Another Gearing Question: Old vs New

[SadieKate]

Is improved hill climbing a factor of better conditioning and training or a matter of improved technique? I usually only get out for one of these rides once or twice a week.

Yes to both.

To get better on hills, you must ride hills.

[bikerz]

SadieKate is my hill-climbing Obi-Wan.

As soon as I got gearing that allowed me to spin fairly easily while keeping enough forward motion to not tip over, I just followed her advice and kept riding up hills! They are still hard for me, but they have definitely gotten easier with practice. I actually kind of like hills now (and not just because what goes up slow comes back down fast!)

[SadieKate]

Moi? A hill climbing Obi-Wan? Talked about low requirements.

[HillSlugger]

Hey there Nicole,
Are you closer to getting the new, lusted-after bike?

Yes, but I'm not yet sure what she'll be. I've looked at and touch the Sequoia but I've not yet been on one. I also have to try some others, too. Another more upright bike to look at is the Trek Pilot, but this shop does not carry Trek. So, I'll try out some other types there and then move on to another shop for the Treks.

I'm trying to fund this bike by selling off stuff on Ebay (and I'll be posting some jerseys here, too) but so far I'm falling way short. I've given myself a goal date of Columbus Day. I'll supplemet whatever I've raised by then and go out looking to buy.

[HillSlugger]

Hey Nicole -

I changed both the rear cassette and the front chanin rings on my Sequoia - I have an 11-34 in the back and a 24-38-52 in front - so I have a very wide range of gears, and I use all of them... I did need a new XT derailleur for the rear cassette.

Hope this helps!

According to the specs for the Elite, it has a long cage derailleur in the back. Does this mean that it may be able to accomodate the 11-32 cassette? Would the chain need to be lengthened? I definitely want to swap the cassette. I'll do the 12-27 but I'd prefer to do the 11-34.

[Triskeliongirl]

My understanding is that a long cage ROAD derailleur (i.e. ultegra) will accomodate up to a 27 top gear, but not a 32. I have read you can sometimes stretch it to 28 with judicious shifting. To use with a 32 or 34, you need a long cage mountain derailleur (i.e. XT). I will say I find my bike is SLOWER even in the higher gears with the 11-34 than 12-27 casette, due to the large gaps between the gears. So, unless you really NEED a cog larger than 27, I would avoid the 11-34/11-32, etc. One option is to get the mountain derailleur, and BOTH cog sets to swap out as the terrain demands (that is what I did on one of my bikes). But, for this to work, you need to first set it up to work on the 11-32 or 34, since you have to be sure there is enough chain, and then you can swap casettes without issues. The shifiting will be not quite as crisp with the mountain vs road derailleur, and there is a small weight penalty, but my bike set up this way shifts fine. If I were gonna do this though, I'd get the 11-34 rather than the 11-32. If you want a really low gear, why not go all the way to 34?