Show us your.......newbie progress! [4 Sep 2012 - 4 Oct 2014]

[Stonechat]

It is quite easy, a 9sp cassette is 1.1mm wider than an 8sp one usually a free hub supporting 8 will support a 9 though you only need a spacers for 8sp on 11sp freehubs or 7sp on 10sp hubs . most 8sp RD will cope with a 9sp cassette (I currently run an old RD3300 Sora 7/8sp on my nine speed), changed the shifters twice from 7 to 8 and 8 to 9, M.T.B. are cheaper to do as you are only changing the shifters,

On my road bike the difference that one gear made was quite unbelievable my 8sp was 13-15-17-19-21-23-25-28, but I was finding sometimes especially into wind I was in either to high or too low a gear for a nice spin rate so when I upgraded it to 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27 its much easier to find the right gear, I don't like the jump from 17-19, so when I can afford to I am going to change it to 17-18-20-23-27. and using the 30th front I have three gears in the 50-40" range compared with just the one on the 40th ring 30x16-17-19, its not a combination that's used often but it gives other options

YEs know what you mean Nigel
I find can't get the right gear, but end up spinning more
Not changing anything this year but wonder if a 10 speed would be better
It's the biggest change between how I ride now and years ago is I aim for higher cadence now

 

[Kins]

YEs know what you mean Nigel
I find can't get the right gear, but end up spinning more
Not changing anything this year but wonder if a 10 speed would be better
It's the biggest change between how I ride now and years ago is I aim for higher cadence now

Change your cassette. 2 extra gears (3 if its a triple) really won't make a difference. The variety of cassette ratios though is huge and will make a difference. Good way is a few cycle logs of rides to find which gears you use the most and wich you hardly use, then look at different ratio cassettes to find more gears to enhance your used range.

 

[Stonechat]

Change your cassette. 2 extra gears (3 if its a triple) really won't make a difference. The variety of cassette ratios though is huge and will make a difference. Good way is a few cycle logs of rides to find which gears you use the most and wich you hardly use, then look at different ratio cassettes to find more gears to enhance your used range.

Don't know how to work out after a ride which gear I was in
I know I don't use the fast gears much but like to slow gears to compensate for poorish hill climbing
The 50x17 - 50x20 - 50x23 gaps are too large
The 50 x 18 - 50 x 21 - 50 x 24 gaps are too large espcially the gap betwen the first two

 

[Mo1959]

I'm beginning to feel like the odd one out in here. Lol.
I never really know what gear I am in. Haven't a clue what my cadence is. If my legs are feeling strong I grind a bit and if they are tired I spin a bit. Not got a clue what my heart rate is either, but it is still working Some days I ride hard and am out of breath for nearly the whole ride, other days I take it easy and could hold a conversation most of the way round. All very un-technical.

 

[welsh dragon]

I'm beginning to feel like the odd one out in here. Lol.
I never really know what gear I am in. Haven't a clue what my cadence is. If my legs are feeling strong I grind a bit and if they are tired I spin a bit. Not got a clue what my heart rate is either, but it is still working Some days I ride hard and am out of breath for nearly the whole ride, other days I take it easy and could hold a conversation most of the way round. All very un-technical.

Thank god for that. I thought i was the only one. I felt a real Charlie listening to everyone quoting this that and the other. I haven't got a clue what they are talking about. I just use a gear I am comfortable using, regardless of what it is or even not knowing what it is.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Change your cassette. 2 extra gears (3 if its a triple) really won't make a difference. The variety of cassette ratios though is huge and will make a difference. Good way is a few cycle logs of rides to find which gears you use the most and wich you hardly use, then look at different ratio cassettes to find more gears to enhance your used range.

I am sorry Kins the difference one extra gear made to my riding is amazing, the only thing that has change in range is I dropped from a 28th to a 27th on the rear, but having that one extra gear made this difference
13-15-17-19-21-23-25-28
to
13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27
My avg gear is about 61-63 " on my bike a 40x17 gear, which is why I find the jump from 17 to 19 quite a big one, though those above seem ok. I can split a 9sp cassette and make my own ratios, my next project is a change from 17-19-21-24-27 to 17-18-20-23-27, if I need to use gears from 18 to 27 on the 40th middle, I can drop to the 30th an have a better choice at the back in the 15 to 18th than I have on the 40th middle and 19-21-24 range two extra gears there alone, its peoples acceptance that using the so called granny ring that is a failure in most psyche, that they feel its wrong, however the bike is not much better geared now that it was new a 30/42/52 and 13-15-17-19-21-23-26 in terms of range but its a world apart in terms of how I can use it, I just wish I could couple this drive chain up to a much lighter bike, could you imagine how much quicker i could be if it was to lose 3Kg's, thats what I ride with most of the time compared to most around here.
So yes 2 gears make a difference even if the range stays the same

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I'm beginning to feel like the odd one out in here. Lol.
I never really know what gear I am in. Haven't a clue what my cadence is. If my legs are feeling strong I grind a bit and if they are tired I spin a bit. Not got a clue what my heart rate is either, but it is still working Some days I ride hard and am out of breath for nearly the whole ride, other days I take it easy and could hold a conversation most of the way round. All very un-technical.

