-21 cassette is a really beautiful thing to behold and to use, as long as you live in the flatlands.

Mr Legg used to run 53/39 and 12-21 (9 speed Dura Ace), despite the knee issues. Remember tailing him up Ditchling in 2010, and he was all over the road to make his way up, as I spun relatively- only relatively, being Ditchling- easy on 50/34 & 12-25.

 

[rogerzilla]

I had a 12-21 too, with a Unidisc wheel cover. That used to fly if you got a flat road.

 

[ColinJ]

If this was 1990, I'd say 52/42 and 13-21

Some more entry-level bikes had 13-23 for weaklings and girls.

Hmmm!

My experience...

When I bought my first (adult) road bike back in 1989, the salesman in the bike shop laughed at me when I told him that I was taking it home on the train because I couldn't face 25 miles in Greater Manchester's rush-hour traffic for my first ride.

Even more annoying - I weighed 16.5 stone at the time, hadn't ridden a bike for 20 years and live in a very hilly part of Yorkshire so I asked for the cassette to be changed to an easier one (the bike had 52/42 chainrings and a 12-25 cassette). He started laughing again and told me that a decent cyclist could get up anything in a 42/25 gear! He then related the story of how he'd once powered up a wet 25% cobbled climb in a Belgian road race using a 42/21 bottom gear. I nearly chucked the bike back at him, the arrogant, stupid tosser !

He put a 13-28 on for me, and I soon changed the inner ring to a 39.

 

[Jameshow]

I was on a 50/34 x 32-11 today didn't need the 34 on the three climbs today which was a good thing as the chains too long. Set up for 36 and a long cage RD.

 

[cyberknight]

If this was 1990, I'd say 52/42 and 13-21

Some more entry-level bikes had 13-23 for weaklings and girls.

A 13-21 cassette is a really beautiful thing to behold and to use, as long as you live in the flatlands.

i used to ride 54/42 13-18 ! , no wonder my knees are shot .

 

[CXRAndy]

I'm slowly heading towards getting a road bike after years of using an MTB. What's the most common set up I should be looking for if riding in a hilly area. Lots of rolling countryside near me with the occasional flat bit, so likely need lower gearing than top speed.

Prefer disc brakes but is that a disadvantage with road bikes?

How much do you weigh?

What type of gradients are you climbing typically?

Are you a spinner or grinder pedal cadence?

 

[Emanresu]

How much do you weigh?

Have you seen my avatar?

Looking for something like this. Discs would be nice. Lighter the better.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186914260149

 

[CXRAndy]

Have you seen my avatar?

Looking for something like this. Discs would be nice. Lighter the better.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186914260149

Didn't want to presume. My suggestion is, you go for mountain bike gearing or a triple crank-set, with a cassette up to 40t.

You may never venture onto the lowest gearing but will be glad to be able to spin away when the gradient really gets steep

 

[Bristolian]

When I bought my (used) Specialized Allez Sport two years ago yesterday (how time flies) I was 266lbs (120kg / 19st 0lbs) and pretty unfit. The bike came with 3x9 Shimano Sora with 50/39/30 chainrings and a 12-25 cassette. I rapidly found that I needed lower gearing for the hills that surround Bristol and replaced the cassette with an 11-32-tooth one, which helped no end although the 11-tooth cog rarely gets used. Even with the reduced chainring I was still finding turning the 50-tooth chainring over was difficult on even the slightest hill so last year I replaced it with a 48-tooth one instead and that has made a big difference.

My point here is that I think this is one of the big benefits of the derailleur gear-train system - if what you've got doesn't work for you it's relatively easy and cheap to change it. Don't stress about getting the gearing right straight off; get used to riding the bike and then decide what you need to do to make your rides what you want them to be.

PS: Four years ago my weight was 301lbs (136.5kg / 21st 7lb) and today it is down to 240lbs (108.8kg / 17st 2lbs) and my general fitness is much improved. My target for 2025 is to get down to 223lbs (101.6kg /16st 0lb). In my racing-snake days I was 133lbs (60.3kg / 9st 7lb) soaking wet - I have no delusions about getting back to that weight

 

[cyberknight]

My standard setting is 50/34 with an 11-28 cassette .

 

[robjh]

As most have indicated on here, fairly standard set-ups these days on road* bikes tend to be 50/34 front with anything from 11/28 to 11/34 rear. However, there's a lot of room for personal preference and I'm now running 48/31 front with 11/34 rear - I never regret using a lower gear on a climb but rarely miss the extra bit of top-end speed.

*gravel bikes are an offshoot of road bikes and overlap a lot, but tend towards lower bottom gears, and increasingly you see single front rings with a large rear cassette, eg. 40 front to 11-46, especially if 12-speed.

 

[Chislenko]

Rarely seen now on new bikes is of course the triple set up. Lots of range to cover most terrain with the safety net of a small front ring for when things get really tough.

My winter bike (I refuse to call it a hack) has 52-42-30 up front with 12-26 at the rear

Will see you through most terrain and with a tail wind the 52 really gets you on your way.

Edit: At my age I need the tail wind to push the 52!

 

[Marchrider]

my bike (1988 ?) came with 52/40 13/23 (107 to 46.5 GI) have converted to
52/39 > 14/32 giving (99 to 32.6 GI) don't think I need anything less yet

 

[freiston]

I'm probably not typical and I'd say my gearing preferences are far from common, but nowadays I like a bottom gear of about 20" and a top one of about 100". My bikes are not what would spring to mind when talking "road bikes" but they're definitely for road use (even if one in particular is designed for off road use too) and they're designed for carrying weight (camping/touring/utility).

I find that in the hills of Warwickshire, I often use a very low gear whether I'm carrying weight or not. I can spin out downhill on my 2x, but this is at speeds in excess of 30mph and I'd rather tuck in and relax than pedal.

Here is the gearing of my 2x "adventure" bike and my 3x "road touring" bike (speed shown for cadence of 90rpm):

. . . and because people here are discussing such things, here's the gearing for the road bike I had in the early 80s (I had replaced the original freewheel for a 14-34T one)

For the uninitiated, the orange numbers are chainring tooth-count and the white-on black ones are rear sprocket tooth-count. Black numbers above the sprocket markers are gear-inches.