gear inch question

[Greg Peek]

I would like to get some opinions if lots of you could jump in and help. What gear inch range do you
like / want for the following types of riding: Touring: Recreatioanl riding: Commuting: Going fast:

Thanks for the assistance,

Greg Peek ATR / Longbikes mailto:[email protected]

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <38ddc192.0302132[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> I would like to get some opinions if lots of you could jump in and help. What gear inch range do
> you like / want for the following types of riding: Touring: Recreatioanl riding: Commuting:
> Going fast:
>
> Thanks for the assistance,
>
> Greg Peek ATR / Longbikes mailto:[email protected]

I have found a gear range of ~19-~115 on a 27 spd suitable to cover all of the above activities on
one bike. I manage this with a 28-42-52 triple and a 11-34 megarange cluster on a 559 rear wheel.

Please don't pick apart the math. I know it is using ball park numbers

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Paul Worden]

I ride an MR Swift with 20 inch wheels. I have 'upgeared' it to 36 46 60 at the front and a 11 34
megarange.

This is fine for short recreational rides on moderate and short hills but too tall for touring. The
orginal 30 40 52 is better for light touring and for heavy loads, I'd go for a Sachs 3x9 instead of
the megarange. (or mountain drive..but they're too dear for me.)

Paul W

 

[Dave Larrington]

Greg Peek wrote;

> What gear inch range do you like / want for the following types of riding: Touring: Recreational
> riding: Commuting:

17-100 suits me very well. 100 is a bit OTT for my purposes, but "they" don't do a 13-34 or 14-34
9-speed cassette.

> Going fast:

37-106. Lowest gear actually *used* -except for starting - during last year's races was 55. I might
be tempted to go to an 11-23 or even 11-21 cassette at some point, but not this year.

Dave Larrington - http://legslarry.crosswinds.net/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

[Geob]

> What gear inch range do you like / want for the following types of riding:

I have a Vision R40, 20" in front, 26" in the rear. I crashed and smashed my front chainrings and
replaced them with Cannondale Coda mtn bike gearing. I now have 22/36/46 or maybe it is 22/34/44,
with an 11-32 cassette. This yields 17.9" - 108.7" gear/inches

I am 200#, 5'9". I am in fair condition.

> Touring: I generally ride between 20 - 35 miles on Saturdays. Not
all Saturdays! I don't really use a tall gear. There are some really steep short sections with
switchbacks on some of my routes, sometimes I use my lowest gear. I travel up the steepest between
3.5 - 4.5 mph, about as slow as i can go and not topple over. I generally travel useing my middle
chain ring, and fairly far up my cassette, not sure, 6,7,8, about 12-18 mph.

> Recreational riding:

> Commuting: I commute 15/16 miles per day to work, maybe only 3 days a week. I generally always
> start off on the lowest cog on the cassette, and the middle chain ring. I always stay on the
> middle chain ring around town.

> Going fast: I will never use my highest gears. Scary. To darn twitchy.. when I pedal at speeds
> above 30mph the side-to-side input from my feet and the slightest input from my hands makes the
> bike wanna go side-to-side. I don't like to go fast. I have been 'down' on motorcycles and
> bicycles hundreds of times and I feel I am statistically ready to get hurt.

 

[Ian Boag]

And I thought I was the only middle-aged overweight dude in the world that cruised on a bent like
that! I'm probably the only one in New Zealand anyway. Linear. Nice.

IB

[email protected] (GeoB) wrote:

>> What gear inch range do you like / want for the following types of riding:
>
>I have a Vision R40, 20" in front, 26" in the rear. I crashed and smashed my front chainrings and
>replaced them with Cannondale Coda mtn bike gearing. I now have 22/36/46 or maybe it is 22/34/44,
>with an 11-32 cassette. This yields 17.9" - 108.7" gear/inches
>
>I am 200#, 5'9". I am in fair condition.
>
>> Touring: I generally ride between 20 - 35 miles on Saturdays. Not
>all Saturdays! I don't really use a tall gear. There are some really steep short sections with
>switchbacks on some of my routes, sometimes I use my lowest gear. I travel up the steepest between
>3.5 - 4.5 mph, about as slow as i can go and not topple over. I generally travel useing my middle
>chain ring, and fairly far up my cassette, not sure, 6,7,8, about 12-18 mph.
>
>> Recreational riding:
>
>> Commuting: I commute 15/16 miles per day to work, maybe only 3 days a week. I generally always
>> start off on the lowest cog on the cassette, and the middle chain ring. I always stay on the
>> middle chain ring around town.
>
>> Going fast: I will never use my highest gears. Scary. To darn twitchy.. when I pedal at speeds
>> above 30mph the side-to-side input from my feet and the slightest input from my hands makes the
>> bike wanna go side-to-side. I don't like to go fast. I have been 'down' on motorcycles and
>> bicycles hundreds of times and I feel I am statistically ready to get hurt.

