it reckons “Fish Hill” in Berkshire (although it actually seems to be Worcestershire) is 23.4% for 2.7km, shirley not?

youre right, its not. Its the A44 so a trunk road. It IS a riot on a motorbike on the way up though (unless its raining and covered in dirt as it was this morning).

Wrong, 50×14 is probably enough for most. 50×12 if you are a cat1 rider. 50×11 is just for pub talk.

Really? 50/14 at 90rpm is only 25mph, I’d certainly not want to be in top gear at that point and starting to spin! Up to 30 is nice for those times when you’ve got a tailwind!

Yes really!

I have a 50/39 with a 13-23 cassette. Its hilly here and the first few weeks i was coughing up my organs at the top of the hills. Now, the gearing has forced me to ride faster and stand up more on hills. As a result my average speed has been increasing nicely.

So i’d go for the 12-25. You may struggle at first but you will get fitter.

Yes really!

Ok, good luck with that, I’d be considerably slower if I had a 50/14 top gear and I’d go through a lot of 14t sprockets! Even 50/12 could be spun out reasonably easily, it’s not like an MTB where I’m happy to just coast, I’ve got fast descents round here where I’m pedalling over 40mph.

Admittedly my 53/11 doesn’t get used very much, but it does get used!

Not sure what luck has do do with anything.

Show me 100 riders and you would pick out 1 who could use a 12 sprocket the other 99 are delusional.

Not really much benefit to pedal at 40

It always makes more sense to err on the side of lower gears, that here you make up more time, well it was when I raced and time trialed.

Um… I used a 53-11 for a season, and spun it out in a number of races. Most notably in a Wednesday afternoon kermesse in that Belgium and in the Masters Tour of Majorca.

I also got all over the Pennines using 39-23 when I was racing.

I use much easier gears now, but it’s not because the roads have changed, it’s because I have.

10 out of 10 for that give yourself a pat on the back.

Do you need a hug?

Is all this claiming you don’t “need” that high a top gear some sort of cycling inverse snobbery? When I do hillier sportives I switch my 11-23 for a 12-25 (sadly Campag don’t do a 12-27 10sp cassette, one of their few faiings), and I certainly notice the lack of the 11 top sprocket, even if I can survive without it. That’s with a 50-34 chainset, and I might have been near the sharper end of sportives when I did them, but I’m a long way from being an elite rider. Nor am I big gear masher – I can comfortably spin 50-34 up to 100+ rpm on downhills – that’s only 35mph.

Just leave the 25 on, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I can tell you that all the newcomers in our club manage everything with the very same set up.
You might find the 34 a pain after a good few months. Now without exception everyone I ride with use a standard 53/39 with 23 or 25 max cassettes.

Strangely in days of yore it was a bit tougher with 52/42s turning 21 max on the freewheel.

But just relax and don’t fight the gears when you’re using every gear you’ve got.

53/39 for me with a 12-25 cassette.
I’m a masher but struggled on a couple of long rides in the Peaks on some of the hills and on the killer that is Carlton Bank with a headwind.
Probably going to the Alps next year and will put a 28 on the back.
And get fitter/ lighter.

Only 800 miles on my road bike so far – I opted for 50/34 and 11/28. Ride in the New Forest which isn’t know for it’s hills. I’m relatively fit and pretty quick on a mtb but definitely find myself using the 34 28 combo.

I’m wondering if I’ve not got the bike setup quite right or maybe its the cosmics… climbs are hard work but I absolutely fly on the flat and have a couple of long straights / slight descents where I do drop into 50 11 for a time.

I do notice the step in the cassette, and I don’t like it, can throw rhythm, probably will size down when I replace. I’d be concerned if I was somewhere with actual hills though.

Strangely in days of yore it was a bit tougher with 52/42s turning 21 max on the freewheel.

Lols that’s what was on my first race bike, 42×21 is just bonkers. Saying that I was 5 stone lighter back then.

So, to summarise:

You could listen to the same dozen or so ‘hard’ men who always appear on these threads and who believe that you should suffer because they had to.

Or you could get some nice low gears and enjoy your cycling, like everyone else does.

I”d do the latter – it’s not a race, is it? 😀

if you’re not suffering, you’re not doing it right.

Or you could get some nice low gears and enjoy your cycling, like everyone else does.

+1

No point busting a gut in my hilly neck of the woods. My Campag triple equipped road bike’s got 52/42/24 front and 13-28 rear.

