Designing a bike solely for climbing...
 

I would like to build a bike that's focused on going up and then down. A "screw the flats" type of bike. I'm thinking of going really small up front. Possibly a 26/44 (White Idustries) crank with an 11-36 in back. In the Bay Area hills, that's not that impractical. Something for doing a Mt Diablo double, for example. I know there's a bike ride that tackles all of the East Bay's major climbs as well, although I can't remember the name.

Anyone have a similar gearing for that type of terrain? How do you like it?

PS I already have bikes with standard compact gearing. Since I may have a surfeit of bikes, I want a bike with totally different gearing. Also, a nod to HTupolev and Mark McM who have been very helpful with tech questions.

You're gonna want taller than a 44x11. Doesn't take much to spin that out going down Redwood for example, and that's just to the Little Pinehurst turnoff.

why not?
 

my current gearing for all my riding here in Sonoma County is 48/32 front and 11-36 rear. i'm a crappy climber. losing 10 lbs has made me a bit better. with this gearing i spin out downhill at about 26 mph and that's just fine with me.

Well, how fast do I really need to be going down those hills? I want to keep pace with cars, but I'm not a speed demon. I coast down Joaquin Miller, for example.

1x, trimming your drops, sub 6.8 kg, and a relatively stiff bike.

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/hill-climb-tech-gallery/

https://images.immediate.co.uk/produ...size=960%2C640

I have been running a White Industries VBC with 42/26 and 11-32 for a couple years and really enjoy this setup. I do not enjoy the large jumps found on wide range cassettes and find it annoying when climbing.

Unfortunately, there are not many options out there for a "climbers" crankset, but the VBC does the trick.

You mean 36mph or you have tiny wheels?

I ride 42/28 to 11-32 with both 700x35 and 650Bx50 and I really like that combo. I do spin out on extended descents, but it's fine.

Well, I really don't want to turn this thread into a 1X/2X flame war, but I won't use a 1X again on a road/gravel bike. At least not where I live. I don't want to be climbing these hills on a 42 or 44t, and descending on a 38t on heavily trafficked streets was dangerous.

You're probably thinking of the Nifty-Ten-Fifty:

http://www.niftytenfifty.com/

I did it a few years ago on a bike with a 30/32 low gear and still wishing I had more by the time I got to Volmer Peak.

My Ellis Strada Fango has a 28x42 low on it (and 42x11 high). With a 29x2.1 on there, it comes out to roughly the same as a 26x36 with a 700c road tire so I'm fully aware how spinny that gear inch is. It'll definitely feel faster backwards when you're in it, but if your goal is to save your legs for the next bump, then it might be worth it. Probably only useful when tackling stuff like Hiller or Marin or the last few yards of Diablo. And if you're doing Diablo repeats or Nifty, you're probably not concerned about spinning out your high gear as you'll be wanting to save your legs.

Our buddy "Climb01742" built a bike like this for his Mt Washington climb...about 15 yrs ago....but here is a description of the parts:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=10361

Looks like he removed the photos.....

This is it I think: https://bayareabikerides.net/the-ber...ls-death-ride/

But you get the point. Sounds like our thinking is aligned.

i will have to double check my recollection
 

cuz my wheels are those normal big round ones everyone else has :).

https://youtu.be/L0NyFjIS_wE

Phil in collabo with Heisenberg. Go to 0:30 minutes if your brain has been damaged by social media....


The bike doesnt matter as much as the fitness and fatness of the rider. I would focus on that more than the bike.

There's no way I would ride those handlebars down a technical descent.

I'm going to ignore you.