30mph but no gears left

George Hauxwell said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette 11-28.
Could somebody possibly advice me of a better chainring/cassette combination
for MTB road riding.

46/36/24 was the old standard but this died with compact drive cranks
and 11T sprockets. Just get the biggest big ring you can find for the
cranks - you may have to get a bigger granny ring too if your front
derailleur is near its capacity limit. This is usually something like a
26 tooth difference.

"George Hauxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette
11-28.
Could somebody possibly advice me of a better chainring/cassette
combination
for MTB road riding.

Well obviously a bigger chainring will give you a higher gear; you just need
to make sure that your mechs will be able to cope with differently sized
rings (LBS being perhaps the simplest way to establish this).

However, I think a better question to have posed would be, "What sort of
bike would be better for use on the road?" The answer, of course, is any
sort of bike designed for road riding...!

Also, you should consider whether you could / should be pedalling more
quickly. Cadence should increase somewhat with speed, so you shouldn't
expect to be pedalling at the same rate at 30mph downhill as at 10mph
uphill. Your top gear is actually only about 10% lower than the 53-13 (with
700c wheels, giving about a 110" gear ratio) gear I used for road racing; in
the mountains, I would regularly hit 50-60mph on the descents, and that gear
was fine for me. I can't remember the exact details, but until the late 70s
TdF riders would only be using gears like 52-14. (Someone will correct me on
that in terms of dates, or the exact gears used, but the point I'm making is
that the sort of gear you're pushing can be pedalled at *much* higher
cadences.)

I'd like to think that might help, but I suspect it's not the answer you're
looking for! ;-)

George Hauxwell said:

reach speeds of 30mph

Quoted message said:

have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette 11-28

At that speed you are doing 95rpm - that's a good cadence - you should be
looking to do about 80-100rpm most of the time.

You wont get a cog smaller than 11T. Unfortunately the current fashion is
for Compact Drive chainsets with a largest chainring of 42T. You may be
able to get a larger chainring to fit your crankset (depending on the
bolt-circle diameter) but then you may hit capacity problems with the
derailleurs. I would just stick with what I had if I were you.

What you really want for the road is a road bike. Those MTB-thingies are
for off road use.

Ian

George Hauxwell said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette 11-28.
Could somebody possibly advice me of a better chainring/cassette combination
for MTB road riding.

Many thanks

George Hauxwell

At 30mph you'd be turning the pedals at about 100rpm. Although this is
high it isn't an extreme cadence. If it only happens occasionally it's not
worth changing your set-up. Better to learn to pedal with a higher
cadence. If you ride on the road a lot buy a road bike.

--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 21:16:59 +0100, "George Hauxwell"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen.

Only ten? Learn to spin and make it the full nineteen ;-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing. I'm so
used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending down to the frame
to change gear puts me off slightly, or is it the case that I wouldn't be
changing gear so often with a road bike?

George

"Michael MacClancy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

George Hauxwell said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette

11-28.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Could somebody possibly advice me of a better chainring/cassette

combination

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for MTB road riding.

Many thanks

George Hauxwell

At 30mph you'd be turning the pedals at about 100rpm. Although this is
high it isn't an extreme cadence. If it only happens occasionally it's

not

Quoted message said:

worth changing your set-up. Better to learn to pedal with a higher
cadence. If you ride on the road a lot buy a road bike.

--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

"George Hauxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again reach
speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette

11-28.

Quoted message said:

Could somebody possibly advice me of a better chainring/cassette

combination

Quoted message said:

for MTB road riding.

Many thanks

George Hauxwell

a 48 tooth ring should have you spinning out at around 35mph with an 11at
the back assuming 26 inch wheel. You may have to change the whole chainset
and I would suggest 28/38/48 if you do and a 9 speed 11 to 32 on the back.
This would give you 23 inch at the bottom with 113 inch at the top.

in message <[email hidden]>, George Hauxwell

(') said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again
reach speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette
11-28. Could somebody possibly advice me of a better
chainring/cassette combination for MTB road riding.

That's why you don't want an MTB for road riding, frankly. The gears are
all wrong. Road chainsets typically have a 53 tooth big ring, which
allows you to get quite a bit more at the top end. But if you're doing
that you'll want to get down into an aerodynamic tuck, which means you
need drop bars...

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Usenet: like distance learning without the learning.

George Hauxwell said:

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing. I'm so
used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending down to the frame
to change gear puts me off slightly, or is it the case that I wouldn't be
changing gear so often with a road bike?

surely in this day and age road bike gears can also be changed from
the handlebar .

George Hauxwell said:

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing. I'm
so
used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending down to the
frame
to change gear puts me off slightly, or is it the case that I wouldn't be
changing gear so often with a road bike?

George

George

On my road bike I push the brake lever inwards to change gear (Shimano
Ultegra). It's fairly intuitive, actually.

I suspect you'd be changing gear more often - you have a finer range from
which to choose.

Graham

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some 20 years
ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to the frame. If I
can buy a road bike and change gear via the handle-bars like an MTB, then
Yippee!!

George

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

George Hauxwell said:

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing. I'm

so

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending down to the

frame

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to change gear puts me off slightly, or is it the case that I wouldn't be
changing gear so often with a road bike?

surely in this day and age road bike gears can also be changed from
the handlebar .

George Hauxwell said:

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some 20 years
ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to the frame. If I
can buy a road bike and change gear via the handle-bars like an MTB, then
Yippee!!

When i was young we called road bikes "racers" and everything else
with the heavy frame and flat handlebars was just a bike.

