Did Someone Mention a Wide Range of Gears?

[dirtdigger88]

im getting my Kirk ready for deerfield early - wheels are on their way

currently its running an XTR 12-32 out back with the 50-34 up front

I also have an 11- 34 in case the 32 isnt enough

the funniest thing is my FD- shimano 7410 (yes 8 speed era) it works like a champ . . . Im betting the friction shifting doesnt hurt-

Jason

[dauwhe]

Looks great! Enjoy the bike, and have fun at D2R2!

I recently found another ride report for last year's D2R2

http://www.northeastcycling.com/d2r2_2006.htm

The ride became a pattern: Climb 4-8mph for 15-30 minutes, rocket down at 30-40+mph in a few minutes. Repeat often. There just wasn’t much in between. When we got to 25% grade Archambo Rd, we spotted a large group of riders just going into the hill. We watched them one by one peter out and resort to pushing their bikes up. It looked hard just to walk up. This is twice as steep as Mt Washington, and it was soft, loose gravel. Dave and I looked at each other and thought this was going to be fun. The group really didn’t give us much room, so we had to weave our way through them, not always having a good line to ride. The group’s lively chatter faded as we cleaned the hill. That felt really good, but we paid dearly in burning several matches out of the book on just that one hill. I don’t know how Dave made it in his 39x27 ratio. I used every bit of my 34x34 ratio and was still reaching for another gear. There were about 9-10 significant climbs ranging from 500-1600 feet net gain, and almost all of them were dirt or mostly dirt.

Mr. Jansen was the 14th finisher overall at Mt. Washington, and 3rd in his age group... and the Dave he mentions there certainly isn't me. I couldn't ride down that hill with 39 x 27!

Dave

[Too Tall]

Sweet :) 34 X 32 is perfect. That's exactly what I plan to run.

[dauwhe]

Sweet :) 34 X 32 is perfect. That's exactly what I plan to run.

That's my lowest gear, too, on the middle ring!

:beer:

Dave