Half Step Gearing

Someone asked about half step gearing.

I bookmarked a site explaining gearing in complete and uttar detail.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall...ars/Gears.html

I actually read it over this time. Good stuff.

--
Miles of Smiles,

Tom Blum Winter Haven, Florida Homebuilts: SWB Tour Easy Clone Speed Machine Clone

www.gate.net/~teblum

> Someone asked about half step gearing.

That would be John Harper who is indefinitely in the Middle East with the Air Force. E-mail
accessability is sparse for him.

Derek

On 23-Mar-2003, "Tom Blum" <teblum@gate.net> wrote:

> Someone asked about half step gearing.
>
> I bookmarked a site explaining gearing in complete and uttar detail.
> http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall...ars/Gears.html
>
> I actually read it over this time. Good stuff.

That would have been me, Thanks for the URL, Tom. I have pretty much decided in the benifit of
half step gearing and decided to change my 24 - 39 - 53 chain rings to 24 - 42 - 50. with a 12
- 34 cassette this should work out much better than changing out the cassette , adjusting the
rear der. based on hilly/flat riding location... As you said, in our dreams, shifting is
always this way.

Regards Daniel dreaming and tinkering in Chester County, Pa

If you want true half stepping with a 50 outer ring for a 12-34 - you will needs something like a 47
middle ring which represents half of the ratio between the average jump on the cogsets.

Because I have a 20 inch drive wheel and an 11-30 cog, I set my chain ring rations to be 54/50 which
is roughly the 1/2 the average step in the 11-30 cogset.

"Daniel Payne" <badly.munged@address.net> wrote in message
news:hsMfa.5030$Nm1.2612@nwrdny02.gnilink.net...
>
> On 23-Mar-2003, "Tom Blum" <teblum@gate.net> wrote:
>
> > Someone asked about half step gearing.
> >
> > I bookmarked a site explaining gearing in complete and uttar detail.
> > http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall...ars/Gears.html
> >
> > I actually read it over this time. Good stuff.
>
> That would have been me, Thanks for the URL, Tom. I have pretty much decided in the benifit of
> half step gearing and decided to change my 24 - 39 - 53 chain rings to 24 - 42 - 50. with a 12
> - 34 cassette this should work out much better than changing out the cassette , adjusting the
> rear der. based on hilly/flat riding location... As you said, in our dreams, shifting is always
> this way.
>
> Regards Daniel dreaming and tinkering in Chester County, Pa

On 24-Mar-2003, "Alpha Beta" <sphynxsriddle@hotmail.com> wrote:

> If you want true half stepping with a 50 outer ring for a 12-34 - you will needs something like a
> 47 middle ring which represents half of the ratio between the average jump on the cogsets.

Yes, i neglected to mention changing my middle ring to a larger one. Here is what i propose to do:

24 42 50 11 52.4 91.6 109.1 14 41.1 72.0 85.7 16 36.0 63.0 75.0 18 32.0 56.0 66.7 20 28.8
50.4 60.0 23 25.0 43.8 52.2 26 22.2 38.8 46.2 30 19.2 33.6 40.0 34 16.9 29.6 35.3

this is with a 559 wheel and a standard ramped and pinned middle ring. I think the jump off of the
granny to the middle ring may be less than crisp, but my goal is to have a large range and still be
able to have the closer choices for the rail trail or touring in the flat areas.

i intend to use the granny only to 'winch' myself up the steeper hills. i probably will not use
the very crossed combinations and also will not go up more than six cogs on the granny.

How do you like your setup? do you use the half step when shifting or do you find that you don't use
it that much? was it worth the part and time to install considering the use you get?

Daniel

In the old days, the mid eighties in my case, it was called "half step with granny" Most freewheels
were still only 5 or six cogs so the half step used the mid and big ring and all the cogs. The
granny was the small chainring and the 2 lowest cogs, which IIRC were of the 24, 28 flavor. The rule
of thumb was to use a jump of about 12%. It's a good scheme for finding the right gear so you can
staay in your power band, but the novelty of up- down- front- back shift drill gets old. "Daniel
Payne" <badly.munged@address.net> wrote in message news:hwoga.13057$hB5.165@nwrdny02.gnilink.net...
>
> On 24-Mar-2003, "Alpha Beta" <sphynxsriddle@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
snip

>
> i intend to use the granny only to 'winch' myself up the steeper hills. i probably will not use
> the very crossed combinations and also will not go up more than six cogs on the granny.
>
> How do you like your setup? do you use the half step when shifting or do you find that you don't
> use it that much? was it worth the part and time to install considering the use you get?
>
> Daniel

Actually, the way I have my touring bike and my tandem set up is half-step plus granny. With an 8
speed cluster the tooth difference between the middle and large chain rings was 3 teeth. This lead
to a shifting pattern of "is it a little change in the pedaling effort = shift the front","is there
a larger change in the pedaling effort= shift the back". This works fine.

Tim Storey

--
This look left intentionally blank "harv" <harv*no_spam*@spininternet.com> wrote in message
news:3e84ccd0_1@corp-news.newsgroups.com...
> In the old days, the mid eighties in my case, it was called "half step
with
> granny" Most freewheels were still only 5 or six cogs so the half step
used
> the mid and big ring and all the cogs. The granny was the small chainring and the 2 lowest cogs,
> which IIRC were of the 24, 28 flavor. The rule of thumb was to use a jump of about 12%. It's a
> good scheme for finding the right gear so you can staay in your power band, but the novelty of up-
down-
> front- back shift drill gets old. "Daniel Payne" <badly.munged@address.net> wrote in message
> news:hwoga.13057$hB5.165@nwrdny02.gnilink.net...
> >
> > On 24-Mar-2003, "Alpha Beta" <sphynxsriddle@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> snip
>
>
> >
> > i intend to use the granny only to 'winch' myself up the steeper hills. i probably will not
> > use the very crossed combinations and also will not go up more than six cogs on the granny.
> >
> > How do you like your setup? do you use the half step when shifting or do you find that you don't
> > use it that much? was it worth the part and time to install considering the use you get?
> >
> > Daniel
> >
>

On 29-Mar-2003, "Timothy B. Storey" <tims@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Actually, the way I have my touring bike and my tandem set up is half-step plus granny. With an 8
> speed cluster the tooth difference between the middle and large chain rings was 3 teeth. This lead
> to a shifting pattern of "is it a little change in the pedaling effort = shift the front","is
> there a larger change in the pedaling effort= shift the back". This works fine.

This is exactly what i am hoping to do, but i can see Harv's comment of the pattern getting old and
not using it to its full potential. But if must be nice to have it available when you are heavily
loaded and want to stay in your power band. I can see myself using it like you do Tim, Thanks,
Daniel [ still waiting for the last part to arrive ]