Low gearing options

[sevencyclist]

I am putting together a randonneur bike. Since I am not a strong rider (knee surgery etc), I was hoping to get ultra low gearing for steep hills after 200 miles rides. So I would love to go a little lower than the 30/29 offered by the Campy Triple. I had a conversation with a bike shop who told me if I need lower than 30/29, then I should just train more. Unfortunately climbing up a wall in the beginning of a ride is different than my legs after 200 miles. Any thoughts?

Any suggestions for gearing that is compatible with campy shifters? I personally like the campy design better for my hands.

I have read about JTek designing Shiftmates to help campy 10 shifters work with XTR 10 rear derailers, but do not know if anyone has done something like this. Touring riders? Thanks.

[TimmyB]

Why not put TA chainrings on your CS? They make a 24 inner ring?

According to peter white (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/chainrings.asp) the TA Zelito is compatible with campy triples....

[palincss]

I had a conversation with a bike shop who told me if I need lower than 30/29, then I should just train more. ... Any thoughts?


That bike shop person is a schmuck, that's my thought.

[fourflys]

I'm currently building up my Salsa Casseroll with bar-end shifters and an XT rd with an 11-32 cassette...

[SoCalSteve]

My suggestion... Find a new bike shop!

[fiamme red]

You could replace your crankset with a Sugino XD-500 or XD-600, 48/36/26 or 48/36/24.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks/11074.html

[Ken Robb]

I ran 10 spd 13-29 Chorus with 48-38-28 TA Zephyr cranks and it worked like a charm. I had 26 and 24 small rings in the drawer but never needed to go smaller than the 28.

I have a Sugino 46-36-26 crank awaiting future project. While not as exquisite as the Zephyr they are a very nice alloy finish and would look good on most bikes.

[d.vader123]

TA cranks are a good solution; I've considered them myself, but there is one major deterrent: price!

Those cranksets are crazy expensive - $500!!!

[Ralph]

TA makes a full range of chainrings for a Campy triple crank. The two large rings are 135 BCD and TA calls these the Vento model. The small innner Campy ring is 74 BCD, a common size to Campy, Shimano, and many others. TA Zelito is 74 BCD. Wiggle has best prices I have seen.

I sometimes run a 28-40-50 Campy triple with mostly TA rings. Most time I use a 30-42-53 because I like the 42 middle ring. But have contemplated using a 26-39-50 for riding where it's extremely step. I also only use Campy Med length rear derailleur. The hanger on this bike is a tad longer than my Cannondale, but it will wrap a 30-42-53 and 13-29......39 teeth. It works fine on the 28-40-50. If I went to a 26-39-50, might would have to use a long cage, or just limit rear cassette 13-26 and use med cage. I've pretty well got all this figued out for my bikes. Keep some chains cut to various length depending on chainring combinations.

I also don't see why one of the newer Centaur or 11's short cage rear derailleurs like Athena .....the ones designed to wrap 34-50 and 12-29 (33 teeth) wouldn't work with a 30-40-50 and a 13-26 (33 teeth also). I like triple cranks better than compacts for my riding....and I've bought a compact, used it some, then sold it. Guess I just like the middle ring and Q of a triple.

[Bradford]

On my touring bike, I run a 26/40/51 with a 11-34 on the back. XT rear derailleur, Ultegra crank, TA rings that I picked up from Harris Cyclery. I use bar ends with old-fashioned brakes. Works like a charm.

If you are willing to move to bar ends, you'll be able to run whatever you want.

[rice rocket]

On my touring bike, I run a 26/40/51 with a 11-34 on the back. XT rear derailleur, Ultegra crank, TA rings that I picked up from Harris Cyclery. I use bar ends with old-fashioned brakes. Works like a charm.

If you are willing to move to bar ends, you'll be able to run whatever you want.

Do you pull a lot of accidental wheelies? ;)

[dhoff]

I had a very similar conversation with a bike shop "pro" a couple of years ago. I asked him how many times he had ridden a double century. When he said "none", I asked if the shop had anyone on staff who actually knew what they were talking about. I did not go back.

I wish I could help you with the Campy parts. I do not know. But I have two long distance bikes with 11-34's and triples. But it is all shimano.

[Bradford]

Do you pull a lot of accidental wheelies? ;)
not once.

[GRAVELBIKE]

Pair the Campy brifters with a Da Vinci-modified SRAM rear derailleur and Shimano cassette. I ran that with an 11-32 cassette (9spd) and 26/36/46 rings. Worked like a charm.

[bfd]

If you have a Campy triple crank, your granny ring has a 74mm bcd. If TA is too expensive, check out Vuelta rings:

http://www.vueltausa.com/components/chainrings/se-flat-chainrings/se-chain-ring-74mm-24-32t.html

You can go as low as 24t! Made in the USA, the 24/26/28t come in silver or black and at $16 each, it is reasonably priced! What's not to like?! Good Luck! :banana: :cool: :bike: :beer:

[R2D2]

The best approach is to run a tripple. If you are tired and exhausted (i.e. haven't eaten) then the tripple is blessing. It is also a curse, as athough you can climb you make very slow progress.

The bike shop is all bluff....................

[palincss]

Do you pull a lot of accidental wheelies? ;)

A 26/34 is only ~20 inch gear. My old Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road touring bike had an 18" low gear, which I greatly appreciated while climbing Massanutten mountain with 40-50 lb of gear. Never pulled a wheelie with that bike, either.

Don't forget, touring bikes have long wheelbases and especially long chain stays. Add to that the luggage you're carrying when you're using a gear that low. I'd say with approximately 20 lb in panniers on the front and 20-30 on the rack in back, it's damn near impossible to pull a wheelie even if you're trying.

