Single speed after derailleur break
Not sure where to ask this question, so it goes here. Have you ever had a rear derailleur break and were forced to single speed it to the next town or whatever? I nearly had that "opportunity", but hitched a ride 20 miles to a bike shop instead. This was on a Coast to Coast Bike race in eastern Missouri last June. I had contemplated the chance of something like this happening and thought I was prepared with chain breaker and necessary links. But not having done it before gets you to asking questions. What combinations of front/back gears would be best? I'm sure that depends upon how far you need to go and what the climbing requirements are. Luckily, at the present time, I need to replace my chain and thinking it's a good time to experiment with this scenario. I have a 50/34 front and an 11-40 rear cassette. The 11-40 breaks down individual gear-wise to 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-27-31-35-40. I assume that chain alignment will be almost or more important than gear combination. Before I try all of this, I would like to hear from those that have did such or have some thoughts. Thanks.