trail_monkey

Just wondering how many of you on extremely hilly gravel run ratios that are lower than a standard one to one. 1:1 ratio for
My bike with 700x42 tires is around 27-28 gear inches.

I like the idea of having a bail out gear with my 11-40 or my 11-42 running a 36 tooth front (some extremely steep hills you can’t stand and mash due to loose surface). But I like the idea of my 11-36 cassette having a little tighter spacing in the middle (2 gear jumps vs 3 on the 11-4). I am running 10 speed of course and the extended range cassettes are Sunrace cassettes. I ran the 1142 all last year with both a 42 front chain ring and the 36 oval when I got it. It just almost seems overkill if I’m running a 36 front chain ring.

I recently put the 11-36 back on and have been doing some gravel rides this winter with it with the 36 front oval. It seems like I haven’t found anything I can’t sit and spin with 36 front and 36 rear although I haven’t done any rides over 30 miles when true fatigue has set in either.

trail_monkey

In case anyone is curious to see the difference here are the cassettes as they are laid out.

Sunrace 11-4?
11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-36-4(0,2)

Shimano Xt 11-36
11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-36

And for a little comparison
Shimano 11 speed 11-42
11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-37-42

On the 10 speed cassette so you can see the main difference is between cog 15 and cog 21 where the Sunrace cassette jumps three and the Shimano cassette jumps 2. Otherwise the spacing on either side of those are identical

HTupolev

Lowest gear on my drop-bar Stumpy is 24-28 on 53mm 26ers, for ~22 gear inches. I probably don't strictly need it, but I do use it quite a bit on the prolonged steep stuff. It's hard to give any real recommendation since the needs depend on the rider and the terrain...

If you want really wide-range gearing and tight spacing, you're going to have to start adding chainrings.

Cyclist0108

I do. I have a 46/30T crank and two wheelsets, one with 11-34T cassette, the other with 11-36T. I do use the low gears more than I care to admit.

dgodave

Low gear on my AWOL is a stump pulling 17.4 gear inches. (22-36)

I do use it on really steep sections of natl forest roads.

Plus, I'm old darn it!

Facanh

I'm running 1:1 but on dirt I would like to go much lower because I ride my bike everywhere. Basically mountain bike gearing because I ride in the mountains too.

Something like a 10-42 with a 28-42 double would be awesome.

For me there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to low gears. I would go down to the point where I would fall over because I would be barely moving.

jp911

My gravel bike has a 46/34 crankset and 11-36 SRAM cassette, wheels and tires are 700X40. I've definitely needed the 34x36 combo on the climbs in the Sierras where I might have had to hike-a-bike.

trail_monkey

I’m a 1x fan. I just don’t want to mess with the front derailleur when I get on these muddy roads LOL. Don’t think that I haven’t thought of it many times. The majority of my riding is by myself and when I do find myself in a group ride if I get left behind it’s just because they’re stronger riders than me and not because I can’t find the right cadence. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to try and get my jumps as close together as possible.

ph0rk

I run 36t with a 11-42 cassette. 2.1"-2.4" tires though.

trail_monkey

At the moment I have an 11 x 40 cassette on. That’s probably in the ballpark with 42 tires of you in your 42 rear gear

12strings

30 is the small in front, with a 11-28 in the back.

I would have gotten a 11-30, if money and availability were no limiters, but this is OK for what I do (Road, gravel riding, & cyclocross races)

Marcus_Ti

46/30 cranks and 11/32 cassette. 44mm tires.


Both are great when the road goes upward on soft terrain...or when bagging it on a tour.

ph0rk

I really like it. I'm thinking about putting together a lighter-duty tourer (that chunky bike is for trails only most of the time these days), 35-40mm tires, and I'll probably go 36 or 38t in front and 11-42 in the back. If you aren't pacelining, 36x11 or 38x11 is plenty, especially on gravel.

trail_monkey

I couldn’t agree more. I read to much crap online and the top end speeds these people are seeking on gravel is insane, to me anyways. 25-30 mph is fast enough for me. Now I don’t race so.......

HTupolev

A lot of people who put high top gears on their gravel bikes are thinking about spirited paved riding.

ph0rk

Presumably they ar swapping tires and maybe also wheelsets for that - Can’t they just toss a 44+t front chainring on there and mash away?

HTupolev

Sometimes. Not necessarily all the time. Depends on what's normally on there, and how much the person cares.

Sure, but not everyone wants to modify the drivetrain between rides. And especially not during rides, if a ride happens to include both loose climbs and spirited paved riding.

ph0rk

Sure, but at that point they are making a compromise unsuitable for rougher stuff. Every interesting bit at DK was littered with crap that shook off bikes that didn’t belong on that sort of rocky terrain at that speed.

Whatever floats their boat, but that’s a different use case than the OP is talking about, I think.

chris406

I do. I have 50-34 up front and an 11-40 out back. For me it's better to spin a high cadence up hills so I can remain seated. Standing up on steep punchy climbs with loose gravel or mud causes tire slippage and it seems much slower to me.

HTupolev

What about having high gears available requires the use of things that are liable to shake off of bikes?

ph0rk

If they like spirited rides and don’t feel like swapping wheels, they’re probably riding narrow clearance lighter frames and thin tires. Those are the bikes that were shaken to pieces.

I can’t imagine they’d try those spirited road rides on a drop bar mtb with 2” tires, which is exactly the sort of bike that a 1x setup makes sense on.

I’m sure there are some folks that can kill it on any bike in any scenario, but those people can do it with a 1x, too.

HTupolev

I actually do exactly that quite frequently. It's a very heavy build that doesn't take paved climbs quite as fast as my skinny-tired road bikes, but otherwise it trades blows with them, at least if I've got my Rat Trap Pass ELs installed. Which I usually do, because Cascades gravel isn't very full of stabby things and low-pressure slicks can usually grip it quite well.

Furthermore, grade and surface are different, and their relationship is complicated. A route can be steep and/or loose enough to merit super-low gears without being rough or mucky enough to demand a crazy gnarly setup. This is especially true if we account for variations in rider ability.

Insofar as it sees use as a road bike, I don't see why my gravel bike has less use for multiple chainrings than my "pure" road bikes do.

trail_monkey

Pardon me for being ignorant but I have read and re read the posts after my last post about spirited road rides and dirty kanza debris and I feel stupid because I am not really sure what you guys are debating about. I don’t race that’s true. I just ride for exercise and fun.

unterhausen

I think it really depends on what "exercise and fun" entails. If it includes spirited riding on pavement, that changes things a lot. I have a 42/28 crank on my gravel bike, and really, the 42-11 is most of what I can push on flat ground. Sometimes we get a little wound up on the long downhill at the end of the local gravel group ride, and I wish I had a little bit bigger gear. But usually the guys that have a 53 get worn out and I can catch them and pass on by. I feel like I might not be happy with much smaller front chainring, that's why I haven't gone 1x. I probably would be perfectly happy with it though. When I use that bike on the road, it's usually a long ride and I don't need that 42-11 anyway. That bike now has a 32 in the rear, so 28-32 low gear. Usually that's ok, except maybe on extended long steep climbs

Seattle Forrest

Lowest gear I have is 36x28. I don't want for more on this bike.