Dawes Discovery 201 - 1 week later

[Tony Raven]

Peter Clinch wrote on 30/10/2006 13:30 +0100:
>
> Make sure you're always in a useful gear: if you change into first
> straight away and you'll lose a lot of speed before you have to. Change
> down progressively as it gets harder, but don't wait until your legs
> practically stop moving or the gear change will quite possible be a
> disaster (derailleurs don't change will while under very high tension)
>

To that I would add start in the small ring at the front and change down
through the back gears as you climb the hill. The back gears will
change under pedal pressure but the front doesn't like to.


--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

 

[Chris Malcolm]

tony <[email protected]> wrote:

> - I'm starting to get saddle sore and regretting not paying extra for the
> 301 which had a suspension seat post.

Saddles vary hugely. Make a list of all the local bike shops and cycle
round them at the weekend. After doing this a few times your bum should
be hardened enough.

> - I have 21 gears but have yet to go above the 6th. One particular hill is
> so steep that not even the 1st gear is enough to get me up it, I get about
> 2/3 of the way then have to get off and walk. are there any particular
> weight lifting exercises which will help me with steep hills? It's been a
> few years since I was in the gym but I'm guessing squats would be the key
> exercise here?

With a suitably low bottom gear you can cycle up the steepest hill at
less than walking pace. Very useful for carrying shopping. Road bikes
often come fitted with too high a bottom gear to do that. If you
really don't need the highest gears you've got you can simply drop the
whole range by chanfing your chain wheel cogs for a smaller set. If
you want to keep the top you can buy rear cog sets with one specially
low bottom gear so you can get that low without losing the top.

--
Chris Malcolm [email protected] DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

 

[vernon]

> With a suitably low bottom gear you can cycle up the steepest hill at
> less than walking pace. Very useful for carrying shopping. Road bikes
> often come fitted with too high a bottom gear to do that. If you
> really don't need the highest gears you've got you can simply drop the
> whole range by chanfing your chain wheel cogs for a smaller set. If
> you want to keep the top you can buy rear cog sets with one specially
> low bottom gear so you can get that low without losing the top.
>
I have a megarange cassette on my 21 speed Dawes Galaxy. The largest
sprocket has 34 teeth. I currently have a 30 tooth granny ring fitted. I
used to have a 22 tooth granny ring. I just might fit rhe smaller granny
ring and have a go at Rosedale Chimney.........

-=V=-