Old 10-22-21, 01:30 AM
  #218  
Gonzo Bob
cycles per second
 
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,930

Bikes: Early 1980's Ishiwata 022 steel sport/touring, 1986 Vitus 979, 1988 DiamondBack Apex, 1997 Softride PowerWing 700, 2001 Trek OCLV 110

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And the thread diverges...

My gearing preferences for my home terrain (flat to gently rolling with some short, steep every now and then) and my riding style:
  1. Roadie (700x23): 53x42 with a 13-26 6-sp freewheel (3.4m to 8.6m). Can't go smaller than 13t on the freewheel so won't go smaller than a 53 big ring. Can normally get up everything I ride with the 42/22 but keep the 42/26 as a bail-out when I'm fatigued and riding up the hill into a headwind. I think I've used it twice this year.
  2. Commuting (700x25): 44x34 with a 12-21 7-sp freewheel (3.4m to 7.8m).
  3. Touring (700x28): 44x29 with 11-28 7-sp cassette (2.2m to 8.5m). Rode this on a three week loaded tour from Munich to Barcelona in the Alps and the Pyrenees.
  4. MTB (559x54): 44x32x22 with 12-34 6-sp cassette (1.3m to 7.6m).
Addendum: I joined a recreational cycling club this year and on multiple occasions have had other club members question my gearing (i.e. they don't think it's low enough). The weirdest thing is that it has happened on routes that were almost dead flat! I think the recent trend toward huge road cassettes (like 11-32 or 11-34) has warped some people's perception of what's needed. My old road rear derailers are only rated to 28t so I can't even run those new fangled road cassettes wiith huge pie plates anyway.

Last edited by Gonzo Bob; 10-22-21 at 02:06 AM.
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