smaller ring for touring??

[cindysue]

Hi ladies,

I'm planning on riding to Santa Barbara late spring (mid June). I have a 52-42-30 triple chainring. I'm wondering if I should switch the third ring to a 24 tooth ring. I'll be carrying a loaded (35lbs?) trailer behind me.

Any comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[spazzdog]

CindySue, I would really recommend speaking to Chris Robinson at Robinson Wheelworks out there in CA. When i was there I wanted to get some changes on my bike and Chris was extraordinarily knowledgable and helpful about gearing and recommending setups that would meet my needs... so much so that I left my bike in CA when I flew home so that he would do the work.

Chris is also Trek420's mechanic... I don't know for sure, but I doubt if anyone els is allowed to touch the sweet Mondonico ;).

PM Trek420 for contact info as I don't have it handy... or check a past thread, gosh what was that? I posted about putting the new stuff on my bike. Dita put his contact info there.

Another p.s. - I'll be sending my old TREK 1000 all the way to Chris sometime in the future for him to do the re-biuld to transform the bike into a fixie.

spazz

[Veronica]

Having done that ride, my initial response, is probably not. Once you get over to the coast there are no really big hills. There are hills, but not BIG hills. In fact one particular hill, right after Pfeiffer Big Sur campground, was supposed to be tough, but we had such a strong tailwind, that it was fairly easy.

If you can get up to the Junction with the trailer, with no owies, you'll have no problem.

V.

[Veronica]

Have you already decided where you're staying each night? Are you using the Bike the Pacific Coast book?

V.

[Trek420]

Cindysue,

Sounds like a great ride, I can't wait to hear about it.

I've only been on the coastal hwy. briefly, there are some hills, as V. says most are not long but on the other hand you're towing a trailer. Do you haul the trailer on your training rides. How does that feel? Like you could use another gear?

Spazz is right Chris Robinson is my favorite mechanic, Robinson Wheelworks in San Leandro on Macarthur at Estudillo. He built my ol' Trek and now my new ride and now I've got Spazz hooked on his advice.

He doesn't have a website...yet but go in. Or PM me and I can give you his e-mail...or, just listen to the nice knowlegable gals on TE :)

[Surlygirl]

You might want to check out Peterwhitecycles.com. He has an interesting article about chainrings. Click on Chainrings once at his site. I ordered new chainrings for my bike from him. I'm going with 48-38-28 on my Ultegra cranks because I have bad knees and lots of hills around here. I changed out my 30 to the 28 and might even go to a 26.

[SadieKate]

CindySue, what cassette/freewheel are you running in back? It is the combo that you need to look at. Sheldon Brown has a nice gear calculatgor and articles (http://sheldonbrown.com/gearing/index.html) on his web site that you let you easily see what you can accomplish with changes. One inner chainring is a minor investment and if you're careful not to crossgear you probably won't have to shorten you chain. Just swap back after the tour.

Depending on your cassette, you may just want to swap this for the tour.

Use the gear calculator and look at gear inches. I typically look for at least 2 inches difference to consider it a full gear lower.

[cindysue]

Such great advice ladies. Thanks!!

I'll definitely check Chris out if I do decide to change out anything on my bike. Thanks Spazz and Trek!

V - Not sure where we are staying yet. We haven't quite worked out how many miles we want to do each day. Our first thoughts were to do about 75 miles each day, but that will depend on how strong we are with the trailer.

This Friday's ride up Diablo with the trailer will be the test. You may hear me whining all the way up..... LOL

I've seen that book at B&N. It looks like a good one and it's on my list of stuff to get before the trip. Will be a nice read once finals are over......

Trek - I have not even hooked my bike up to the trailer yet. We just got it last week and I have been consumed with school and work......


Surlygirl, I'll check out that article. Thanks!


SadieKate, I'm not sure about the cassette. But if the Specialized Allez Sport hasn't changed since 2000, then I have a Shimano Tiagra, 9-speed, 12x25t.

I'll also check out Sheldon Brown's website.

Thanks again!

[SadieKate]

CindySue - for some comparisons with those of us riding Diablo sans trailer

I like my 28x34 for the 17% grade (4 knee ops! :eek: ). I'll run in 28x18, 21, 26 the rest of the time (on North Gate). I think speedo Kim has a lowest gear of 30x27. V is running 24x30 maybe? She has an itty-bitty chainring. I suspect Jo is in the same range as V.

If your rear derailleur can handle it, talk to Chis about a mtb cassette. If you have a 25 in back you're running a corncob meant to give you lots of choices on flat stuff or general riding - definitely not meant for hills and loaded touring. Changing the cassette will give you more choices in the lower range.

