Double Chain Ring...yikes

[Peanut03]

I have a triple right now, but I never use the "granny" gear. I originally got the triple because I was afraid I wouldn't make it up a hill. So it was strictly for emergency purposes. I think I've used it 3x in 7 years. I use the 39x53 chain rings and it seems to be fine for me. My new bike will have a compact double and I'm curious to see how that works for me. I think the compacts are 34x50.

[Jo-n-NY]

I have a triple right now, but I never use the "granny" gear. I originally got the triple because I was afraid I wouldn't make it up a hill. So it was strictly for emergency purposes. I think I've used it 3x in 7 years. I use the 39x53 chain rings and it seems to be fine for me. My new bike will have a compact double and I'm curious to see how that works for me. I think the compacts are 34x50.

Wow! I consider you a very strong rider. I rode the Bloomin Metic a few years ago. The ride was described to me as rolling hills. Some of those hills were so steep I by all means did not consider them rolling. Yes, that was a first time for me using my granny gears. I sure you will have not problem riding those hills with your compact.

~ JoAnn

[littlegrasshopp]

I am interested in this same question! I have a compact double. I seem to be in the lowest gears all the time! We will come to a hill and half way up DH is telling me to shift to an easier gear and spin...I am out of gears!! We are considering changing to a tripple. I have campi components and DH has said we can convert easily. The current shifters will work with the conversion.

[OakLeaf]

One thing I noticed when I was running gearing charts a week or two ago, was that a stock Campy double is considerably taller than a stock Shimano double. Before you do the triple conversion, you might just try shorter gearing on your double.

[violette]

Sorry, I don't know was a compact and cluster is???

[aicabsolut]

Sorry, I don't know was a compact and cluster is???

How many teeth on the chain rings? 53/39, 52/39, 52/38, 50/36, 50/34, etc.

Size (range) of cassette? 12-27, 12-25, 12-23, 11-23, etc.

[motochick]

OK, I just checked out the link you gave in another topic, and if your bike has the same set up as the one in the picture, then no wonder you are struggling on the hills! I would never want to go uphill with that gear combo. If you do have a 53/39 in front and a 12-25 in the rear, your easiest gear is 40 gear inches! To give you an idea how high that is, my hubby's easiest gear is 35 gear inches. (and he is a strong boy) My easiest gear is 32. The lower the number the easier it is to pedal uphill.

There are some things you can do to make life easier but we need to know exactly what you have so we can point you in the right direction. Look at your smallest front ring and see if it is stamped with a number. If not, count the teeth. Next, look at the BIGGEST one in the back and count the teeth. Tell me what you got and we can help you. No one (but pros) should be climbing in a 39-25. OUCH

Brenda

[Andrea]

Just to defend the 39/53 a little...

It's totally possible to do some climbing with a 39/25. You just have to train for it. If you're willing to put up with some very tough "damn this" sort of moments, Then you will eventually get stronger and not have nearly as much of a problem.

Now back to your regularly scheduled "low gear" discussion...

[Chile Pepper]

No one (but pros) should be climbing in a 39-25. OUCH

I beg to differ. I'm riding a classic steel with the original 52/42 chainrings and a 13/26 cassette. My lowest gear is 43.6 inches. I tried to change out the smaller chainring to a 39, but it didn't work (it rubbed)--and I have no intention of changing out the whole gearing system (or buying a new bike any time soon). I live in Chile, so nothing is flat, and we have a lot of very steep sections. Sure, it gets tough, but I haven't fallen over yet! As my husband likes to point out, if he did the Death Ride twice on 52 / 42 gearing, then I should be able to handle my regular climbs. It works for me (although the triple I rented in California last year sure was fun).

[Pedal Wench]

One thing I noticed when I was running gearing charts a week or two ago, was that a stock Campy double is considerably taller than a stock Shimano double. Before you do the triple conversion, you might just try shorter gearing on your double.

They're both typically 53/39 -- same on Campy and Shimano, but I know Campy has a 13/29 cassette -- that I use religiously!

[OakLeaf]

They're both typically 53/39 -- same on Campy and Shimano, but I know Campy has a 13/29 cassette -- that I use religiously!

Yeah, I see now that I look more into it, top-end racing bikes generally come with 53/39 whichever gruppo they have. But lower-end bikes and "sport-tourers" like the compact version of my Synapse seem to come with 50/34.

Anyway yeah, it's a combination of how strong you are and how steep and long your hills are. Back in the day I could power up most anything with a low gear of 42x21. Not any more

There aren't a lot of 20%+ hills around here, but there are enough. I know where most of them are, and they're the ones where I use the puppy gear. If I rode more I'm sure I could get strong enough again that I wouldn't need it... but that's just not where I'm at right now. So I'm happy with my triple

[aicabsolut]

My easiest gear on my Roubaix is 36/27, or 35 gear inches. That is considered pretty wussy by a lot of my friends. I don't use the 27 much..mostly for stopping and starting in traffic on hills as I really suck at getting going in a "hard" (for me) gear.

That is roughly equivalent to a 34/25 gear (my 36 compact is less common these days).

Don't worry a lot about the double, unless you want to make a more expensive switch to a compact crankset. You could try changing up the rear cluster to a SRAM 12-28 or 12-26 or Shimano 12-27 if your biggest cog is a 25. Those are much cheaper (max $100) options.

[spokewench]

I have a 39 low in front and a 27 in back - I do a lot of climbing when I ride; but I also own a Giant TCR which is like 16 pounds or something insanely light so it works for me. The only time it gets troublesome is on multi day i.e. 3-5 day rides with lots of mountain climbing, then on day 3 or 4, it can seem not enough. I don't do that much of that type of riding, so the gears work fine for me. I have, however, been riding for 20 plus years so that has something to do with it too.

[mimitabby]

My easiest gear on my Roubaix is 36/27, or 35 gear inches. That is considered pretty wussy by a lot of my friends. I don't use the 27 much..mostly for stopping and starting in traffic on hills as I really suck at getting going in a "hard" (for me) gear.

I hope you don't let your friends' attitudes bother you.
You can ride all day if you want on your top chain ring, but if you NEED
that granny gear, it's there.

[alpinerabbit]

Yeah, I see now that I look more into it, top-end racing bikes generally come with 53/39 whichever gruppo they have. But lower-end bikes and "sport-tourers" like the compact version of my Synapse seem to come with 50/34.

erm. I tend to think most package deals are less of an end than any custom build. a top-end bike comes any way you want...

Top-end riders, of course, ride 53/39 or even more than 53 but that's out of my league. I started like that and hurt my knees.

I really fought on a hard long climb last Sunday with 34/27 as my last resort and I would hate to try anything beyond 20% or even 17.