Why the hell would anyone be climbing at 60rpm unless they are overgeared?

Is it that ridiculous a figure? Spin at 80rpm if you like, you’ll be rocking along at 4mph on a 29er. Love to see that get you up a techy climb. I just don’t see the point.

I’m just saying I’d rather push a bigger gear, with a lower rpm, as I’d find the stability a lot easier to manage.

whitestone – Member

Mostly +1 to what Northwind says but I’d add that you’d be better starting with a slightly smaller chainring than you might otherwise work out. To begin with you’ll find it hard work so having a lower geared range will help you. Once you’ve built up your leg strength then you can consider a more suitable range. I started with 30T (on a 29er) but currently use a 32T which is fine for the Dales (11-40T cassette).

Good point that. And chainrings are cheap enough now that you can experiment pretty easily- it’s still not throwaway money at £30 or so for a DM ring but it’s like stems, you can try them and sell them on easily.

Am I better off just keeping the cash in my pocket

Yes. I can’t see any point in changing an existing bike over. When buying a new bike, it’s pretty far down the list of criteria. When building one then it’s a fair question imo.

Spin at 80rpm if you like, you’ll be rocking along at 4mph on a 29er.

Which is around 30% higher than typical walking pace – i’m glad you agree

Walking pace up a hill also needs to take into account altitude gain and is therefore slower than the oft quoted 3 mph/5 kmh.

Which is around 30% higher than typical walking pace – i’m glad you agree

Wouldn’t go that far, I’m still scratching my head at 60rpm being a ridiculous figure for riding uphill offroad if I’m honest 🙂

You don’t need to be quite so defensive, I’m just saying I struggle at that sort of cadence reliably offroad, so it’s soft of pointless having that gearing. The main issue being that you need to keep that 60-80rpm going to remain upright, I couldn’t stand up to move the bike around for example while maintaining 80rpm. Pushing a bigger gear I’d be able to give it a sharp push to give me a bit of leeway.

It’s just “do what I do, other ways are wrong” isn’t it?

I reckon everyone should do what I do, which is, figure out what works best for you and then do that. And not waste any time telling other people they’re wrong if prefer something else.

Quite a lot of the 1x arguments do seem to be based on misunderstandings or misinformation mind, especially from naysayers who’ve never tried it, and I think that causes a bit of a kneejerk over-reaction in response- it’s too easy to assume people who think it’s a bad idea aren’t making that call for good reasons and that causes a lot of bollocks.

(same reason people used to say “I couldn’t live with 22/36 dual because I use the 44T a lot”- and a lot of those dudes wouldn’t actually miss the 2 or 3 highest gears they’d lose, and were usually using the ones that exist on a 36. But, not everyone)

You don’t need to be quite so defensive

Apologies, and you are quite correct, but its a topic that winds me up quite a lot. As far back as 2×10 even the likes of Shimano have been forcing giant gears down peoples throats by not even offering a 22/36 crank.
I genuinely believe that a large proportion of riders are massively over-geared and it would massively improve their enjoyment if they had easier gears for the climbs.

And that applies equally to Road as MTB

Along time ago some one worked out that tall people need bigger bikes than short people

Then along came bike fit for the variations in the human body of the same height

One day you’be be able to walk into a bike shop and tell them your preferred cadence and they’ll set up the bike accordingly gear ratioe wise.

I really am a 90 rpm sort of person. I really would rather ride at sub walking pace than get off and walk

I understand that other people grind away a 60rpm or below or that others just walk.

What I can never understand is why some one would bother going on the internet to tell other people there gear and cadence preferences are wrong

One day you’be be able to walk into a bike shop and tell them your preferred cadence and they’ll set up the bike accordingly gear ratioe wise.

Only once the industry accepts that 1x isn’t for everyone. The problem (for the OP) is that 1x is very fashionable regardless of whether or not is is appropriate for them.

There are other folk making bike buying decisions based on the lack of a front mech too.

Bike I bought last year came with 1×11, and I keep thinking I’d prefer 2×10. I never really had a problem with 3×9 to be honest.

I’m going to have to put a smaller chainring on for longer off-road hilly rides where I would have resorted to granny ring on other bikes.

1×11 looks cool, but I can’t really see any other advantage.

I too am a 90-100 rpm person and think that getting off to push is what you do only if you or your bike are broken.

OP – why don’t you try a sunrace ms3, 11-42 10 speed cassette and a 30t chainring. It’ll cost you £50 all in and you can see how you get on.

If 1×11 hadn’t come with my bike when I bought it, that’s what would have done.

Crikey, haven’t had a nice can of worms in a while 😀

Lots of differing opinions and unsurprisingly the answer’s different shades of different for everyone. It’s a subtle combination of the bike you’ve got, the terrain you ride, whether you go at a climb like a Catherine Wheel or a gym bunny, whether you’re bothered by the extra hardware of a 2x, probably how much you like shiny new stuff and also how much oomph & stamina you’ve got in your legs.

To pick up on a couple of details that I missed out originally, I ride a 29er HT with a 22/36 up front and 11-36 out back. On my usual routes, there’s (now) only a couple of climbs where I have to drop down to that very lowest gear, but it’s at least there when I need it. First choice I’ll spin at high cadence, second choice I’ll stop for a short rest then try again, third choice I’ll get off and push – grinding away just doesn’t work for me as I’d bust a gut then not be able to enjoy the down that’s on the other side of the up I’ve just conquered.

I hate the overlap of gears I’ve currently got in the mid-range. I hate when the bloody front derailleur fails to shift properly. I demo’d a Santa Cruz Bronson last year and the range on that was fine for me at Gisburn, but it was way more bike than I am a rider 😉

I take on-board all the comments, so I’ll likely let the fitness/stamina build up until I’m comfortably only dropping down to 3rd gear on the trails I use as my benchmark, then give 1x a go in the knowledge I can sell things on if it doesn’t work for me.