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So i'm sure this has been asked before, but i'm not exactly sure what to search for, so just going to ask again.
My road bike (A Scott Addict) currently has Ultegra 10 speed fitted, with a 34/28 bottom gear. As a rule, i'm happy with that, but it seems next year I may need something a bit smaller.
Lets say i felt I needed a 36t or 40t cassette on the back, how would I go about it? Think I remember reading that Shimano's Road/MTB pull ratios don't match?
9 speed mtb mech for road 10 speed.
Fit a 9 speed MTB rear mech and use your existing shifters.
Mine came with 10sp 34/28 too. Fitted an 11-34 cassette and 9sp mtb derailleur, works fine.
I've put an LX/XT chainset on the front of a Genesis CdF, to drop the ratios.
Very little bodgery was involved, and it works fine.
Thanks chaps, how about spacing for the cassette?
Can I just whip off my existing road cassette, leave the spacers on, and stick my usual 11-36 SRAM MTB cassette on?
Ideally the cassette would only see ~750mi or so on the road, and could then be moved over to the MTB at some point in the future.
Edit:
@Moses - kind of holiday where i'll definitely be needing the 50t! What goes up, must come down and all that 😀
On the road I find these wide cassettes give too much of a jump between gears, so for my current drop bar do-it-all bike I've put a 44/30 chainset on with 11/28 cassette which gives good low gears for climbing. L
ast trip was 2,000 - 3,000m a day climbing for 4 days with lightweight luggage. On the downs the loss of a big gear wasn't a problem as 50kmh+ is enough for me on unsighted roads.
Mine uses a 28/42 mtb chainset. Most of the time I can use a nice 12-25 cassette which reduces nasty gaps and that low gear is good enough for most hills. I do spin out a bit at 30mph plus on long descents but freewheeling is fine.
For hilly/generally wimpy/knackered days I sling on a 32t sprocket cassette. That's more than low enough for loaded touring.
Yeah, it's certainly going to have compromises, but it should be very much a one off.On the road I find these wide cassettes give too much of a jump between gears
And no, its not touring, or gravel related - i'm going somewhere where even the pros break out the compacts and 32t cassettes
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Afraid? You bet I am 😯
So after some further googling and calculating of gear ratios, there really is a frustrating lack of gearing options.
Thought I would like a closer range cassette, so looked for triples - can pick up the (very expensive) chainset, but the shifters are like hens teeth and also very expensive.
What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains? Or do they just resign themselves to cadences like climbing an escalator or riding beside canals?
What do older/heavier/less fit/audaxers/people who live in very hilly places riders
Triples...or sub-compacts* (like old T.A. etc.)
All except my 'fast' bike have them, it doesn't matter if I spend 90% of the time in the middle and outer as if it was a double, for the 10% where I use the bail out it's worth it 🙂 Lets you keep a nice close cassette too.
Just did a rather short but hilly Audax at the weekend (65mile but 8500ft), plenty of people grinding away on 34/28 (or worse) suffering and cursing, also just as many employing the granny gear and spinning up along side them, no slower...just more pleasant.
* If you're stuck with a double shifter a triple chainset using the middle and inner is a decent way to make a sub-compact. I've a couple of bikes setup this way with 46/30 and 48/32 etc. You could even go super low like 44/28 or 42/26. 44x11 is still 4:1, same as the old 52:13 high gear of years gone by so plenty high enough for most normal riding, by the time you've spun that out you might as well tuck...
aP - Member
..... I've put a 44/30 chainset on
What chainset please aP?
I think the rule is you hardly need the really low gears. But when you do, you REALLY need them. I'd forego the top end and coast down for ease of climbing. Or, you could go bigger on the outer chainring and say 40-13
I fitted one of those doglinks off ebay from China for less than £3.My 10 speed short cage 105 mech works easily with a 34 tooth MTB cassette now.
If you want a triple then fit some Shimano 5703 shifters. Readily available. Otherwise use one of the options mentioned up ^^^^^
Look at CX gearing?
2x CX standard is 36/46 which gets you in a better place. Dural rings are easy swaps and shift very well. I run an 11-28 on mine (5800) but if you went back to 5600/5700 or equivalent you could easily do this with an XT 11-36 and a longer RD than usual.
I think you can get 32T road cassettes?
Triples from the likes of TA and bar end shifters. Paired with whatever front mech they can find. I think shimano still make a couple of their older 105 level front mechs. At least, my shimano dealer was still able to order them last year (5703 from a quick google.)What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains? Or do they just resign themselves to cadences like climbing an escalator or riding beside canals?
Yes, my son runs a SRAM 1050 12-32 for CX / road with a 38t ring.
Look at CX gearing?2x CX standard is 36/46 which gets you in a better place
Still leaves you with a 36t inner ring, and it'll likely be 110BCD* so can only drop to a 34t, which is what the OP has already, so no better off at all.
I think you can get 32T road cassettes?
You can, and you can finagle a 34t on as well, might need a goatlink or an MTB mech as previously disucssed, but it gives you the old gappy cassette issue. Some people don't mind, others do. My wife is actually running a 10 speed Ultegra (6600) set up with 46/33 at the front on standard road compact cranks, and 11-[b]34[/b] MTB 10 speed cassette at the back using a short cage Ultegra (6600) mech, and it works, shifts fine, no goatlink, no issues. On paper it shouldn't work at all, but it's been running fine for months...
Compromises everywhere but you're bound to find somethignt hat'll work for you.
