Which chain ring for climbing?
11-25-12, 09:33 PM
#1
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Which chain ring for climbing?
I'd like to give q rings or osymmetrics a try, purely to help increase climbing. I don't care much for power gains for flat, main focus is climbing. I don't have knee pain or other issues so the new rings is only to promote better spinning up mtns.
Should I first use just the q ring inner 39t to see if there are any improvements?
For those who ride/rode both q rings and osymm which rings provide the best benefits for climbing?
Thanks
Should I first use just the q ring inner 39t to see if there are any improvements?
For those who ride/rode both q rings and osymm which rings provide the best benefits for climbing?
Thanks
11-25-12, 10:55 PM
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all my bikes,Im using q-rings,the 52-36 combo is great for both climbs and flats..rember the 52=54 peak then 36=38 peak..
11-26-12, 07:21 AM
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I have Q-rings in 53-39, I really can't tell a difference.
11-27-12, 06:47 AM
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You'll have to pony up and test for yourself.
11-27-12, 11:17 PM
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I made the switch to Qrings and am happy I did...It did however, take a TON of time and trial and error before I figured them out for me..Early this year, I started with one on my TT bike and kinda liked it (seemed easier) so I got a set for my road bike and uhhh, didn't like them. Worked with them for a month trying to figure them out..Yes, I tried them in all sorts of positions and yes I do have a PM to look at data..
I did notice when they were on my road bike, that I liked the inner ring and when in my inner ring, it felt very normal and my climbing "seemed" better. I still went back and forth with the reg ring on my TT bike, but still liked the inner ring on my road bike. It wasn't until I started up with a new coach at the end of this racing year (middle-Sept) that while doing a set that included a higher cadence, I by chance found something that clicked. I was doing a interval set in a head-wind and had to drop to my inner ring while maintaining a high RPM...with the small Qring my sustainability was much better. So much better that on my next weeks sets, I put the outer ring on and with the higher cadence, it too worked great. Same thing with my TT bike...
For me, I found I have to be above 93-94RPM for them to start "working" and the sweet spot is 95-102RPM. When I tried them all early in the year, it was at a much lower RPM and I struggled to finish sets similar to what I'm doing now. I've been racing 3 years and within the last 2 months of going back to them, it has allowed me to get to my best ever power numbers (1min-60min) So...I like them and they are working great for me, just took a while to figure them out.
Ken
I did notice when they were on my road bike, that I liked the inner ring and when in my inner ring, it felt very normal and my climbing "seemed" better. I still went back and forth with the reg ring on my TT bike, but still liked the inner ring on my road bike. It wasn't until I started up with a new coach at the end of this racing year (middle-Sept) that while doing a set that included a higher cadence, I by chance found something that clicked. I was doing a interval set in a head-wind and had to drop to my inner ring while maintaining a high RPM...with the small Qring my sustainability was much better. So much better that on my next weeks sets, I put the outer ring on and with the higher cadence, it too worked great. Same thing with my TT bike...
For me, I found I have to be above 93-94RPM for them to start "working" and the sweet spot is 95-102RPM. When I tried them all early in the year, it was at a much lower RPM and I struggled to finish sets similar to what I'm doing now. I've been racing 3 years and within the last 2 months of going back to them, it has allowed me to get to my best ever power numbers (1min-60min) So...I like them and they are working great for me, just took a while to figure them out.
Ken
11-27-12, 11:53 PM
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awesome, thanks for your story. I will try to hunt down a inner 39t to put on my crankset. I hope using a q ring on the inner and a normal SRAM outter wont affect shifting too much.
