Steep Hill Gears.

[Boon 51]

Need a bit of info on the right gears for steep hills..
The bike is fitted with 36/46 cogs on the front but now I'm starting to do the bigger climbs I'm struggling on the hills out of the village.

Hill 1 is OK but the second hill I'm on now is even steeper, so I'm on the small cog front and biggest cog rear and I can just do it, and the next hill is even steeper so I need more power for the steeper hills..
Should I be looking at changing the front 36 for a 38 or the other way for a 34..
I'm a bit confused on how the cog numbers work..
The other end of the scale the 46 front and smallest cog rear are fine at the moment..
Hope that makes sense.

 

[Rob3rt]

For an easier gear you can either increase teeth at the rear (buy a different cassette) or reduce teeth at the front (buy a smaller chainring).

 

[betty swollocks]

to make hills easier the rings (chainrings) at the front need to be smaller and/or the teeth on the sprockets at the back, need to be bigger.
So, a 34 instead of a 36 tooth chainring might just make the difference for you.
Good luck on that steeper hill!

 

[GazK]

Concentrate on the rear end first. Count the number of teeth on the biggest cog at the back, and come back to us with the number. Also a photo of the rear end would help us to judge how much bigger you could practically go without running out of derailler travel.

 

[jim55]

Btw it's gen far easier and cheaper to just change the rear cassette ( I've done this for the reasons u post ) , you want less teeth on the front ( 36 or thereabouts is ok ) and more teeth ( bigger rear ) at the rear end

 

[Boon 51]

Concentrate on the rear end first. Count the number of teeth on the biggest cog at the back, and come back to us with the number. Also a photo of the rear end would help us to judge how much bigger you could practically go without running out of derailler travel.

Its dark over here right now but I will post a photo tomorrow..

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I have a triple 26/38/48 with currently a 28 th rear cassette, though i do have a 32 for it, I am finding that I am making most hills, those that there are, we have a few 8-10% though not very long, with the 38 front and 28 back though for the steeper ones I drop to the 26 front and 24 back, and sometimes the 28,

so the
38/28 gives a ratio of 1:1.36,
26/24 = 1:1.08 and the
26/28 = 1:0.93, so if you have 36 on the front and 28 on the back you will have a ratio of 1:1.21 so if your rear mech will take a 32 tooth you will get 34/32 that being 1:1.06 which is close to my 26/24 which is low.

 

[Sittingduck]

What kind of bike is it? 36 & 46 seems a strange selection, to me.

 

[TheDoctor]

Not all that. Shimano RSX used to have that as a combination.
I'd make a 34T inner chainring my first move, then go mad on the rear cassette.
My tourer used to have a 50/34 compact chainset, and 12-32T cassette, which got me up most things.

 

[Boon 51]

Here is a photo as you said .. I will count the cogs when I get back from an airport run..

 

[Boon 51]

What kind of bike is it? 36 & 46 seems a strange selection, to me.

Giant TCR 1.. crank 36/46.. cant find the info in what casette numbers it has though..

 

[Rob3rt]

It will be marked on each cog on the cassette, looks pretty clean so just look carefully for the marking.

 

[Boon 51]

Btw it's gen far easier and cheaper to just change the rear cassette ( I've done this for the reasons u post ) , you want less teeth on the front ( 36 or thereabouts is ok ) and more teeth ( bigger rear ) at the rear end

So can you buy just one smaller cog (34) or have I got to buy the whole kit.

 

[Rob3rt]

Can just buy a 34t chainring usually.

 

[Red Light]

What you need is a 24 inch gear to get you up the steep hills. aka two feet.

Seriously though it doesn't take long on hill climbing before they get a lot easier as your body adapts so unless you really can't get up them at all I would leave off changing stuff around as you might well be changing it back in a few weeks time. And if you can't get up a hill, go as far as you can and then walk or stop and rest before carrying on. And next time aim to go a bit further before you get off and fairly soon you won't be getting off at all unless its Mont Ventoux