This makes a bunch of sense unless you live in hilly country and/or are old and fat as I am. My own recent change (which I am excited about) has been to use a mountain triple 44x32x22 with a 12-32 seven speed. There are some climbs in my area where I do use the 22 tooth front ring in order to save my knees. I do find myself running the 16 and 14 tooth cog quite often in the 44 tooth chain ring on flat ground and may go back to my Sugino crank for that reason. I rarely pedal the downhills much anymore as I cannot keep up with my coasting speed which has been right around 50 mph on two occasions but usually only in the mid thirties. I thought about going to a 46x30 but would have to couple that with one of the 34 or 36 max tooth nine speed cog sets to get my wall climber gear. I did think about building a closer ratio triple on the large rings with a tiny inner ring for a bailout gear in order to stay on top of the gears better but I spent a solid year single speeding (actually a two speed) and I learned to vary my cadence more and actually slow down a little and relax on the flats and downhills saving my legs for specific climbs that I could make without walking. I wanted to build my current geared bike for any terrain, when I felt sick or was tired out at the end of a long commute. So far its been fine enough and has actually allowed me to take some routes that I have avoided previously due to the steep climbs.
On Sep 12, 5:55 pm, stevep33 <steve...@gmail.com> wrote: > Pick the gearing that works best most of the time, and don't fret > about the rest. Running 46T/30T compact with 12-27 gives all the > gears and shifting patterns I need. Maybe not enough gear inches to > pedal down a ridiculously fast downhill, but then maybe it's time to > coast and enjoy the ride. > > On Sep 12, 7:31 pm, Michael_S <mikeybi...@rocketmail.com> wrote: > > > Do you find yourself in the 44 most of the time on flatter terrain? > > It seems like you would rarely use the 30t ring except climbing. > > > The compacts give you a comparable range to some triples but there are > > some drawback IMO. I like a bigger high end than 44-11. I just can't > > hang with guys on 53-12's on long gradual downhills. And I think there > > is more cross chaining as well. The triples do shift slower with the > > long cage dérailleur. Seems like you have to choose what works best > > for each of us. I use a 50-40-28 Campy triple with a 11-30 cassette. > > > ~Mike~ > > > On Sep 12, 2:21 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I prefer LPs to CDs. > > > > On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 10:47 AM, MichaelH <mhech...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Didn't want to hijack Dave's post about his new Rodeo - > > > > congratulations Dave; I hope it brings you a gazillion miles of joy, > > > > even more in the riding than admiring it's beauty. BTW, I think > > > > you'll like the fazik tape; I've been using it on my Ram for the past > > > > 6 years and have found it quite comfortable, without the spongy feel > > > > of some cork tapes, and extremely durable. White does get dirty > > > > though, so just relax about that. > > > > > I have ridden a triple on at least one of my bikes for more than > > > > thirty years and for the past ten years pretty much exclusively. But > > > > this summer I refitted my Ram with a 44/30 CD: > > > >http://web.me.com/mhechmer/Mikes_Bikes/Ram_Redux.html > > > > > here's why. > > > > > A CD certainly isn't for everybody, and I wouldn't want to pull a > > > > loaded tourer around Ft. Collins with one, but for an unloaded bike in > > > > the Green Mountains where I live it makes a lot of sense. I fitted my > > > > Ram with 44/30 rings and an HG 9 speed cassette in an 11/28 > > > > configuration. This gives me the high gear I want, a good low gear, a > > > > really nice shifting pattern, easy shifting and much easier cleaning. > > > > The high end gear is 108 GI, the same as a 48/12 and the low gear. > > > > 30/28 (29 GI) is the same as a 28/27. What motivated me was the > > > > shifting pattern, which gives me a range of 108 all the way down to 48 > > > > GI without a front end shift; and the small ring extends from 29 to > > > > 62. The probability of over shifting is greatly reduced so I can > > > > throw the left hand lever around much more briskly. I also find a > > > > double much, much easier to keep clean. In reality, it has worked out > > > > even better than I had hoped. My new Campy FD is so smooth that I > > > > actually prefer shifting it when I want to jump 2-3 cogs at a time. > > > > (Vt has lots of rolling terrain which calls for this) The only > > > > downside I have discovered, because I have a preference for close gear > > > > ratios, is that one of the shifts is just a bit wider than I am use > > > > to with a 12/27. > > > > > What's done is done, but if others are thinking about a Rodeo, or > > > > retrofitting a nice Rondonee style bike, I strongly recommend a CD. > > > > > Michael, moving into great Autumn riding in VT > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > Groups > > > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2Bunsubscrib > > > > �...@googlegroups.com> > > > > . > > > > For more options, visit this group at > > > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > > -- > > > Cheers, > > > David > > > Redlands, CA- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