Though, come to think of it, my other road bikes got 32 front, 19 rear, fixed. 😕 Allright for the commute into work I suppose.

if you’re not suffering, you’re not doing it right.

You may enjoy masochism, but it’s not compulsory for everyone else.

You could listen to the same dozen or so ‘hard’ men who always appear on these threads and who believe that you should suffer because they had to.

Or you could get some nice low gears and enjoy your cycling, like everyone else does.

Not quite sure if that’s aimed at me (among others), but I’d certainly not call myself a hard man, have made no suggestions people need to MTFU etc (I actually recommended an 11-25 or 11-27), and am almost certainly going to a compact next time I get a new chainset, but I do take issue with being told that a 50/14 is an adequate top gear for all but 1st Cats and Mark Cavendish, that’s just nonsense.

I rode in this morning with a nice tailwind (until I go home), and happily sat well over 30 for a good couple of miles, I’d have been spinning like an absolute loon to sustain that with a 50/14. Perhaps it’s a different mentality, but I want to push on if I’m on the road bike, not be spinning out at very mediocre speeds.

Show me 100 riders and you would pick out 1 who could use a 12 sprocket the other 99 are delusional.

Ah well, guess I’m the 1, happy days!

Ride in the New Forest which isn’t know for it’s hills. I’m relatively fit and pretty quick on a mtb but definitely find myself using the 34 28 combo.

Comes back to the same thing – there are a fair few short sharp bits, that if you’re fit you can bully up in a 39/23 but for most people 34/25 is more comfortable. If you’re not racing it doesn’t make any real difference over a decent ride anyway, other than feeling a bit fresher a bit later.

I do think that 34 – 32 is overkill myself, but it’s exceeding the range of a triple which I took off my bike as I never needed it. The compact gave a more usable spread for me.

stevewhyte – Member
Wrong, 50×14 is probably enough for most. 50×12 if you are a cat1 rider. 50×11 is just for pub talk.

Really? 50/14 at 90rpm is only 25mph, I’d certainly not want to be in top gear at that point and starting to spin! Up to 30 is nice for those times when you’ve got a tailwind!
Yes really!

Got to agree with Njee here! I appreciate that people do spin more than others but even so a 50/12 is quite “spinny”

Show me 100 riders and you would pick out 1 who could use a 12 sprocket the other 99 are delusional.

I could easily get upto 52/11 in the Peaks decending some of the passes, infact you could probably use it down pretty much any hill anywhere, whether I want to go faster than a 50/12 is a different matter, but if I was into raceing I’d probably want those extra gears, and I’m not that fit! Depend where you live through, if there are no big hills then not being able to pedal down them isn’t a big deal, but similarly surely not being able to pedal up seated isn’t a big deal either.

Suppose it depends how you view road rides, like Nick I tend to go out to ride quickly*, if I want to pootle and admire the view I’ve got a singlespeed MTB. If I’m on the road bike it’s a semi autistic catharsis where speed, distance and vertical accent are the goals. That and stopping for cake and coffee.

*reltively to pootle pace, I’m still slow.

I have 53/39 chain set coupled with a 12-27T cassette. Find it a bit of a struggle on the steeper climbs. Wondering if I should opt for an 11-28 after reading this thread.

If I’m on the road bike it’s a semi autistic catharsis where speed, distance and vertical accent are the goals.

Superb! Well done sir!

I have 53/39 chain set coupled with a 12-27T cassette. Find it a bit of a struggle on the steeper climbs. Wondering if I should opt for an 11-28 after reading this thread.

No, it’ll make chuff all difference. Get a compact. Shimano ones needn’t be expensive.

! I appreciate that people do spin more than others but even so a 50/12 is quite “spinny”

I have heard it all now, lols.

You can easily tune a 50/12 at 30 mph. This is not about big down hill and oh I can turn the pedals while descending the alps, yes we can all do that. It’s about the correct gearing for the flat, clearly njee is a good rider, anyone who can push 30 mph for miles on the flat is.

On a down hll there is very little benefit in pedalling above 40 mph, you are better getting into a decent aero position.

As usual everyone jumps up to prove that they are hard as ****, for the majority it’s better to run out of gears on a decent not a climb. That’s not a controversial statement, but no doubt the stw world will do there best to make it out as one. 🙄

everyone jumps up to prove that they are hard as ****

I’ve told you a million times not to exaggerate

I’ve never exaggerated. 😀

This is not about big down hill and oh I can turn the pedals while descending the alps, yes we can all do that. It’s about the correct gearing for the flat,

The correct gearing for the flat would be a singlespeed. Why would I want gears that only worked on the 50% of the route that goes uphill to flat (the other 50% being flat to downhill).

