Changing crank gear size
I'm a new rider, over 50, about 265lbs. I have Trek Verve 2, crank gears are 48/38/28. On the hills I'm running out of power to keep going. I'm wondering if I can get mountain bike crank with 42/34/24 gears to swap out. What all would be i need to get? Will any crank work? I would think I need a new crank and a chain, but what else?
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I am not very familiar with triple ring cranks but your small ring is 28t and that seems pretty small/normal... maybe another solution would be to get a wider range rear cassette. I know SunRace makes 8 speed 11-40t cassettes, I use one on my do it all touring/town/trial bike and just needed a little extender for the rear mech mount.
I am 90% sure this would be a direct replacement for your current cranks but with the lower gearing your after https://www.jensonusa.com/Shimano-Ac...iABEgJE4_D_BwE |
Switching from a 28 to 24 will be (about) like adding 1 tooth to each cog your rear cassette. IOW not that big a change.
Since you say you are a new rider, just keep plugging away the best you can. You will start seeing gains and I'm sure you will soon be able to make hills you can't now. Congrats on getting started! |
If you are a NEW rider, you have plenty of gear. Keep riding, working on developing your cycling abilities. Later you find you have enough gear as your legs get stronger.
When I started, a one mile 5% hill was killer on the same gears. After I got a few miles under my belt, developed my legs a bit, I was riding up much easier in bigger gears. I see the Verve has an 11/32 in the rear, I believe you have enough gears to climb a wall. I'm guessing it's about developing the legs as most NEW riders will. |
Originally Posted by CoffeedrinkerNC
(Post 21300130)
I'm a new rider, over 50, about 265lbs. I have Trek Verve 2, crank gears are 48/38/28. On the hills I'm running out of power to keep going. I'm wondering if I can get mountain bike crank with 42/34/24 gears to swap out. What all would be i need to get? Will any crank work? I would think I need a new crank and a chain, but what else?
Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21300499)
If you are a NEW rider, you have plenty of gear. Keep riding, working on developing your cycling abilities. Later you find you have enough gear as your legs get stronger.
When I started, a one mile 5% hill was killer on the same gears. After I got a few miles under my belt, developed my legs a bit, I was riding up much easier in bigger gears. I see the Verve has an 11/32 in the rear, I believe you have enough gears to climb a wall. I'm guessing it's about developing the legs as most NEW riders will. |
Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21301156)
Telling someone that they have “enough gears” isn’t a call that you can make about anyone but yourself.
OK CoffeDrinkerNC, go drop a couple hundred bucks of your and cyccommute's money on equipment you won't need after you get a few hundred miles under your belt. Your a new rider, develop your legs some before you go waste money on something you don't need. Your gears are fine, some people have more money than brains. :innocent: |
Originally Posted by stevel610
(Post 21300282)
Switching from a 28 to 24 will be (about) like adding 1 tooth to each cog your rear cassette.
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Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21301189)
Oh gawd!
OK CoffeDrinkerNC, go drop a couple hundred bucks of your and cyccommute's money on equipment you won't need after you get a few hundred miles under your belt. Your a new rider, develop your legs some before you go waste money on something you don't need. Your gears are fine, some people have more money than brains. :innocent: As for brains, is it smarter to suffer or to ride smarter? CoffeeDrinkerNC could just push higher gears and risk injury or he could ride smarter and healthier. I assure you that I’m not stupid nor is CoffeeDrinkerNC. |
Originally Posted by HTupolev
(Post 21301206)
No it isn't. A 28T chainring is nearly 17% larger than a 24T chainring, so it's like adding nearly 17% to the number of teeth to each cog in your cassette. Even for an 11-tooth cog, it's equivalent to nearly a 2-tooth addition. For a 24-tooth cog, it's like becoming a 28-tooth cog. For the 32-tooth cog that comes on a Trek Verve 2, it's like gaining about 5 teeth and becoming a ~37T cog.
IMO getting 3-4 gear inches isn't enough to spend $50 - $100 when his fitness will most likely increase to make it a moot point in a couple of weeks. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4397f06a9a.png |
Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21301505)
“Oh gawd!” yourself. So your legs are telling CoffeeDrinkerNC that his legs are just weak? I suppose he could just suffer and that would make your legs feel better. And I’m not talking about a “couple of hundred bucks”. A square taper crank that would have the gearing he wants can be had for roughly $10 to $30 used on EBay for an even better crank. Raylee has linked to a new crank that is $40. A bike shop can get the same crank for about $60 and they can install it for $20 to $30. That’s a lot less than $200.
