Tyres and gear ratios

[ramses]

Hi all,

I have just got a road bike, which has compact gears, and before I knacker out my gears, as I seem to do on my Mountain bike (cassette and chain worn after 800 miles), could I clarify how I should treat my gears.

It's been a while since I've owned a road bike, I have 10 spd with a compact chainset, so do I use the first ring for gears 1-5 or 10-6 then anything higher on the top ring.
I don't want to stress my chain out like I do on my MB. I am known as a masher on my MB, as I have done quite a few long distance rides on it, and tried to treat it like a road bike, by screaming along. Still it is good fitness training!

Second question is about tyres.
Firstly, on my mountain bike I use Schwalbe Smart Sams, which I have found to be excellent, and they do roll very well, however I could make life easier for myself, as I mainly use the bike on the road anyway. I was thinking of something slicker, but didn't want to go so slick that I run out of gears! Recommendations, please.
The wife also uses Smart Sams on her MB and wants to have easier tyres, and she doesn't mash quite like myself.

For the road bike, I have Schwalbe Lugano, but being the tart I am, I would like some flash writing on the side, something like the Schwalbe Durano, can anyone comment on these or recommend something similar, please.

Ta very much!

 

[I like Skol]

I have used Continental city contacts on my MTB for road use and when combined with a cassette with an 11 tooth small sprocket it worked very well. These tyres are slicker than an oil slick with nominal 'pattern' and the full size 26x2.1 width rolls really well but never leaves me feeling short of gears. I have since bought a dedicated Hybrid which I have also biased towards road use with a gearing change and despite the skinnier tyres I have yet to match the commute speeds/times that I managed on the MTB. I think if you are happy with the gearing range and your current tyres then you will be just as happy with the gearing and a set of slicks but just enjoy a nippier ride.


As far as wrecking chains goes, I wore out the chain on my new hybrid in about 400 miles which was a shock but I have to admit that commuting on heavily gritted roads during the snow/freeze we had resulted in a rusty chain on a few occasions and this might be why it suffered such an early demise compared to my usual chains which have never been used for winter commuting before.

 

[Mad at urage]

Hi all,

I have just got a road bike, which has compact gears, and before I knacker out my gears, as I seem to do on my Mountain bike (cassette and chain worn after 800 miles), could I clarify how I should treat my gears.

It's been a while since I've owned a road bike, I have 10 spd with a compact chainset, so do I use the first ring for gears 1-5 or 10-6 then anything higher on the top ring.

You should use the 'inner' cogs (nearer the wheel) with the 'inner' ring (nearer the bottom bracket) and the 'outer' cogs (away from the wheel) with the 'outer' chain ring (nearer the pedal). Somewhere in the middle there will be crossover where the 'outer ring and this cog' will be about the same as 'inner ring and that other cog'. The idea is to keep the chain as parallel to the rest of the bike as possible (on a clear road look down at the chain as you ride).

MTB slick tyres - I'd go for Schwalbe City Jet Slick - 26 x 1.50'' with puncture protection - Amazon are doing a pair for <£20 at the moment.