*33t will actually fit
I've seen some super-compact chainsets e.g. 30/44. I've successfully run an MTB double chainset - 24/38 on a road/CX bike - needed to fit a triple front mech as a double didn't swing-out enough to cope with the slightly wider chainline. Doing the gravel / adventure thing regularly on trips to Cornwall where regularly confronted with 30%+ gradients on tiny roads covered in greenery - bigger gears just result in slipping tyres and long walks
Andy - Member
..... I've put a 44/30 chainset on
What chainset please aP?
Its a Sugino OX901D, but they make the OX601D chainset which is more affordable. Mine's on my Bokeh built with eTap HRD and its been really good - if we do go soemwhere super steep then I have the option to go 32 cassette as I have the wifli rear mech. Herself has the same on her RLT9 and we both rode TuscanyRoad17 in September which was 580km/ 10,000m+ climbing carrying lightweight packs - we took 3.5 days to do it, so just top half of the field. Fastest was 24 hours....
I used a 105 triple for ages specifically because I wanted to base train and I live in a hilly area. Now I have compact with 28T on the back and the constant chainring shifting still annoys me.
They've all said it but 9spd Mech and its a 36T on the back and 34T compact upfront.
Can't think you'd need anymore than that??
but heres a photo of mine (Ultegra 10spd shifters) did it for Fred Whitton 2 yrs ago works so well I haven't bothered putting Ultegra mech or cassette back on.
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What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains?
They build up to it gradually...while riding in proper mountains may have a certain appeal if you haven't trained for it it'd be like getting given Gee Athertons DH bike and pointed down Champery and told 'off you go then'....it won't be pretty.
I went to a compact 50/34 with a 30t cassette initially when I started road riding...then reduced the cassette to a 28t...then when I was used to that I went larger to a mid compact chainset of 52/36 with a 30t cassette again, eventually I'll work to a 28t cassette again before installing a racing chainset of 53/39...im 40 now, can't rush these things, my knees won't thank me!
Deore XT Touring (48/36/26) with a 5703 left shifter and new front mech combined with my existing 11-28 cassette and rear mech is probably the best option i've found so far.
New crankset, shifter and front mech looking a bit pricey for a 1 off trip though as i'm really quite happy usually with 34/28.
Guess i'll keep an eye open on black friday, and failing that speak nicely to father christmas
That's borderline, but yes think its the gear i'm aiming for. If I can hold 4W/kg on the hard 5km section in the middle of Zoncolan it should give me 60rpmThey've all said it but 9spd Mech and its a 36T on the back and 34T compact upfront.Can't think you'd need anymore than that??
What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains?
I'm pretty fit, but quite a robust/stocky 93kg so not a natural climber and I rode tiede last week, so 2100m over 56km on a rented bike with a compact chainset and 28 out back. Boy did I want at least a 34 or even a 36 out back. Not so bad initially as the average gradient is not that steep, but after a few hours I was tiring and blew a gasket with about 8km to go to the summit so just had to crawl up at around 9km/h only to find the 5km or so flat road at the top was into a head wind!! so might as well consider that another 5km climb then. My brother who is about 25kg lighter than me was waiting at the top for 45 mins, so that's the difference. The descent was great though.
There seems to be something odd going on with roadies and gearing. I spoke with a roadie work colleague about their Fred Whitton challenge last year and they were talking about the carnage up the Honniton Pass and that they struggled with the incline and how most people were having to stop. I asked about gear ratios an they said they had a 28t and when I suggested they should have had at 34t or even MTB ratios they scoffed at me as if that was for the wusses. Strange - Don't see how ego and macho-ness comes into it - they're happy to shed weight to assist climbing, but not tailor gearing. Got some strange ideas these roadies.
Deore XT Touring (48/36/26) with a 5703 left shifter and new front mech combined with my existing 11-28 cassette and rear mech is probably the best option i've found so far.
That seems a very elaborate and complex way to achieve it.
26-28 Gives you 28.40 Gear Inches
Can I just whip off my existing road cassette, leave the spacers on, and stick my usual 11-36 SRAM MTB cassette on?
Yes
34-36 Gives you 27.88 Gear Inches
If you haven't got a 9spd mech sure you could get one off the classifieds for cheap.
It does seem a roady / triathlete bike fashion thing to just not have a low, spinny gear...
I have a colleague who is triathlete, who has someone who *proved* she was faster on a twiddly gear on the ski roads race thing - and still she ran a big un...
Perfect, thanks aP 😀
EDIT: Hopefully TuscanyRoad17 was a bit less wet than your 2016 visit 😆
Yes, no doubt the 9spd MTB mech and 36t cassette is both the cheapest and easiest way to get the results I want - looking at ~£100 and can re-use the cassette on the MTB afterwards. I was just exploring more options to see if there was a 'better' solution as the 36t cassette is no doubt rather gappy.That seems a very elaborate and complex way to achieve it.
Like I say, I put it on mine temporary 2 years ago.
It's so good I've just left it, don't find that I'm missing gears.
Hopefully TuscanyRoad17 was a bit less wet than your 2016 visit
God yes! Somewhat 😀
We had 2 hours of rain leaving San Giminiano, stayed in Volterra that night - great little local pizza restaurant as well - not sure about the unexpected climb up to the town though...
If you see the videos that they made during the event you can see me cycle past at the start in Massa, then we're also in the one in the Piazzale Michelangelo i Florence - they wanted to do a drone shot, but they took so long to set it all up that we started to run out of Garmin-juice and so took off.
What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains?
Ebikes
What do older/heavier/less fit riders use if they want to go riding in the mountains?
They mainly just get on and do it without over thinking things or worrying about W/kg 🙂
Well, the roadie / triathlete spinny thing..d'ya wanna tell Chris Froome he's doing it wrong 🙄
Froome isnt spinning a small gear, he's just going really much much faster than us!