Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
  • What 1×10 chainring for Snowdon?
  • tonyd
    Full Member

    Afternoon. I switched to 1×10 towards the back end of last year, running a 34T chainring and 11-36 cassette. My riding these days consists of mostly flatish bimbles around Swinley and the like. Some chums are talking about riding Snowdon in the next couple of months and I’m pretty certain that I’m not fit enough to get up there with a 34T.

    Rather than faffing about with a front mech etc I thought I might just fit a smaller chainring, so question is will a 32T be enough or should I consider a 30T?

    I realise no-one can say for sure as you’ve no idea how fit (not very) or strong (also not very) I am, but anyone know how big a difference 2 or 4T will make? I mean real world difference, not just in gear inches or whatever it’s called.

    I know the real answer is MTFU and get fitter/stronger, but the realist in me doesn’t want to spoil the ride for everyone else (or put myself through too much embarrassment and agony!).

    Ta

    Andy-R
    Full Member

    Fit a granny ring (but no front mech) and just put the chain on it manually for the climbing?

    Simon
    Full Member

    If your going up Llanberis it won’t matter what gearing you have you’ll be walking soon after the bridge.

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    skellnonch
    Free Member

    Simon – Member
    If your going up Llanberis it won’t matter what gearing you have you’ll be walking soon after the bridge.

    This ^^

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    i went up in oct 1×9. out of the three of us only one had a granny. didn’t make a lot of difference. I was on 32:36-12 on 29.

    you’ll walk some of it for sure.

    2 teeth on the chainring is about 1 more gear at the back – if that makes sense

    granny is worth about 4 more gears. so a 30T would get you halfway….

    tmb467
    Free Member

    and the rest of the time you’ll not be out of sight of anyone…you’ll be fine on 34t

    the steepest bit is actually the tarmac climb up to the llanberis path

    tonyd
    Full Member

    Thanks for the replies folks. I’m tempted to go for a 30T, although I like the idea of a granny and manual shift 🙂

    Andy-R
    Full Member

    Well, I’m seriously considering doing that on a 1×10 bike for the long dirt road climbs in Greece – then just put the chain back on the 30T narrow/wide for the less steep/ downhill stuff.

    tonyd
    Full Member

    30T and a granny ring, now you’re talking my language!

    fullofit
    Free Member

    OMG how amazingly sad ,cant believe there are people out there who need to ask what size sprockets they should use for specific rides, you need to GTFO mateyboy.

    tonyd
    Full Member

    I was going to congratulate you on completely missing the point of a forum, but decided to check your posting history to see what I’m doing wrong. I didn’t learn much.

    Edit: And forgive my pedantry, but doesn’t a sprocket go on the back? I was asking about a chainring. Not very gnarr of you to not know the difference.

    fullofit
    Free Member

    No a cassette goes on the back for what its worth ,dont really matter, still sad

    Superficial
    Free Member

    I did think the OP was trolling with that question.

    beicmynydd
    Free Member

    At the moment you would need snow chains !!

    taxi25
    Free Member

    Ok this is a forum. You ask questions you discuss stuff, but fullofit is right, if you don’t know what gear you can push, how can a complete stranger, who knows nothing about you tell you what to use ???

    torihada
    Free Member

    You know there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Sometimes I’m saddened at how much keyboard bile there is out there.

    tonyd
    Full Member

    I’m not asking people to tell me what gear I can push:

    I realise no-one can say for sure as you’ve no idea how fit (not very) or strong (also not very) I am, but anyone know how big a difference 2 or 4T will make? I mean real world difference, not just in gear inches or whatever it’s called.

    A couple of others have understood the OP well enough to answer helpfully so I don’t think it was a complete waste of time. Feel free to ignore this thread if you feel otherwise.

    Mugboo
    Full Member

    Having pedalled as far as it’s possible to pedal, bottom gear was 22-32.

    After riding last year 1×10, I went back to 2×10 for a Lakes weekend, I like the sound of manually changing to a granny ring as a bail out option.

    Scienceofficer
    Free Member

    the steepest bit is actually the tarmac climb up to the llanberis path

    No, it’s not really. It comes close to being the steepest rideable section. Irrespective of gearing, you won’t get further than the first few rows of stone pitching up to the second underpass. Depending on conditions on the day and your general climbing prowess, expect to push the first earth, scrabble 150-250 metres of slope past the second underpass. After that, without traffic it’s possible to ride the rest of the way up.

    If you’re worried about fitness, I’d do the manual granny shift thing.

