velotel
02-05-2017, 04:25 AM
Worked perfectly. I even kept thinking the shifting was in fact improved with the longer cage. Probably a sacrilege to say that but… And like I said in another post, replacing the original cage (an 015 Chorus RD) with the Potenza mid-length cage was easy. Particularly for me since all I did was watch my good friend who’s a mechanic for the french mountain bike team change it. He loves taking care of my bike and wanted to do the work to learn. Changing the cage and cassette (from 12-29 to 11-32) and checking the adjustments took maybe half an hour, max. Probably less.
Also have to say I love the new gearing. Last Sunday I did this ride that has a friggin hard section, a K and a half at 16% average, based on elevation change and length. What it really is is a series of ramps with grades from around 10% up to 20%, with the steepest pitches always at the end of the ramps. Total vertical from valley floor back up to the plateau is 670 meters (2200 ft). I rode that with the old gearing, 34/29 for the low. Saturday, 6 days later, did it again to see what the new gearing (34/32 for the low) would do.
First discovery: those friggin hard pitches are still friggin hard, 3 more teeth or not! But what I really liked was that slipping into an easier effort zone happened way, way earlier than before. There were lots of sections where I was spinning along and moving up the mountain at a good, for me at least, pace but still able to relax the effort a good bit. This was remarkable and I loved it. Kind of like a rolling rest but while climbing! But like I said, the steep stuff is still hard as hell, just less desperate.
I couldn’t tell if there was a difference with the 50/11 compared to the 50/12 or not. I mean I’m only in gears like that when it’s either a descent or flat with no wind or one on the back. I’m sure there was in fact a difference but never had any oh-yea moment like I did with the 34/32.
So, in summation, changing the cage and cassette was a great call for me. Nothing but good. Just bear in mind that these observations come from someone who will turn 73 a couple of months plus.
If you want to see some pics of the RD, here's the link for my earlier post (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=199907)
Also have to say I love the new gearing. Last Sunday I did this ride that has a friggin hard section, a K and a half at 16% average, based on elevation change and length. What it really is is a series of ramps with grades from around 10% up to 20%, with the steepest pitches always at the end of the ramps. Total vertical from valley floor back up to the plateau is 670 meters (2200 ft). I rode that with the old gearing, 34/29 for the low. Saturday, 6 days later, did it again to see what the new gearing (34/32 for the low) would do.
First discovery: those friggin hard pitches are still friggin hard, 3 more teeth or not! But what I really liked was that slipping into an easier effort zone happened way, way earlier than before. There were lots of sections where I was spinning along and moving up the mountain at a good, for me at least, pace but still able to relax the effort a good bit. This was remarkable and I loved it. Kind of like a rolling rest but while climbing! But like I said, the steep stuff is still hard as hell, just less desperate.
I couldn’t tell if there was a difference with the 50/11 compared to the 50/12 or not. I mean I’m only in gears like that when it’s either a descent or flat with no wind or one on the back. I’m sure there was in fact a difference but never had any oh-yea moment like I did with the 34/32.
So, in summation, changing the cage and cassette was a great call for me. Nothing but good. Just bear in mind that these observations come from someone who will turn 73 a couple of months plus.
If you want to see some pics of the RD, here's the link for my earlier post (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=199907)