• This topic has 17 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by nbt.
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  • Finding gears a bit to hard, can you get?
  • milkyman
    Free Member

    I have just got a trek stache 8, and the gears it comes with are 38/24 Race Face front crank, an 11-36 Shimano 10 speed rear cassette,

    Can you get a 22 for the front or something a bit bigger for the back, without compromising the shifting.

    I can get up most things where I live but struggle on a few
    thanks

    johnellison
    Free Member

    24 x 36 is pretty flipping low, around 19 gear inches. How big are the hills?

    milkyman
    Free Member

    its not the hills :-), its the crap rider that’s the problem

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    milkyman
    Free Member

    if any one knows it its the climb up to mellor cross that gets me, short but very steep

    johnellison
    Free Member

    Well, a bad workman and all that…

    But seriously, you’re finding your bottom gear too high??? I mean, if you sit and spin that on the flat you’d hardly be moving!!

    portlyone
    Full Member

    Mellor Cross? Is that the ascent that’s a stream most of the time?

    brassneck
    Full Member

    I can get up most things where I live but struggle on a few

    I wouldn’t bother changing anything, keep on riding and one day you’ll surprise yourself.

    johnellison
    Free Member

    In that case, try some gentler grades, regularly until you get fitter. I live on the Calderdale side of Burnley which has some seriously steep climbs – I recently went 1 x 10 so my lowest gear is 32 x 36. It killed me at first but with a bit of practice and perseverence I can get up most things now that would have reduced me to 22 x 32.

    And I am NOT the fittest person in the world either, it’s just about riding lots until you get better at it.

    milkyman
    Free Member

    sound advice,

    mellor cross or the way I ride it starts at roman lakes, up past the scout club then on road a bit then of road right up to the cross, the bit at the bottom near the roman lakes is always very wet, and very rocky

    D0NK
    Full Member

    AFAIK you should be able to bung a 22t ring on the front but 22 -> 38 is a big jump so you may need a 36 big ring to go with it.
    sheldon says
    24×36=17.6″
    the more usual 9spd setups gave
    22×32=18.2″
    or
    22×34=17.1″
    so you’re already in the middle of those
    22×36 is 16.1″ pretty damn low.
    But as others said you might be better off leaving it and getting fitter. Low gears are good for smooth steep trails but once it gets technical you want to be carrying more speed to get you up and over stuff.
    That said I’m considering a 22/36 11-36 gear setup for a lakes bike.

    milkyman
    Free Member

    well I have just got all my jobs done, so I will go and ride up it again, thanks for the advice

    nicolaisam
    Free Member

    I had a Trek stache 7 and found the standard front gears to be not enough,In the end i upgraded to SLX 28/40.

    Strange that you need smaller.

    As someone has mentioned you will need to go 22/36.

    curlie467
    Free Member

    Just keep plugging away, even trying different techniques within your riding style to get that bike up there!

    nbt
    Full Member

    Buy a singlespeed and ride that up Linnet’s clough (Roman Lakes to the Scout Camp). Once you’ve done that, you;ll be able to do it with gears 😉

    sok
    Full Member

    I run 22/36 and it works fine. I do spin out on the roads but not often off road.
    The gears are piddley but that was a deliberate choice for 24hr solo and pedalling up mountains. Now I’ve done with those events for the year I’m planning to swap up to 24/38 for local stuff. When I get round to it that is….

    milkyman
    Free Member

    I admire any one that can get up there on s/s, I struggle with my gearing, just got back from up there very dry makes a nice change

    D0NK
    Full Member

    I do spin out on the roads but not often off road.

    IME it’s actually pretty difficult to spin out 32×11 offroad on the flat*, but what you do miss out on is, when travelling pretty quickly, just putting in a couple of, stood up, low cadence pedal revs for a bit more speed in between rocky sections or corners (takes a while to spin up to >80rpm or whatever)

    36 is the biggest I run at the moment not sure I need/want the extra speed of a 38, another reason is not having a 1:1 gear on the big ring means shifting to the smaller chainring a lot more often IME.

    but everyone’s different.

    *100rpm is 23mph, 120=27 pretty quick for flat xc, for none racers anyway.

    nbt
    Full Member

    In all seriousness, try going SS for a while. When I got my first SS it was a couple of years before I first cleaned Linnet’s clough, I probably make it up clean about 1 time in 3 nowadays – more if it’s dry, less if I’m knackered. Might give it a go tonight if it’s nice and dry, then 🙂

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