Gearing for Loaded Touring (Berto, 1984)
08-28-20, 01:12 PM
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Gearing for Loaded Touring (Berto, 1984)
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08-28-20, 01:28 PM
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I confess, I used to read stuff like this article. But honestly I just could never figure out why anyone sweat the gearing that much even for loaded touring. I just set it up so there was a useful high and low and the jumps weren't too crazy in between. Unless I'm running 5 on the back, I'll take a cross over over half step gearing any day of the week. I also don't know if a 19 inch low gear is necessary but yeah I'd like something in the low 20s for loaded touring.
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08-28-20, 02:04 PM
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Kinda funny as I just put a 24t front sprocket on my recently purchased miyata 1000. Fun to mess and cost $1 at the co-op, so why not. I will admit that I like to get those even steps between gears. It may be because it is flatlands here and I am a geezer, so it is nice to have a gear that is just right. It was easy to trade my 100+ top gear for a lower one, just in case.
Actually what I wanted most on the triple and the 7 speed 12-28 hyperglide rear was to have the middle front sprocket handle 90% of my riding. Granny for the occasional hill and large for fine tuning for wind etc, but middle sprocket for most riding. Amazing what minor things one occupies their minds with. I am guilty.
Actually what I wanted most on the triple and the 7 speed 12-28 hyperglide rear was to have the middle front sprocket handle 90% of my riding. Granny for the occasional hill and large for fine tuning for wind etc, but middle sprocket for most riding. Amazing what minor things one occupies their minds with. I am guilty.
08-28-20, 03:16 PM
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I tried half step and could never figure out how to do the double shifts. I went to a cross over (not a “double crossover”) and was much happier. I’ve even done a modern “cross over “ with a 9 speed. Any shift on the front up or down gives the same gear as a shift on the back. To ride it, I ride in the large ring and downshift to about the middle of the cassette then “cross over” to the middle ring and continue downshifting as needed.
My current gearing goes far beyond Beto’s with a crazy 15” low. Yes, it shifts just fine.
My current gearing goes far beyond Beto’s with a crazy 15” low. Yes, it shifts just fine.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
08-28-20, 05:07 PM
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I do have half steps on a couple but that is more because of the larger doubles with a larger bcd so no real low range. Actually on 1000 my mid and outer it is a one and a half step as I have seen posted about before. Cassettes larger than 7 speeds would open a whole new can of worms.