You have it spot on Mo, some days you work hard, some days just ride, the rest doesn't matter just facts and figures, and it is all about at the end of the day pushing ourselves to be that little bit better, as it's not an overnight journey but one that takes time, one to enjoy including the pain without which we don't improve.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Stonechat if your riding a nine speed I can tell you how to change the cassette to what you want, I am not sure if I could on a 10sp I dont have enough knowledge yet.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Thank god for that. I thought i was the only one. I felt a real Charlie listening to everyone quoting this that and the other. I haven't got a clue what they are talking about. I just use a gear I am comfortable using, regardless of what it is or even not knowing what it is.

but its where you need to be next thats important

 

[Kins]

I am sorry Kins the difference one extra gear made to my riding is amazing, the only thing that has change in range is I dropped from a 28th to a 27th on the rear, but having that one extra gear made this difference
13-15-17-19-21-23-25-28
to
13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27

So why didn't you go ten speed then? 8 to 9 maybe different but I ride a 7 speed double and a 9 speed triple and can find the right gears for feeling comfortable on both. Also the second Cassette looks loads more versatile anyway even if you took out one sprocket like the 16.

I am much the same Dragon and Mo. Only saw the real difference when I swapped from 11-27 to 11-30 and then 11-34 rear cassette. Much more comfortable ride now and can get up hills which I usually struggled up. Also don't have to change onto small ring on gentle climbs now as middle will do me.

 

[BrynCP]

Did 59.5 miles today; would have loved to have added the other 2.6 miles to get 100KM but I was exhausted. That makes 120 miles this week with Sunday to go! Neck is a bit stiff and shoulder a bit sore, think I am still getting used to the road bike and did a lot more in the drops today.

I must also learn to stop trusting Garmin/Google.

• Firstly, it seems if I save an activity, modify it, then send it to my device, it just sends the original activity and not the course as modified?

1. Secondly, 1.5 miles down a lane, only to meet a "Private: No Access" sign. That was 3 miles wasted! Plus as it was the only way over the river, without a 10 mile detour, I pretty much decided to just go home the way I came. (I didn't realise Bing had OS maps, I will be verifying all routes with that in future!)

 

[Kins]

60 miles is excellent going (we'll give you the extra .5!) 120 miles is a good weeks riding. congrats! I really want to go out today but I promised myself this as a rest day. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice.

 

[Stonechat]

Did my little loosener for L2B
Most of it at low speed with a number of short bursts
Bit longer than I meant
17.92 miles 14.2 mph average 76 m of climbing (Garmin insists on metres even if set to imperial) - 249 feet I think
Had a blast on a local Strava segment as the wind was with me unusually - will have to wait and see what the outcome was

PS Wind is from the North so with me for L2B tomorrow

 

[BrynCP]

60 miles is excellent going (we'll give you the extra .5!) 120 miles is a good weeks riding. congrats! I really want to go out today but I promised myself this as a rest day. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice.

Garmin says 59.5, Strava says 60.4! Thinking about it, I did do a stretch with the Garmin off (forgot to turn it back on, and for whatever bizarre reason the only time the "you're moving" message pops up is when it's static at home and annoying), so the 60.4 is probably right, so I was closer to that 100KM than I thought. 1600ft of climbing too. 14.6mph average, not great, but improoving.

I had a rest day yesterday; timed it well as it was raining.

 

[Stonechat]

I'm beginning to feel like the odd one out in here. Lol.
I never really know what gear I am in. Haven't a clue what my cadence is. If my legs are feeling strong I grind a bit and if they are tired I spin a bit. Not got a clue what my heart rate is either, but it is still working Some days I ride hard and am out of breath for nearly the whole ride, other days I take it easy and could hold a conversation most of the way round. All very un-technical.

Well I found that cedence sensor has been a help and not necessarily for everyone

HEart rate has been a boon and allows ,ore exact riding in zones to improve my training, and furthermore on longer ascents allows managing my effort better