On a down hll there is very little benefit in pedalling above 40 mph, you are better getting into a decent aero position.

Why? That would mean that for 1/3rd of the ride I’m coasting, where’s the benifit in that?

And by decent aero position are you either implying TDF breakaway style sitting on the top tube, or fat people who’ve taken “slam that stem” to seriously and can’t pedal from the drops?

As for top end, 50/11 is more than enough for everyone except Cav.

Err downhill?

As usual everyone jumps up to prove that they are hard as ****, for the majority it’s better to run out of gears on a decent not a climb

Trouble is that you don’t compromise on low gears to have higher than a 14. If it was a choice between a 12-21 and a 14-27 I’d agree, but it’s not.

Point is that even 50/12 is fairly easy to spin out, for anyone, and a lot of people don’t want to do that on the road, reasonable chance of getting spat out of any half quick road bunch on a descent, or struggling in a sprint with that. Assuming you don’t want to turn more than 100rpm in a sprint, rather than sitting and spinning away, you’re limiting yourself to a little over 30, which isn’t that quick.

An assertion that 53/11 is the bare minimum is almost certainly bobbins though!

+1 for njee’s comments.

And FWIW

3 road bikes with 52/39 + 11 – 25 cassettes. These get me up all the hills I ride in SE England. I’ve had to move up from 23 to 25 in recent years as I’ve been doing less riding and I’m not getting any younger.

1 TT bike with 55/42 + 11/23 – I obviously have to get rid of that cos no one can spin out 55/11. And as for a mate who turns over a 67 chain ring…….

Anyhoo

As I said before, a compact chainset and 11 – 28 should provide enough gearing for just about any UK riding.

p.s. the “everyone isn’t Cav” argument is flawed as Cav doesn’t use big gears. Sprints are about out accelerating everyone else, read his bigraphy, there’s examples of doing practice runs of the course and deciding that sprinting (and winning by significant margins) from 6th gear was the fastest way of doing it.

So if you are racing or in a peloton or sprinting to the final stage or the tdf then 11 bottom gear.

Everyone else would be more than able to have something a bit lower.

I find it amusing you cant see that for the majority an 11 tooth top gear would be very underused.

It does start to look a bit like willy waving but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Granted there is no need to compromise. I just prefer to go with a 12-27 and have the extra gear in the middle where I will mostly use it.

Thisisnotaspoon, I’m not even wasting my time.

So if you are racing or in a peloton or sprinting to the final stage or the tdf then 11 bottom gear.

Everyone else would be more than able to have something a bit lower.

I find it amusing you cant see that for the majority an 11 tooth top gear would be very underused.

It does start to look a bit like willy waving but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Granted there is no need to compromise. I just prefer to go with a 12-27 and have the extra gear in the middle where I will mostly use it.

Thisisnotaspoon, I’m not even wasting my time.

I just prefer to go with a 12-27

So are you hard as **** then if you need a top gear higher than 50×14?

You got me, I have been trying to hide it so much, but yes I own up I am hard as ****.

i run 50/34 x 12-28 here.
i am exceptionally heavy (close to 23 stone) but can manage most hills in my area (fife).
i rarely use the top couple of gears because im too fat to pedal on the drops. (honestly)
i would perhaps consider going down from the 50t ring to either a 46 or 48, just to reduce the size of the jump between rings.
re the debate about whether 53×11 is big enough, well it was big enough for obree to set an hour record on, so IMO the majority of people would probably struggle to turn such a ratio in any meaningful way on the flat.

How to actual ratios vary on a 11-28 vs 12-27?

re the debate about whether 53×11 is big enough, well it was big enough for obree to set an hour record on, so IMO the majority of people would probably struggle to turn such a ratio in any meaningful way on the flat.

Agreed, no one’s disputing that. The debate is whether 50/14 is big enough, which is rather smaller!

No, the debate is what you consider to be a regular cyclist, which is far removed from someone who can go out and average 20mph on a ride, this seems to be something your clearly understand as do most, which leaves some to deduce that you are just willy waving by saying “I need an 11tooth top gear and if you don’t the you are a **********”

No, I’m really not. You can average 20mph with a 36/11 if you want, but you cannot pedal above a certain speed which is extremely easily attainable on a road bike, by anyone. Ergo, a 50/14 (or even 50/12) is still a pretty low gear!

As said previously it seems to be a sort of inverse willy waving.