I was always wary of racers primarily because of the danger in bending
down to change gear at high speed. i fell off more than once doing
this. in holland i road traditional bikes.

I would assume that today racers or road bikes would have the option
to put the gear changer on the handlebar.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

George Hauxwell said:

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some 20

years

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to the frame. If I
can buy a road bike and change gear via the handle-bars like an MTB, then
Yippee!!

When i was young we called road bikes "racers" and everything else
with the heavy frame and flat handlebars was just a bike.

I was always wary of racers primarily because of the danger in bending
down to change gear at high speed. i fell off more than once doing
this. in holland i road traditional bikes.

I would assume that today racers or road bikes would have the option
to put the gear changer on the handlebar.

In fact you cant put it anywhere else, I was told its now illegal to put
the changer on the downtube on new bikes as sold in shops*. Every single
road or touring bike with drops will have the changers on the drops. Either
integrated with the brakes in some way dependent on the make, or at the ends
of the bars. You can also get a straight bar 'racer' (ie road bike with one
of many varieties of straight bars similar to an MTB) if you prefer that,
and that would have same type of brake lever setup as MTB.

Having said all that until i decide what new bike to get my crappy old
Peuggot has the levers on the downtubes but its about 15 years old I think
:-)

--
Tumbleweed
*(dunno about build your own but I doubt you could get the kit readily
available anyway).
email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

in message <[email hidden]>, George Hauxwell

(') said:

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing.
I'm so used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending down
to the frame to change gear puts me off slightly, or is it the case
that I wouldn't be changing gear so often with a road bike?

You may not have noticed, but it's a long time since most road bikes
were built with frame shifters. Road bike shifters these days are
mostly integrated with the brake levers. And yes, you do tend to change
gears a little less often on a road bike, but unless the road is
particularly flat, not that much less often.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
.::;===r==\
/ /___||___\____
//==\- ||- | /__\( MS Windows IS an operating environment.
//____\__||___|_// \|: C++ IS an object oriented programming language.
\__/ ~~~~~~~~~ \__/ Citroen 2cv6 IS a four door family saloon.

"George Hauxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some 20

years

Quoted message said:

ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to the frame. If I
can buy a road bike and change gear via the handle-bars like an MTB, then
Yippee!!

Downtube shifters went out
someone-else-can-probably-tell-you-how-many-years-ago (I can't, but they're
definitely out- you won't find them on any new bikes now). You'll find
either bar-end shifters, or integrated brake-shifter levers. When I came
back to cycling after many years I too loved my indexed 'rapid-fire'
thumb/finger operated mtb shifters - but after moving on to a road bike for
on-road use I find I love my STI brake/shifter levers even more. It's a
different movement to operate the gears, but one that I find even more
ergonomic and natural, and just as quick if not quicker to shift.

Rich

Richard Goodman said:

"George Hauxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some
20 years ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to
the frame. If I can buy a road bike and change gear via the
handle-bars like an MTB, then Yippee!!

Downtube shifters went out
someone-else-can-probably-tell-you-how-many-years-ago (I can't, but
they're definitely out- you won't find them on any new bikes now).

I saw them on a new bike (Saracen something-or-other) in a bike shop in
Launceston. Looked like a new, if very cheap, design. Should I dob them in?

"Simonb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard Goodman said:

"George Hauxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know, you tell me. The only road bike I've ridden was some
20 years ago, and I changed gear via the two changers attached to
the frame. If I can buy a road bike and change gear via the
handle-bars like an MTB, then Yippee!!

Downtube shifters went out
someone-else-can-probably-tell-you-how-many-years-ago (I can't, but
they're definitely out- you won't find them on any new bikes now).

I saw them on a new bike (Saracen something-or-other) in a bike shop in
Launceston. Looked like a new, if very cheap, design. Should I dob them

in?

Quoted message said:

You're right, the guy in my LBS must have been talking [censored]! (that would be
unusual wouldnt it :-)
I have got a saracen brochure in front of me, this year 2004 models, and the
'Tour' model with drops has shifters on the tube using 'Shimano DT shifters'
(Down Tube I suppose).

I have been looking at a lot of bikes recently these are the first with DT
shifters I've seen.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

George Hauxwell said:

The thing that puts me off buying a road bike is the gear changing.
I'm so used to using finger and thumb to change gear that bending
down to the frame to change gear puts me off slightly,

Combined brake and gear levers is the norm nowadays for road bikes. I
used down tube levers for years but I'd really miss my Campag Ergo levers
now. Bar end shifters is another option.

Quoted message said:

or is it the
case that I wouldn't be changing gear so often with a road bike?

You'd be changing /more/ often with typical road bike gears as they're
closer-spaced (more 1 and 2-tooth differences).

~PB

George Hauxwell said:

Hi,

I currently use an MTB on the road with slik tyres, now and again
reach speeds of 30mph, but with no gears left I find my legs are going
ten-to-the-dozen. I have an outer Chainring 42T and a rear cassette
11-28. Could somebody possibly advice me of a better
chainring/cassette combination for MTB road riding.

Perhaps just changing the outer ring for a 44T might just be enough to
help. Otherwise it could get very involved and expensive to roadify the
gears good & proper -- ideally changing cassette and whole chainset, which
might in turn require a new front derailleur and bottom bracket.

Personally, I'm happy to sacrifice the top end of the gear range in order
to have lots of middle and lowish gears. 50x14 is the top gear on my
tourer (with 700c wheel). Freewheeling down a steep hill isn't boring (or
slow) if you get into a bit of an aero tuck to get the most out of it.

~PB