Close ratio gearing and its uses is a very interesting question, to me, since I've found from long enough experience that I prefer a small range of very close gears to a wide range with much bigger jumps. I suppose it has to do with pedaling style, and I daresay that the last is itself affected by geometry and position. In any event, the "club" gearing that I've heard of on old 3 to 5 speed racing bikes is always close ratio, though I daresay too that riders would swap out clusters more frequently for different conditions. But someone liked those very close ratio SA hubs.
In this line: It's interesting to watch, say, Coppi pedaling along on the flats, then in the hills. On the flats it's spin very fast, coast, spin, coast -- he spins faster than modern riders; on steep inclines he pedals far slower than many modern riders. I have no delusions about being a racer or even particularly sporty, but I'd rather push a 65" gear against the wind or up an incline than have to drop 10+ inches from the usual 70" cruising gear. Off road I seem to like something north of 60" and south of 65" for general cruising. Years ago, when I was younger, fitter, and much faster, I'd tie myself into academic knots trying to find ways to get a range from 35" to 100" with 5" jumps. I usually settled on close range triples until I became aware of half stepping, when instead of a granny ring I could use a granny cog. But I discovered that I used very few gears outside of the 60" to 80" range. even when commuting 15-20 miles each way with a lot of climbing, wind, and loads. Chacun a son gout. On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 12:16 PM, Deacon Patrick <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Patrick, you essentially just described the gearing inches I have found > works for around here with a SS mindset and how I'll be setting up my QB. > 40"-70" with an emphasis on 55, 60. > > > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ Patrick Moore Albuquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Etats Unis ************************************* "In yourself right now is all the place you've got." Flannery O'Connor -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