    RoganJosh
    Free Member

    Just crack on

    dirtydog
    Free Member

    If only someone could come up with a way of attatching a small ring to the crank and the ability to change from the big ring to small on the fly, this would give the rider the ability to ride up and down in a gear most suited to themselves. 😀

    theflatboy
    Free Member

    dd, I was thinking that. 😆

    “I ride 1×10, but I also have the facility installed whereby I can switch to a second 1×10 setup at a moment’s notice! It’s ingenious, to switch between the two all I need to do is pause for a moment, lift the chain onto the other front gearwheel and off I set. Most convenient!”

    fullofit
    Free Member

    Think dirtydogs got something,get down tut dragons den with that idea,its a winner.No doubt old poface Debra Weadon will be in.

    tmb467
    Free Member

    It’ll never catch on – it would need some sort of shifter on the bars and a cable (manual or hydraulic – even electronic?)

    And how would you mount it on the frame with so many suspension designs?

    Nah – can’t see it working

    damascus
    Free Member

    I rode to just after the half way house on the Llanberris path. My mate pushed it on the step bits and cycled on the easier bits.

    Its that step that he was as fast as me pushing. After the half way house its so steep you have to carry it. Higher up it is rideable but covered in snow so you still have to push it.

    Remember it is cold at the top once you stop moving.

    And its a forum for help and advice. No need to reply if you have nothing constructive to say.

    taxi25
    Free Member

    And its a forum for help and advice. No need to reply if you have nothing constructive to say.

    I see you didn’t answer the op’s question, all you said was you rode up more than your mate. How does that help with the gearing question.
    Also its a forum for “discussion”, help and advise are just a part of it.

    ghastlyrabbitfat
    Free Member

    The trick is only to run a single front on a bike light enough to make it pleasant to push or carry when you are forced into it by gradient, fatigue etc. You are really only at walking pace anyway when you drop into that granny and large Sprocket on the rear.

    Trouble is, I don’t. Single rings on Fatty and Commie Mini Downhill which are both a pain to push. 🙁

    And yes, the challenge is to ride everything.

    bigrich
    Full Member

    get stronger.

    gogg
    Free Member

    When are you going, as at present your choice of tyre will be far more critical.

    These will suit down to about 500m in the current conditions, then I’d suggest switching to something more like these

    Hope that helps??
    X

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    I can’t see why you wouldn’t just fit a low (30T) front ring? Afterall, on the way back down you’re gonna be using gravity. Unless you are going to go and do 20miles more on the flat at high speed, then a 30T isn’t going to be an issue in terms of spinning out is it??

    torquil
    Free Member

    I live at the bottom of Snowdon and go up there a fair bit. I’ve done it with a 34t single and it’s a slog on the rideable sections (ie most of it except the cobbles before cloggy bridge and the steep loose bit after it). On a 30t it’s much better, you’ll have to push some sections you’d ride with a granny but not a lot and they’d be similar speeds either way.

    oh the rangers path is full of rock bags so is pretty unrideable through the zig zags until they cobble it, and ruin it 🙁

    And yes it’s under snow at the moment from about 700m up.

    tonyd
    Full Member

    Thanks for the input folks (well, most of you anyway).

    I think I’ll probably give a 30T a bash, maxtorque you’re right of course, we’ll be going up then we’ll be coming down, nothing more so spinning out doesn’t matter too much. torquil, great info thanks.

    bigrich, that would be my first answer usually but since the kids came along riding time is limited so fitness has dropped. I ride 100+ miles a week on my commute, but there’s no real hills round here to speak of so the realist in me wants to make this as easy as possible.

    We’re not going for a month or so so hopefully conditions will be better by then!

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    If your ring is too big, you’ll be walking a bit.

    bitterlemon
    Free Member

    Have you thought about that new (40) gear from on one?? That fits on the cassette.

    bitterlemon
    Free Member

    Or even the 42 from one up. ,)

    tonyd
    Full Member

    Just had a read up on the 40 and 42T rings from One up and Absoluteblack, hadn’t seen them before. Not sure they’d be a great move for me as this would be a temporary solution for trips where there are bigger climbs. These are few and far between these days so the thought of stripping cassette, fettling rear mech, and fitting a new (longer) chain doesn’t appeal. If I go with a smaller chainring I would hope the mech would take up the slack on the chain so I’d have minimal mucking about.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    If you manually change to a granny then the chain will have no problem taking up the slack because you’ll be in the big sprockets at the back. I’m running 34t 11-36 and although it works great for 99% of my riding (everything local, trail centres and uplift days) if I was doing a big mountain ride I’d whip the cranks off and bolt the granny back on. Quick, cheap and simple.

    I don’t regularly need lower gears so the big aftermarket sprockets just add a lot of cost and far more fiddling to get them to shift well according to reviews, plus my shortcage mech can’t take up that much slack and not having such low gears usually forces me to be a stronger pedaller.

Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)

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