Some comments in the Newbie post reminded me of something I have been looking for help on for a while. I understand the basics of gearing and by basics I mean I understand that shifting to a smaller gear means I can turn a higher cadence with the same effort and vice versa, but that is about it. Can someone explain a little more indepth about gearing or point me to somewhere that I can learn more?
requisite sheldon brown reference: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears.html
the quick and dirty version: turning a large chain ring in the front (left shifter) and a small cog in the rear (right shifter) will be more difficult to push, but will turn the wheel at a higher speed (at constant rpm).
i can discuss the physics too, if you like.
Sheldon is, indeed, a good introduction.
Here's some others:
This is for racers, but triathlete's so it is seriously endurance which ahs lot in common with more moderate speed distance riding (like if you want to travel and still have energy when you reach your destination).
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=433
Here's one for touring, which has a lot in common with utility biking.
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm
I think a lot of the disagreement over gearing you see on this board has more to do with macho or non-macho than anything else.
Constant cadence is good.
Constant cadence/effort is a good thing.
Unless you want to start custom designing your gears, I would suggest just biking a lot and learning the relationship between particular ring-cog combinations and effort; this way you can look at what's coming up and "know" what gear you should use (well, more or less). If you want to get analytical about it, you can plot your gears to better understand what you have. Here's one of my bikes (suitable for hills and for around town).
@HV: Yeah you're right. Worse, it's something I yell at people for all the time. Anyway:
abscissa: cog size
ordinate: gear-inches
lines are ring sizes
The small table has the actual values
a pox upon all you who don't label your axes!
Designed for Shimano's Shadow technology Mtn Bike components, This cassette can be used on a touring bike with a traditional Deore MTB rear derailleur by replacing the B tension screw with a 4mm x 20mm bolt. We tested the set-up on a Gunnar with 105 STI 5600 levers and it shifted flawlessly! Number Series Price Sprockets Weight CSX145 SLX HG81 $69.95 buy button 11 13 15 17 19 21 24 28 32 36 364g
Why are we reviving a thread from 2011?New development for touring and randoneuring.
Not new to me! :PSo you have setup working with STI shifters?
Shimano was having some issues with freehubs self-destructing because the 36t cog on a 700c wheel was causing too much torque.Well, this is expected. I don't think there are problems with this setup on any 29-ers if you use initial sport level setup.
