hill cassette!!!!

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hi i have a 10 speed road bike with a 12/23 ultegra cassette but still struggle with hills. i know it takes time a fitness is the key but i was thinking bout changing my cassette to a 12/27 i think it was, to make the hill climbs easier, at the moment hills put me off riding long distance or hills altogether cause of a bad experience up a big climb.
can someone give me some info regarding this, is a 12/27 a good choice and is it ok to do what im thinking or will it stuff up my form, and is it cool to use 12/27 initially and then move back to the 12/23 when im fitter and can agressively do hill climbs easier...
thanks

dan

hi i have a 10 speed road bike with a 12/23 ultegra cassette but still struggle with hills. i know it takes time a fitness is the key but i was thinking bout changing my cassette to a 12/27 i think it was, to make the hill climbs easier, at the moment hills put me off riding long distance or hills altogether cause of a bad experience up a big climb.
can someone give me some info regarding this, is a 12/27 a good choice and is it ok to do what im thinking or will it stuff up my form, and is it cool to use 12/27 initially and then move back to the 12/23 when im fitter and can agressively do hill climbs easier...
thanks

dan
Why dont you try a 12-25?

I would just say go for the 12/27. There seems to be some snobbery about gear ratios around (not you lot but in the cycling world) and you are some sort of weakling if you cannot power up 45% gradients in top gear.

I ride a heavy hybrid with a granny ring on the front and when I get to a hill I can get up it without giving myself a hernia whereas all of my mates on their roadbikes with their big gears have to stop half way up and push. Who looks more silly then? :D

I have 3 cassettes, 11-23, 12-25 and 12-27 and use them all depending on the terrain. Nothing wussy about using an appropriate gearing, and if the hills are discouraging you from riding then I would definitely look at getting a wider-range cassette. I agree with the Penguin that if you've already had trouble then 12-27 is probably what you want and it'll work fine with your existing road setup.

hi i have a 10 speed road bike with a 12/23 ultegra cassette but still struggle with hills. i know it takes time a fitness is the key but i was thinking bout changing my cassette to a 12/27 i think it was, to make the hill climbs easier, at the moment hills put me off riding long distance or hills altogether cause of a bad experience up a big climb.
can someone give me some info regarding this, is a 12/27 a good choice and is it ok to do what im thinking or will it stuff up my form, and is it cool to use 12/27 initially and then move back to the 12/23 when im fitter and can agressively do hill climbs easier...
thanks

dan
I had a 12/27 and most hills had my cadence too low and Mt. Mitchell was impossible. I tried a 13/30 and it was just ok. I switched to a compact and I have all the range I need for hills and don't lose anything on the flats. With a 39/23 at 70rpm you go 8.0mph. With a 34/23 at 70rpm you go 8.2mph. So you can keep your 12/23 do it all, and still look cool. Change to a 12/27 with a compact and no hill will be too tough.

hi i have a 10 speed road bike with a 12/23 ultegra cassette but still struggle with hills. i know it takes time a fitness is the key but i was thinking bout changing my cassette to a 12/27 i think it was, to make the hill climbs easier, at the moment hills put me off riding long distance or hills altogether cause of a bad experience up a big climb.
can someone give me some info regarding this, is a 12/27 a good choice and is it ok to do what im thinking or will it stuff up my form, and is it cool to use 12/27 initially and then move back to the 12/23 when im fitter and can agressively do hill climbs easier...
thanks

danI have the 12-27 casette and swapped my inner chainring for a 38 tooth ring. This might be a cheaper alternative to going for the compact?

I have the 12-27 casette and swapped my inner chainring for a 38 tooth ring. This might be a cheaper alternative to going for the compact?

If he keeps the 12/23 he will only drop .3 mph using a 38 at 80 rpm or from 10.6 to 10.3mph. I usually only average around 4-8mph on big climbs.
If he gets a 12/27 and then a 38 he will drop 1.8 mph at 80rpm. Maybe not enough to make a big difference and he will have to buy the cassette or 3 cogs and the chainring. Money is important but the biggest range he'll get is a 50/34 with a 12/27 and he can use the 12/23 on the flats to keep the range closer. He probably needs to figure out at what cadence or speed he can or intends to climb these hills.

With ten speed cassettes, a 27 granny is a no brainer. Back in the day of 5 and 6 speed freewheels, the trade off between opening huge gaps between gears and the extra big granny was a tougher decision. You kind of had to run a 19 or 21 as your granny or else you had big jumps between your paceline gears. With ten speeds, your jumping two teeth at the most between gears even if you stretch it out to a 27. Aside from vanity, whcih can be put aside when you are spinning up the hill past a guy running a more agressive drive train, you will never really notice a difference on the flats.

I like the compact crank idea for a double a 50/34 is more useful than a 53/39. I use a standard triple 52/39/24 with a 24 tooth granny 11-24 cassette and third eye chain watcher for steep hills of 7% grade or more I'm about 89kg.


I had a 12/27 and most hills had my cadence too low and Mt. Mitchell was impossible. I tried a 13/30 and it was just ok. I switched to a compact and I have all the range I need for hills and don't lose anything on the flats. With a 39/23 at 70rpm you go 8.0mph. With a 34/23 at 70rpm you go 8.2mph. So you can keep your 12/23 do it all, and still look cool. Change to a 12/27 with a compact and no hill will be too tough.

I have a variety of cassettes (because I am a weak climber :o ), but my favorite now is the SRAM 11-26 with a compact CR. I can make most north georgia climbs like Hog Pen Gap, which is a tough climb on the Tour de Georgia with that ratio and the 11 helps me a little more on the faster flats or descents in comparison to my Shimano 12-27. I have a friend that just started using a SRAM Rival 11-28 cassette and that might be interesting to try, but it jumps from 24 to 28 and that seems like a big jump to me.

hi i have a 10 speed road bike with a 12/23 ultegra cassette but still struggle with hills. i know it takes time a fitness is the key but i was thinking bout changing my cassette to a 12/27 i think it was, to make the hill climbs easier, at the moment hills put me off riding long distance or hills altogether cause of a bad experience up a big climb.
can someone give me some info regarding this, is a 12/27 a good choice and is it ok to do what im thinking or will it stuff up my form, and is it cool to use 12/27 initially and then move back to the 12/23 when im fitter and can agressively do hill climbs easier...
thanks

danFWIW, I'm a decent climber (cat. 3) and I switched from 12-25 to 12-27 so I could spin faster up the long hills. I don't know what type of hills you ride, but IMO anything over 1 mile and 7% grade justifies a 27t. It will probably help your form more than not.