[oldpotatoe]

I am putting together a randonneur bike. Since I am not a strong rider (knee surgery etc), I was hoping to get ultra low gearing for steep hills after 200 miles rides. So I would love to go a little lower than the 30/29 offered by the Campy Triple. I had a conversation with a bike shop who told me if I need lower than 30/29, then I should just train more. Unfortunately climbing up a wall in the beginning of a ride is different than my legs after 200 miles. Any thoughts?

Any suggestions for gearing that is compatible with campy shifters? I personally like the campy design better for my hands.

I have read about JTek designing Shiftmates to help campy 10 shifters work with XTR 10 rear derailers, but do not know if anyone has done something like this. Touring riders? Thanks.

If you already have a long cage rear der, get a shimano 9s MTB cogset and 9s shimano chain(and shimano compatible rear wheel. If you have Campag rear hub, you can get a shimano compatible freehub). 10s Campag shifts 9s shimano spacing really well. Also put a 26 or 28t small ring on the triple. It's a standard 74mm BCD. And a chain watcher. I have done this set up for more than a few touring bikes for people that wanted ERGO.

[d.vader123]

A 26/34 is only ~20 inch gear. My old Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road touring bike had an 18" low gear, which I greatly appreciated while climbing Massanutten mountain with 40-50 lb of gear. Never pulled a wheelie with that bike, either.

Don't forget, touring bikes have long wheelbases and especially long chain stays. Add to that the luggage you're carrying when you're using a gear that low. I'd say with approximately 20 lb in panniers on the front and 20-30 on the rack in back, it's damn near impossible to pull a wheelie even if you're trying.I know it all depends on the person, but how low in gear inches do you think an average person needs to have to climb those same hills without any load at the end of a long ride?

[Marcusaurelius]

I would suspect that a long cage campagnolo triple would work with a shimano 9 speed 11-32 mtb cassette and jtek shiftmate would make things work very well. I used shiftmate several times using campagnolo shifters with shimano wheel.

I have tried using campagnolo 10 speed shifters with a 9 speed shimano wheel without a jtek shiftmate and the results were not ideal.

[sevencyclist]

Thanks. Lots of information on this forum! I am glad to hear that I am not the only weak rider who needs a little help from gears.

[palincss]

I know it all depends on the person, but how low in gear inches do you think an average person needs to have to climb those same hills without any load at the end of a long ride?

As you say, it all depends on the person. The OP mentions a history including knee surgery, and is talking about double centuries. So while sub 20" gearing probably would be too low -- you really need to have loaded panniers to be able to manage gearing that low -- I wouldn't think twice about having a 22" low. In fact, that's what I have on most of my bikes. I don't use it all that often, although at Bike Virginia this year in the New River Valley I was in the two lowest granny gears a lot.

Depends on how steep those hills are and how tired you are. Of course, if you don't need those low gears, you aren't forced to use them. Bike Virginia was the first time I'd been on the 24T ring in almost 4,000 miles, but you can be very sure I was really glad to have it then!

[Chance]

20-inches allows a rider to spin between 50 and 70 RPM while climbing between 3 and 4 MPH. Doesn't seem excessive when facing a 20 percent grade after 150 miles. How useful it may be depends largely on how slow a rider can balance a bike. 4 MPH at 70 RPM shouldn't be too much of a problem for most riders to stay upright.

[Bradford]

but how low in gear inches do you think an average person needs to have to climb those same hills without any load at the end of a long ride?
For the first time in a few years, I'm in decent shape. Not great shape, but not too bad. This summer I have ridden 12 Rocky Mountain passes and have usually had 2-3 gears left if I needed them. But, there have been times I have needed them, especially when the grade gets above 7% or the miles get past 70(or both).

When I do big climbs on group rides, I'm usually spinning when other people are grinding. They may be going a little faster, but my knees are in much better shape then back when I used to be a grinder. (and my knees are pretty bad because of hockey).

I suspect that people who don't see the point of low gears have never had them to go to when riding passes or long days. Or perhaps it is because they value going fast more than I do. But it sounds like this is a case where the gears will be appreciated.

My advise to 7C is to give it a shot. Get a triple, put a small ring up front, some big rings in the back, a long cage derailleur, and maybe even some bar ends. Ride it around for a while and see if it does what you want it to. My guess is that you will be happy with the results...especially when you hit that wall.

[Ralph]

I agree. It's not so much the short steep climbs that do me in, it's the ones that go on and on and on. Climbing for miles. I don't have the strength or stamina for that like the young guys. So I just slow down, gear down, slow down my heart rate, relax and settle into the job, and spin away for a while. I do get to the top eventually. And I'm not done in...usually.

[veloduffer]

I am putting together a randonneur bike. Since I am not a strong rider (knee surgery etc), I was hoping to get ultra low gearing for steep hills after 200 miles rides. So I would love to go a little lower than the 30/29 offered by the Campy Triple. I had a conversation with a bike shop who told me if I need lower than 30/29, then I should just train more. Unfortunately climbing up a wall in the beginning of a ride is different than my legs after 200 miles. Any thoughts?

Any suggestions for gearing that is compatible with campy shifters? I personally like the campy design better for my hands.

I have read about JTek designing Shiftmates to help campy 10 shifters work with XTR 10 rear derailers, but do not know if anyone has done something like this. Touring riders? Thanks.

Use a triple (48x36x24 is a good combo) and forget ego-based opinions. Even the pros use them if necessary: In 2002 it was raining on the Angliru (at the Vuelta/Tour of Spain), Roberto Heras, one of the best climbers, rode a triple crank set, and Simoni had one on the car just in case.

If you have a bad day on the bike, or it's very hot or wet & cold, you need to have gearing that will get you up the hill. On brevets, you want to be prepared for the changes in weather and your own condition.