42x21 redux

[AgilisMerlin]

remember when this was the pansy gear :no:

a different time

[fiamme red]

I remember when a 42x21 was the lowest gear on my road bike. I did some pretty hard climbs in that gear. But I was 25 lbs. lighter then.

[Fixed]

with a straight block
cheers

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I remember getting ready for the Mt. Baldy time trial in 1988 and just for that occasion I installed a 39 small ring (a rarity in those days), running a 39x21 small gear. Suffered miserably. Thank goodness for compacts.

[fuzzalow]

The golden era during the age of 42x21 , when men were men, and a rider would just grind it out @ 60rpm.

[witcombusa]

The golden era during the age of 42x21 , when men were men, and a rider would just grind it out @ 60rpm.

or 40 !

[54ny77]

sad, but true.

[PSC]

Remember 13-17 corncob freewheels with 52/42.

[Ralph]

My first Paramount had a 49-52 in front. Later Paramounts I owned mostly had 42-52's. Had all kinds of 5 speed freewheels....had a board of cogs to make anything I wanted. 13-21's, 14-24's, even 14-30. Would change them before every ride. We all made it up the hills somehow.

My favorite bike now in my garage still has 42-52 in front. But it's got a 30 on inside.

[Grant McLean]

Most of my bikes still have 42x21.

All of them a 42 inner ring, some of the wheels are a pie plate 23 :)
Chad over at AboveCategory in Mill Valley put together a non-stock
combination of a 52/42 dura ace 7900 crank for my Parlee.

-g

[peanutgallery]

girly men gave up and rode with a 24. I remember installing one and then being ridiculed on the group ride...off it went. it looked like a pie plate on there. surprised any of us have knees

[Bob Loblaw]

Ah yes, the old Regina 13-14-15-17-19-21. I remember when 7 speed came out and I got a 23, and then 39's became more prevalent and I ended up with a 39 x 23. I thought "I wasn't always a wimp..."

I did too many miles up mountain passes in big gears and I still prefer them. My current low gear is a 39 x 25 I rarely use.

BL

[Steve in SLO]

I did my first Death Ride on a 42 x 23. It was the first time I had ridden anything bigger than a 21 on the rear. It looked HUGE, but it helped. After the ride it came straight off and never returned to that bike.

[54ny77]

Some of you out there will remember getting locked out on anything taller than a 16. Going down long hills was comical, at least where I lived/raced (since there were a lot of hills). Do they still do that for kids, and do the actual bike rollout?

[AgilisMerlin]

Some of you out there will remember getting locked out on anything taller than a 16. Going down long hills was comical, at least where I lived/raced (since there were a lot of hills). Do they still do that for kids, and do the actual bike rollout?

This specialty 9 speed Shimano cassette is designed to keep you Junior legal during pre-race roll-outs. Chromed cogs add durability and Hyperglide tooth profiling makes for precise shifting.

http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=105+HG-50+9+Speed+Cassette&vendorCode=SHIM&major=1&minor=10


just ordered a 12-21 ultegra 9 cassette. just cause i can

[ultraman6970]

Dont make me cry guys.... love 42. Just like all of you... 42x21 or 23 when I got a 7 speed cluster and nobody complained about gears and stuf. That's why i'm a hard believer that campagnolo should come like with a 14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 cassette... who in the world needs 13 and or even 11 if not racing??? I used to go 90 km.h with my 52x14...

Marketing got people too soft in the last 15 years.

[witcombusa]

Ah yes, the old Regina 13-14-15-17-19-21. I remember when 7 speed came out and I got a 23, and then 39's became more prevalent and I ended up with a 39 x 23. I thought "I wasn't always a wimp..."

I did too many miles up mountain passes in big gears and I still prefer them. My current low gear is a 39 x 25 I rarely use.

BL

My current low gear on my travel bike is 34 x 34 and it gets used often.....