As for brains, is it smarter to suffer or to ride smarter? CoffeeDrinkerNC could just push higher gears and risk injury or he could ride smarter and healthier. I assure you that I’m not stupid nor is CoffeeDrinkerNC. As far as being stupid, I am not so sure. Who is going to go out and push higher gears than what they can and injure themselves? Have you never heard of building up to the level? What idiot is going to go ride a big hill without having built up to it? I guess I am much smarter than you because if I can't do a hill, I would find a lesser one, conquer it, then gradually advance. Only and idiot would do that and that seems exactly what you are doing. Coffeedrinker, your gears are fine. Keep riding, build your strength, advance gradually. (not sure why a not so smart person would think you are going to attack a hill without preparation). YOur gears are fine, develop your legs, that hill will be a breeze. Or take the stupid know it all way and waste your money, it's your choice. But imo, not everybody needs to spend money on new equipment they don't need. Sure, it sounds good on paper, but go buy the parts, then go to your shop and ask them to put them on, I bet it comes close to $200. The people who claim to not be stupid are always more than happy to waste your money. Think about it, How many people buy a hybrid the later realize they should have gotten a road bike once they develop a little fitness? You have to be stupid to invest money on something you will outgrow and you will outgrow super high gears since you are a NEW rider. |
So let me ask this.. how about changing the cassette first? It looks like it's got an 11-32 on it right now. I would look at an 11-40 or something similar. That's an easier swap to me.
But I don't know about the bike and the components on it and what they can handle. Take it to your local bike shop and tell them what you want and they can suggest the best way to do it. |
Originally Posted by chadtrent
(Post 21302184)
So let me ask this.. how about changing the cassette first? It looks like it's got an 11-32 on it right now. I would look at an 11-40 or something similar. That's an easier swap to me.
But I don't know about the bike and the components on it and what they can handle. Take it to your local bike shop and tell them what you want and they can suggest the best way to do it. |
Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21302265)
The derailer on the Verve likely won’t take a 40 tooth cassette. The Altus M310 rear derailer will only take a 34 tooth cog maximum.
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Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21302061)
You are so unaware. A rider's legs are going to develop far more than when he is starting and new. He has great gears now and with a little natural strength building , he will be fine.
As far as being stupid, I am not so sure. Who is going to go out and push higher gears than what they can and injure themselves? Have you never heard of building up to the level? What idiot is going to go ride a big hill without having built up to it? I guess I am much smarter than you because if I can't do a hill, I would find a lesser one, conquer it, then gradually advance. Only and idiot would do that and that seems exactly what you are doing. But who would go out and push higher gears and injure themselves? Lots of people who are told that “you don’t need a lower gear, you just need to develop strength”. I don’t have to find a lesser hill to ride up endlessly until such time as I’m strong enough because I use my brains and get gears low enough to ride up any hill. I tour by bicycle and often don’t have an option of avoiding a hill until such time as I can ride up it in the gears my bicycles have. Lots of people have bikes that are too highly geared and, thus, end up injuring themselves. Coffeedrinker, your gears are fine. Keep riding, build your strength, advance gradually. (not sure why a not so smart person would think you are going to attack a hill without preparation). YOur gears are fine, develop your legs, that hill will be a breeze. Or take the stupid know it all way and waste your money, it's your choice. But imo, not everybody needs to spend money on new equipment they don't need. Sure, it sounds good on paper, but go buy the parts, then go to your shop and ask them to put them on, I bet it comes close to $200. The people who claim to not be stupid are always more than happy to waste your money. Think about it, How many people buy a hybrid the later realize they should have gotten a road bike once they develop a little fitness? |
Originally Posted by chadtrent
(Post 21302267)
Ahh. I'm not familiar with the Altus.
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Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21302061)
You are so unaware. A rider's legs are going to develop far more than when he is starting and new. He has great gears now and with a little natural strength building , he will be fine.
