Lots of gearing chat...I'm entered for the first time and my bike is 42x11-42, so first gear is 1:1. Should I be looking at getting a smaller chainring or will it be suitable (I don't mind pushing a larger gear for short periods as I'm used to riding SS, but at the same time I'm not hugely fit in terms of outright pace!)
The old route had very little flat, you were climbing or descending. For me 1:1 would be a proper bail out gear, there's a lot of long easy climbing, just a few short ramps that you can rush. A gear that you can happily push for a twenty minute climb after a lot of riding would be my aim.
Gearing: I can’t really think of anywhere on the route where a pushing a monster gear would be helpful, so I think lower gears are a good idea. I coped ok this year on 34/32 but would have had far more in the tank towards the end if I’d used lower. It’s not the steepness of the climbs, but they’re long and they do drag.
Of course this might be nonsense with the new route