[Fixed]

[QUOTE=54ny77; Do they still do that for kids, and do the actual bike rollout?[/QUOTE]

yes
Cheers

[oliver1850]

Dont make me cry guys.... love 42. Just like all of you... 42x21 or 23 when I got a 7 speed cluster and nobody complained about gears and stuf. That's why i'm a hard believer that campagnolo should come like with a 14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 cassette... who in the world needs 13 and or even 11 if not racing??? I used to go 90 km.h with my 52x14...

Marketing got people too soft in the last 15 years.

Campy does (did?) make a 14-23 10 speed Centaur cassette, I have 2 of them. What I wish they made was a 14 - 32.

[Chance]

Campy does (did?) make a 14-23 10 speed Centaur cassette, I have 2 of them. What I wish they made was a 14 - 32.

Can't an 11-25 with smaller rings do the same?

[54ny77]

this thread makes me feel old. :p

yes
Cheers

[AgilisMerlin]

schwing' :eek:

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/3561856/1088965044588_fw_regina_america_12_19.jpg

here's a 13-17

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4135/4757121753_5cef88ff07_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1417/5150547249_e2f29eb073.jpg

holy crapoli

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2011/1821224072_9fe53edaec_b.jpg

[Wilkinson4]

Ah 20lbs and 20 years ago my 42x21 was the bailout gear!!! Now, it's not pretty. Hey, anybody got a picture of the freewheel the Polish National Team uses;)

mIKE "1/2 Pol"

[Wilkinson4]

Here it is!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltoyrokrGh1qhlsfco1_500.jpg

mIKE

[OperaLover]

Love the drillium on the Super Record rr. der.

52/42 Sugino cranks and 14-21 New Winner freewheel. I could climb anything . . .

[oliver1850]

the ultimate racing freewheel?

[Steve in SLO]

Dont make me cry guys.... love 42. Just like all of you... 42x21 or 23 when I got a 7 speed cluster and nobody complained about gears and stuf. That's why i'm a hard believer that campagnolo should come like with a 14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 cassette... who in the world needs 13 and or even 11 if not racing??? I used to go 90 km.h with my 52x14...

If you used to spin up to 90KPH with a 52x14, then you were going 195RPM and wouldn't need an 11, 12 or 13. For we (older) mortals who would be afraid of losing a patella at those spin speeds, a smaller rear cog makes sense. The 52x11 on my bikes gets used fairly often since I pedal down most descents and that gives me 45 MPH at 120RPM. (all figuring on 700x23s)

[54ny77]

Steve, Cuesta grade in early-mid mornings coming back into SLO town (before afternoon winds)....ahhh, now that was fast. Especially in an echelon or, umm, tailgating semi's and slingshot out to the bike lane. Yeah, that was smart. Credit those days to youthful exuberance....:eek:

I remember it well. :cool:

(Oh and in a 52 x somethingorother.)

If you used to spin up to 90KPH with a 52x14, then you were going 195RPM and wouldn't need an 11, 12 or 13. For we (older) mortals who would be afraid of losing a patella at those spin speeds, a smaller rear cog makes sense. The 52x11 on my bikes gets used fairly often since I pedal down most descents and that gives me 45 MPH at 120RPM. (all figuring on 700x23s)

[AgilisMerlin]

Here it is!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltoyrokrGh1qhlsfco1_500.jpg

mIKE

we got rototiller ratio up above

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6193/6078125602_a70221a8ab_b.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2339/1820524507_ddc44dda4c_m.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2269/1820563923_38ac0e0e54_m.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stronglight/page184/

[toosahn]

lotsa e-stosterone coming through in this thread.

[54ny77]

that's because we were all faster and better looking before 7 or even 8 speeds came along....:p

lotsa e-stosterone coming through in this thread.

[fiamme red]

http://www.albertnet.us/2009/04/corn-cob.html

Ode to the Corn Cob

When I was nine I had a ten-speed bike.
I loved it, though it suffered from the curse
Of tires not as thin as I'd have liked,
And of a spoke protector, even worse.

We didn't call them spoke protectors though,
As "pie plate" better mocked how big they were.
They caused the largest cog to seem to grow--
A mean illusion, awful to endure.

A bigger cog meant lower gearing, see;
The stuff of weaker boys, embarrassing.
We longed for smaller clusters, finally free
Of pie plates. Lack of metal was our bling.