I'm in my 20s, have been cycling for 5 years, and won a cat4 race once while dabbling at the regional velodrome. I'm far from elite, but definitely stronger than most cyclists. My ride yesterday included one climb that averaged 11% for a mile-long stretch. My bicycle's lowest gear was 24-32 to produce 19 gear inches, a good step lower than what the OP has. I used that bottom-end ratio quite a bit. As far as being stupid, I am not so sure. Who is going to go out and push higher gears than what they can and injure themselves? Have you never heard of building up to the level? What idiot is going to go ride a big hill without having built up to it? I guess I am much smarter than you because if I can't do a hill, I would find a lesser one, conquer it, then gradually advance. Only and idiot would do that and that seems exactly what you are doing. "Building up to the level" means that you shouldn't try big efforts outside of your ability. A hill is not an effort, it is a hill. Aside from technicality, a big hill is not - and has little reason to be - inherently difficult to ascend. |
Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21302301)
Sure, he may develop some strength but how long will that take? And what is he supposed to ride until such time as he gets to the point where he has developed those muscles? Should he just ride up and down a flat road until such time as he meets your expectations.
I've seen a ton of riders go from snail to rabbit on the bikes being new riders. And many who regret taking the advice of those who sway them to waste money on sissy gears because someone told them they were going to injure themselves. |
Originally Posted by HTupolev
(Post 21302330)
Without knowing what terrain the OP intends on riding, and their level of talent and intended amount of dedication to the sport, you don't know if the gears that are on their bicycle right now are adequate for what they want to ride.
A NEW rider should ride his bike and develop before wasting money on unnecessary equipment. |
Originally Posted by HTupolev
(Post 21302330)
You're basically saying that cyclists should let minor configuration choices with a bicycle dictate what routes they ride. You're also picking a completely arbitrary bar for what everyone should accept as a suitably-low bottom gear. In other words, you think that if someone is at a level of fitness significantly lower than myself, the ride I did yesterday ought to be off-limits to them. Even though it's fairly easy to solve that problem by modifying the bicycle. That's horrible, especially as it's an absolutely amazing ride with spectacular views.
Not sure where you get the idea he is trying to ride up mountains with spectacular views or where I said that he couldn't or that it was off limits. Please pay attention! I said he will develop and soon will not need those easier gears to make it up the hills or whatever. I did not say he shouldn't enjoy them, I said he will soon enjoy them without the waste of money as i did. Please pay attention. I did not alter my bike as a new rider. I struggled up hills. But I gave myself a chance to get used to the bike AS A NEW RIDER. I didn't waste my money, I rode my bike. I got better, I made it up the mountains on my bike without changing equipment. Give the guy a chance to ride his bike first. |
Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21302301)
Sure. Keep riding and building your strength. Just avoid any hill that you can’t ride up. The world is full of hills and you might find yourself rather limited in places you can ride.
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CoffeeDrinkerNC,
Don't waste your money. Ride your bike! Do what you can do, ride some distance, increase by small increments if you must. Don't over do it. Don't bite off too much at one time. Ride whatever gets in your way, flat terrain, over freeway overpasses, over short hills, turn back and do that short hill again if you can. If not, no biggie, just keep riding and doing better efforts when you can. You will develop quickly if you ride your bike. Seen it so many times. Don't pay attention to the people who can't comprehend my comments about developing. You can ride hills, mountains, flats, whatever you like with your gears once you develop some. You know your limits, you know how much to tackle, you know your body. Give it a chance to develop before wasting your money. If your goal was to do a ride with 12,000 ft of elevation gain, they I would say yes, spend the money and hassle. But if you are NEW and trying to make it up a local hill, give yourself time to develop and save your money. :thumb: DBATE OVER: These guys lack reading comprehension and toss in irrelevant statements. Me limiting your spectacular views, what a joke! :roflmao2: |
Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21302376)
Where do you get that I am dictating what rides he can do?
Originally Posted by TheDudeIsHere
(Post 21302366)
Exactly! So you think telling somebody to waste money and time is a better idea than getting them to ride their bike, while as you said, not knowing what terrain they are riding?
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
(Post 21301505)
“Oh gawd!” yourself. So your legs are telling CoffeeDrinkerNC that his legs are just weak?
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We spend WAY too much time trying to get "the perfect" piece of gear. When I got back into riding in 2007 I had a steel single speed Raleigh beach cruiser with steel wheels and a coaster brake. IIRC it had somewhere around 60 gear inches. I rode the crap out of that thing for 6 months until I figured I'd stick with it. If I couldn't make a hill I walked it. Get on your bike and ride!
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I've been riding as much as I can. I rode 8 miles Saturday, and 10 miles on Sunday. I have been trying to keep to routes that are mostly flat, if I get to a hill that I can't climb, I just walk the bike up and them get back on.
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