Originally Posted by
dugla
Ok,
Thanks for the tons of useful input. Very cool.
If I try and distill responses down I think I have a punch list.
First, more context:
- My Fuso is at130mm and this was key to some of the changes I made. I had the local shop build me a wheel. Hub: Shimano 105 5800 36 hole 11-Speed rear hub. Cassette: Shimano 7-Speed 11/28. Rim: Mavic Open Sport 700c. So out with the old freewheel in with the cassette/freehub basically.
My todo list:
- upgrade to the latest Shimano 105 11-speed groupset
- (maybe) replace my front wheel with some Mavic coolness
- more hills
My goals are rather modest: ride comfortably at 17-18mph in the local group ride which is 36 miles-ish. A key aspect of this is "solving" riding on the rolling hills here in Mass. (Lexington/Concord/etc.). This is where the 11-speeds should pay dividends. I think I will get there. My weekday hill loops - 3 1-hour sessions per week - are getting faster and longer. Around 1400 ft of elevation in an hour, typically. I don't really have the time to do 40/50/60 mile rides.
1- If you have a 5800 hub right now, then you are running a cassette. You arent using a freewheel. Just want to make sure you are aware there is an inherent and significant difference between the two.
2- If your new 11sp cassette has the same range as your current 7sp cassette, then you wont really go faster at the top or bottom ends of the speed spectrum. I guess you might find more suitable middle gears with an 11sp cassette which could them allow you to spin at an ideal rpm(whatever that may be for you) instead of being in between gears on the 7sp cassette and constantly either spinning too fast to keep speed or slogging slowly on the crankset because the gearing is too tough. The thing about hills though is they are rarely linear. Gearing that works for the start may not be what you need for the middle or the end. So if you are between gears on a 7sp, it wont be for long.
I guess I dont know why an 11sp drivetrain would pay dividends on the rolling hills, unless you change the gear range and that helps you now that you have a 32t cog or something like that.
3- 1400' of elevation in an hour is very good. Thats about 100-120' per mile, which is nothing to dismiss. The only way to climb faster with that much increase per mile is get stronger or get lighter...or both.