OP
OP
Sara_H
Guru
Have you seen the Bobbins bikes? They're very pretty. Not enough gears for me though!
Sit up and beg, step through frame with millions of gears?
- Thread starter Sara_H
- Start date
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Have you seen the Bobbins bikes? They're very pretty. Not enough gears for me though!
London Female
Über Member
I have a Pashley Britannia, it is very beautiful and turns a few heads however, I only ever use it to do the 2 mile trip into town which is flat all the way. I wouldn't want to go too far on it and certainly wouldn't want to tackle any hills.
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
Mrs SBIB has this. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-heritage-13 7 speed derailleur with a good granny gear for the nasty bits, looks Pashleyesque but without the weight or money.
We live half way up a hill on the edge of the Pennines & I can happily tootle out and up or down into work or 10 miles into Manchester and back all uphill on it with my knackered knees in comfort and ease. It's a lovely bike, I'm seriously tempted by one myself.
Edit: one the technical bods may know better than me - you could maybe buy a city geared bike and retrofit a Sram dualdrive rear hub, costly, but gives you a 3sp rear hub & 8/9 derailleur combo for a regular triple range on a single chainring.
BTW daughter has the Elops 5, it is the bike that has persuaded her out of 13 years of adamant non bikeyness, again a cracking bike for the money but the 3 speed hub is rather limiting for more than rolling countryside
We live half way up a hill on the edge of the Pennines & I can happily tootle out and up or down into work or 10 miles into Manchester and back all uphill on it with my knackered knees in comfort and ease. It's a lovely bike, I'm seriously tempted by one myself.
Edit: one the technical bods may know better than me - you could maybe buy a city geared bike and retrofit a Sram dualdrive rear hub, costly, but gives you a 3sp rear hub & 8/9 derailleur combo for a regular triple range on a single chainring.
BTW daughter has the Elops 5, it is the bike that has persuaded her out of 13 years of adamant non bikeyness, again a cracking bike for the money but the 3 speed hub is rather limiting for more than rolling countryside
yea pretty much... but if its any consolation, its a bugger getting trousers long enoughOhhhh, you got looong legs?
Hate you!!
OP
OP
Sara_H
Guru
Hmm I like that. Though it's quite similar to the Dawes I sold a few months ago! And again, only 7 speed, which I'm not sure is up to the job.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
I'm getting the impression that you're not looking for millions of gears just plenty of low gears and enough high gears to suffice. If money were no object then I would say that you're an ideal candidate for a Rohloff and possibly in a small wheeled folder. All the stepthrough/standover in the world, easier to accelerate and a ton of low gears. For example a Rohloff in a 16" wheel with a 53t chainring and 15t sprocket would give you 14 gears running from 16.3" to 85.5", your first 7 gears would be 35" and below.
You can do similar with other hub gears but you'd tend to lose out at the top end too much if you wanted really low gears. If a folder isn't your thing the Rohloff idea would still hold true plus you can change gears when you're not moving.
You can do similar with other hub gears but you'd tend to lose out at the top end too much if you wanted really low gears. If a folder isn't your thing the Rohloff idea would still hold true plus you can change gears when you're not moving.
OP
OP
Sara_H
Guru
You may be right, I must be honest and admit I don't understand the "science bit" where the gears are concerned. All I know is, when I come home on my mountain bike I need to use the lowest gear to get me up the hill. On my 3 speed raleigh caprice and my 7 speed hoptown 5, I have to get off and walk - I don't stand a chance of getting it up the hill.
I have to be realistic, if I'm going to replace the mountain bike I want similar gearing. TBH the mountain bike is ideal for the hills, BUT I find the step though frame of my electric bike much better (I do ride in skirts/dresses frequently), and I prefer the sit up and beg position. I've also not found a basket that fits well onto the mountain bike, and I do use the basket on the electric bike - alot.
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Problem with Rohloff is the price tag. £1100 give or take for your rear wheel.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
Yep it's steep, though I'd say about £1k right now possibly as low as £900 if you don't want disc brakes. But if you're talking hub gears to meet the OPs requirements then the rear wheel is going to be £300+ so the Rohloff upcharge drops to £600 or less.
My folder has an Alfine 8 speed so a lot cheaper but the low gear is 27 inches and the high about 83 inches. If she's needing the bottom gear on a MTB triple, say 22x34 then that's around the 17" mark. I'm not sure if any hub gear apart from the rohloff is ok to go this low.
D
Deleted member 20519
Guest
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Our lass has a Dawes Mojave. It has 21 gears and she gets up short 10% climbs on it.
http://www.dawescycles.com/p-192-mojave-ladies.aspx
http://www.dawescycles.com/p-192-mojave-ladies.aspx
RecordAceFromNew
Swinging Member
- Location
- West London
To avoid disappointment and not paying over the odds unnecessarily, perhaps the first thing the OP should do is to count the number of cogs on the smallest front chainring and the largest rear sprocket, and work out how to achieve the low gearing required.
For example if the mtb has 22T/28T small front/large back on 26" wheels, then that is 20", and can be nearly achieved (i.e. down to 22") by a 28T chainring (very common as the smallest front ring on a hybrid triple) and a 34T rear sprocket (readily available for 7 speed rear, which are again very common on hybrids, whether it has a freewheel or cassette). For example for such a hybrid, as vickster suggested above, Trek offers some good options, e.g. the Trek T30 WSD is ime a good, well made machine, and any half decent bike shop selling one should be happy to replace the rear cluster (and may be chain) to include a 34T for very little if any money.
If on the other hand the largest rear sprocket on the OP's mtb is 32T or larger, then the minimal modification would be somewhat more involved.
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Whatever do do you're going to pay your £1k for the rear wheel. Be it an up-spec or custom build from frame. You're just starting from different price points.
That's the advantage of the Rohloff. That said, Fallbrook said that 20/32 shouldn't be a problem for someone with Hoy-esque torque production on the N360. That takes the N360 down to 0.8:1, still not as good as the ~0.7:1 bottom gear for the 500/14.
OP
OP
Sara_H
Guru
I like that.
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
If you are near Leicester you are welcome to come have a ride on it
