gear question to you mechanical geniuses!

[SadieKate]

. . . But you could probably use any Campy freewheel with Veloce shifters. Or use Chorus shifters with a Veloce freewheel

Psst, Deb! I don't think Campy makes freewheels any longer!

[SadieKate]

Mimi, what kind of bike are you considering? What do you want it to do? What do you want it to do differently than your Bianchi?

Different gruppos have different things. Some have 10 speed now. Some are still, I think, 9 speed. Some have different cassette sizes available -- as in the largest cog is 29 speed. Triple or double? Are you gaga for all silver components or do you want carbon? Do you want this bike to have cantilevers?

When you have a bike frame custom built for you or if you have a production frame built up with handpicked components, you have the option of buying a gruppo or buying each part individually. But you really can't intelligently pick which parts until you decide what you want the bike to do (racing, centuries, loaded touring, etc., etc., etc.).

[mimitabby]

SadieKate
I have a 49cm veloce. I have recently discovered just how much nicer it felt to be on a 44cm Volpe. I'm not talking about the shifting here, just the fit of the bike.
I spent a lot to get that Veloce to fit me. all of you heard my pleas and laments, and guided me towards making it a bike that I can ride and enjoy.
So anyway, having discovered this amazing fact, that there IS a better fit for me, I started thinking about a next bike. I found that some other bikes have campy components like my veloce, but i was concerned, would my next bike go up hills as good as my veloce even with veloce components? I guess I was thinking if you bought a bike with the same component gruppo, that it would then have the same gears. Deb said no, this is a separate issue, I need to tell them what gears I want and that i could mix and match my componentry. I don't want to mix and match, I just don't want to end up spending a lot of money some day (next year maybe?) to get a bike which isn't right for our hilly rides.
So far, the only bike I have found that appeals to me is the Marinoni Turismo.
If Bianchi made a steel bike like the veloce (in my size) with the cyclocross stuff on it (so I could ride year round here), i would go with Bianchi. But the closest they come is that sweet little Volpe. (I didn't buy the bike, but i named it Pandora...)
So that's where I am today, while it is dark and rainy and when it wasn't i didn't have time to ride anyway.
Thank you Deb and Sadie for your patience while I muddle through trying to understand all this stuff.

[SadieKate]

Mimi, you need to discern why the 44 fits better. Top tube length? Headtube height? Seat angle? Not all bikes climb alike either. The Volpe and the Veloce are vastly different bikes in many ways. Isn't the Volpe the cross bike? Higher bottom bracket, etc.

Have you been on a Marinoni?

[mimitabby]

I have never been on a Marinoni.
A coworker has one, it is very interesting, sexy, etc.
The reach to the handlebars is why the volpe felt better. (the seat felt like a rock slab, which it was...)

the volpe is a cyclocross bike... lots of room for fenders. I like fenders

[HillSlugger]

Assuming all other things to be equal between the two bike (crank length, etc) the only thing you would have to consider for gearing are the crank gears and the cassette gears. Two different bikes with the same gear sizes up front and in back would provide all the same gear ratios. Of course, all things are not equal and climbing, speed, etc would be affected by fit, geometry, etc. When looking at new bikes you'd want to look at the gearing and compare it to what you have now and then decide if it would give you what you need.

When I was shopping for a bike it immediately became clear that a double crank would not give me the low gears I needed, so I limited myself to bikes with triples. When I decided on the Specialized Sequoia I still had the cassette switched from 12-24 to 12-27 to get me additional low gear ratios.

[mimitabby]

thanks MDhillslug.
At least that much I am sure of. My next bike will have a triple. I like triples.
There are mountains in my future and it would be senseless to get a compact double!

[Triskeliongirl]

Mimi- another warning, I am not sure you totally understand frame sizing/geometry. A 44 cm or 49cm frame only indicates the length of the seat tube, and even that can vary since some manufacturers report the measurement as center of the bottom bracket to top of the seat tube and some as center to center. The reason you have a problem on your bianchi veloce is that both the top tube are too long for you, and the seat tube angle is very steep, which combine to make the reach too long. So, when you buy your next bike, you need to look at the total frame geometry, seat tube length, top tube length, and seat tube angle to assess fit. I am sure what you preferred on the 44cm bike you test rode was the shorter top tube, but that is why I always buy bikes with the top tube length and seat tube angles I need, even though their sizes can vary from 44-51cm. -e