[Veronica]

I have a 12 - 28 in the back. 24 ? 46 in the front.

V.

[cindysue]

I like my 28x34 for the 17% grade (4 knee ops! :eek: ). I'll run in 28x18, 21, 26 the rest of the time (on North Gate). I think speedo Kim has a lowest gear of 30x27. V is running 24x30 maybe?

my head is spinning. I just don't understand the difference between one number and the other. Maybe I'll give Chris a call after Friday.........

Thanks all.

[Veronica]

The first number is the number of teeth in your small front chainring. My smallest ring has 24 teeth. The second number is the number of teeth in your largest cog on the rear. I have a 28 there. Generally the smaller the front and the larger the back, the easier it is to spin going up a steep hill or when towing.

You'd have to go to Sheldon Brown's site to find out how Sarah's 28X34 compares to my 24X28.

Now the opposite is also true. My largest chainring on the front is a 46 and smallest cog in the back is an 11 (maybe a 12.) So on a downhill once I hit 35 mph or so, it doesn't matter if I pedal or not because I'm just spinning. Whereas someone with a larger front chainring, usually a 52 sometimes a 53, will have a higher top end speed than I will. Since I'm a lazy rider and tend to coast once I hit 25 anyway, that doesn't matter to me.

Do you want to borrow my copy of Bike the Pacific Coast? My version i s about 2 years old and I think they may have come out with a new one.

V.

[SadieKate]

Cindy's 30x25 = 32.4 gear inches
V's 24x28 = 23.1
Sarah's 28x34 = 22.2

V and I have several more gears in the low end -- cliff climbing gears. Roughly each 2 inches or so gives you one more gear.

Swapping Cindy's cassette for an XT 9 spd with a 32T cog = priceless :p . Actually, it is 25.3. A 34T cog would be 23.8 and almost exactly what V is running.

Cindy, Bubba can talk your ear off on Friday about how gears work if you want to get into the physics of it. You can look at the gears we're running also and really see what it looks like. Think of mtb bikes - little in the front and big in the back. :D

[cindysue]

Thanks V., Sarah - lots to consider........

see ya Friday :)

[fixedgeargirl]

Another p.s. - I'll be sending my old TREK 1000 all the way to Chris sometime in the future for him to do the re-biuld to transform the bike into a fixie.


Comin' over to the dark side, spazz? ;)

[spazzdog]

As soon as I have the disposable income...

spazz

[cindysue]

Swapping Cindy's cassette for an XT 9 spd with a 32T cog = priceless :p . Actually, it is 25.3. A 34T cog would be 23.8 and almost exactly what V is running. :D

huh! I love it when that happens.........

I called my LBS (Calif. Pedaler in Danville) and told them "I'm going on a tour, bike is 52-42-30 w/ 12-25." And then asked what he suggested.

Well first he felt that my set up would probably be fine. But after pushing a little bit (explaining what a slug I will be with the trailer) - he suggested EXACTLY what Sarah had suggested: an XT derailer and a 34T cog. The amazing thing is he only spent about a minute thinking about it. But I was really happy to hear he confirmed what Sarah had suggested. He said it would be just over $200 w/ labor. How does this price sound to y'all?

I'll give Chris a call also, but Danville is so much closer than San Leandro..........

[SadieKate]

Well, an XT rear cassette is about $75 and a derailler is $65-70. That would leave $50 for labor and a new cable. If it is a local shop and good labor, Bubba just said "bite the bullet." We do our own wrenching so we don't know labor costs much. You can talk Bubba's head off in a few hours.

[cindysue]

looks like I will also have to get a new chain ($40 for the XT) - bummer since I just bought one (now the wrong size of course) less than 500 miles ago.

So, about $250. I just made the appointment for next Thursday - bike to work day - how appropriate!

see ya at 4:00pm. All that hard work this afternoon with the trailer on my old cassette will make the $250 investment next week much more palatable.

[emily_in_nc]

Cindy ~ I think you are doing the right thing! My husband and I took a tour last fall (NY state), and I needed every bit of my XT cogset in the rear (I had front/back racks and panniers). Depends on the amount of climbing of course (we were in the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks -> LOTS of climbs), but it never hurts to be over-prepared!

Emily

[cindysue]

Cindy ~ I think you are doing the right thing! My husband and I took a tour last fall (NY state), and I needed every bit of my XT cogset in the rear (I had front/back racks and panniers). Depends on the amount of climbing of course (we were in the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks -> LOTS of climbs), but it never hurts to be over-prepared!
Emily

thanks Emily - I'll be sure to post a ride report when I get back (June 13-20). I can't wait to try out my new set-up!