At age eighteen I realized my dream:
I ran a straight-block corn cob, plate-less, clean.

[Steve in SLO]

that's because we were all faster and better looking before 7 or even 8 speeds came along....:p

Yup, just like a bunch of guys reliving their glory days at the high school reunion...
Personally, I was best at 5 speeds.

[AgilisMerlin]

http://www.velospeak.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Oro_fw1.jpg

[AgilisMerlin]

http://www.velospeak.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Oro_fw1.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8MHk7RVhloRWsMPmNZZEfDioVixObx nZ1YvWqjvZqiYMR3sF3Fg

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQU9Sg00bv0f4_diBBIob_p7BysMBYyk fMhdFYASNvsYKm-IWvvPQ

http://www.velo-retro.com/images/ReginaAd38L.jpg

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSU9sVAk2t3wzrvR5MDIYAAfQsfWdxvp Pcc97X-qT6jnIHUXmCL-g

http://www.velociao.com/wp-content/gallery/maillard-700-freewheel-kit/p8237393.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6760706387_8b14e7469e_b.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_C1XrRVl3W8k/TBETc9OzZzI/AAAAAAAAKcI/5mHxo6ojrxs/s1600/Maillard700+1.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3313/3606120343_cf8ceeb8d8_b.jpg

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/cronobikes/tags/freewheel/

[ultraman6970]

Darn.. so some of you used to tail gate trucks too eh? :D

we did not have a moto in our team so we used to tail gate behind trucks, 60 km/h... then sprinting from behind... yes, super smart but darn you get darn strong.

I was a tracker so during the summer kind'a mid season, dad in his car at 65 km/h and sprinting from behind with 53x15, I was barely able to pass the car then tailgate again for 10 more minutes at 55 then 65 and sprint again... After that at the end of the season you were able to sprint the whole round, and sling shoot a killer attach passing the finish line on the sprint or just wait and sprint for 4 position and sliingshot a nasty attach right after the finish line. Or the one that i loved the most, able to stand and counter attach 3 times in a row... well, i was 19 and was like with 100 pounds less but almost the same volume I have now, big difference between my old me and my actual me.

Love the pictures of those clusters, cruel reality, for casual riding more than 5 speed is not necessary.

Getting freaking old hehe :D

[Ti Designs]

I remember when a 42x21 was the lowest gear on my road bike.

Like it was yesterday.


Oh wait, it WAS yesterday!

[Bob Loblaw]

Used to? No comment. :beer:

Darn.. so some of you used to tail gate trucks too eh? :D

[Steve in SLO]

Used to? No comment. :beer:

+1...easiest way to get up and over 50mph yet devised.

[smead]

remember when this was the pansy gear :no:

a different time

I have a nice ~1980 Olmo competition that I've used as a fixed gear the last few years. I saved the original shimano 600 6 speed group and 52/42 ofmega rings, and found a beautiful NOS DA 13-18 nickel freewheel on ebay. This winter the olmo will get back it's original gear, but with a straight block 13-18. The 42-18 will give low 60 gear inches for the steep climbs :rolleyes: Gearing is all relative to what you're used to ....., stand up and enjoy!

[Grant McLean]

lotsa e-stosterone coming through in this thread.

Or they just live where it's flat.

-g

[spartanKid]

lotsa e-stosterone coming through in this thread.


"The older we get, the faster we were!"

[tsarpepe]

^
Love this one! Source?

[Steve in SLO]

It's a variation on the classic (source unknown) "The older I get the better I was". Sounds like something from Yogi Berra.

[tsarpepe]

OK, I had to look it up! It's not Yogi; it's Lee Trevino. He said another thing potentially applicable to cycling: “My wife doesn't care what I do when I'm away, as long as I don't have a good time”

[fiamme red]

OK, I had to look it up! It's not Yogi; it's Lee Trevino. He said another thing potentially applicable to cycling: “My wife doesn't care what I do when I'm away, as long as I don't have a good time”Another great quote: "I still swing the way I used to, but when I look up the ball is going in a different direction." :)