I bought my last new bike in 2000 when I was 55. I was still riding strong for being 55. I bought a 5200 9 speed, 52-42-30 in front and 12-25 in back. I thought it was a perfect bike for me. Since I ride in terrain from moderately hilly to mountainous, top performance on very long climbs has been my goal, which means a narrow cadence range based around 80, which is what my legs have always liked best for climbing.
That was the last bike I bought because I couldn't see sufficient improvement in the drivetrain to make it worth the money. A few pounds didn't matter to me as I don't race and lose and gain bodyweight anyway, more than bike weights changed. For me, it's all about the frame (perfect match of BB stiffness and vertical compliance
) and gear-inches.
What happened in the marketplace is that the 9-speed triple was replaced by the 10-speed triple. Hardly anyone upgraded from the 9 because why? Adding 1 more cog in back made no financial sense with a triple, so they dropped the triples and went with compacts because they needed an upgrade path.
So let's have a little contest. Here's my factory 9-speed, circa 2000, age 55:
Bicycle Gear Calculator
As I aged, I went from 11-25 in back to 12-27, then to a 11-30, then to smaller rings, 53-36-26. So this is my 9-speed at 77:
https://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...N=MPH&DV=teeth
I saved many thousands of dollars in continuing bike and gruppo upgrades and believe that I still have a better gearing range for who I am and what I do.
I should point out that in my current drivetrain I only have 16 distinct gear ratios which I use, out of 27, ranging from 125-23 g.i. My 4 lowest ratios, the ones I really care about, are only 3.5 g.i. apart.
Can anyone match those g.i. numbers and spacings with the latest and greatest road gruppo? Let's see it!