 

[Tom Sherman]

GeoB wrote:
>
> ... Going fast: I will never use my highest gears. Scary. To darn twitchy.. when I pedal at speeds
> above 30mph the side-to-side input > from my feet and the slightest input from my hands makes the
> bike > wanna go side-to-side. I don't like to go fast. I have been 'down' > on motorcycles and
> bicycles hundreds of times and I feel I am statistically ready to get hurt.

A bike that behaves in the manner described above is either poorly designed and/or does not fit the
rider properly (weight distribution and/or steering setup).

I have ridden recumbents [1] with a reputation for "quick" handling at speeds over 40 mph (65 kph)
with complete confidence in the way the bikes handled. And both my gross motor coordination and
balancing ability are at the low end of the average range.

[1] Specifically, the RANS Rocket and Lightning P-38, and as a general category, lowracers. [2]
[2] Earthcycles Sunset and the dual 406-mm wheel Wishbone RT I used to own.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) Various HPV's

 

[David & Niamh]

> 17-100 suits me very well. 100 is a bit OTT for my purposes, but "they" don't do a 13-34 or 14-34
> 9-speed cassette.
>
> Dave Larrington - http://legslarry.crosswinds.net/

Being new to the bent world, I have been messing with the gearing that came with the bent. It was
originally 52,42,30 with an 11-32 cass...I now have a 13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,28 this could easily
be 13,14,15,16,18,21,24,28,32 this was acheived by mixing a little used 13-25 (9sp) with the
original cass. If you stay on the 5 smallest sprokets and alternate between the 52 & 42 ring you get
a close ratio set of gears from 61" - 100". Total range is 26" - 100", I still find myself getting
lost in the gear range now that I can't have a quick glance at the back wheel. FWIW on my road bike
I used to use 42 x 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21,24. I like to spin : )

 

[Peter M Spirito]

"Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Greg Peek wrote;
>
> > What gear inch range do you like / want for the following types of riding: Touring: Recreational
> > riding: Commuting:
>
> 17-100 suits me very well. 100 is a bit OTT for my purposes, but "they" don't do a 13-34 or 14-34
> 9-speed cassette.
>
> > Going fast:
>
> 37-106. Lowest gear actually *used* -except for starting - during last year's races was 55. I
> might be tempted to go to an 11-23 or even 11-21 cassette at some point, but not this year.
>
> Dave Larrington - http://legslarry.crosswinds.net/
> ===========================================================
> Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
> http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
> ===========================================================

I ride an Easy Racers EZ1 SC-Lite. I have regeared to 38-53-62 x 11-34 cluster. This gives me a low
of 22.36 GI and a high of 112.72 GI. I shift thru the range in 10 single shifts. They are:Inner
1-2-3, shift to Middle 3-4-5, shift to outer 5-6-7-8. The key is having to shift only one gear at a
time, either the front or rear. While there other gears in between these shifts they require a shift
of the front and the rear to complete one gear change. Between the M4
(53.00) and the M5 (62.35) are two other shifts of 53.91 (Outer3) and
54.00 (Outer4). The spread on the GI is so small and the shifting would go M4 to O3 to O4 to M5. way
to much effort for so little gain.

There is one brand of bent that boasts of 72 speeds.....out of 24 I only use 10...out of 72 I bet
you only get one or two more useful shifts.

I generally run in the middle ring and the center of the cluster. this is one smooth shifting bike
and its one sweet ride.

peter spirito

 

[John Foltz]

GeoB wrote:
>
> I have a Vision R40, 20" in front, 26" in the rear. I crashed and smashed my front chainrings and
> replaced them with Cannondale Coda mtn bike gearing. I now have 22/36/46 or maybe it is
> 22/34/44, with an 11-32 cassette. This yields 17.9" - 108.7" gear/inches
>
You're not going to get 108.7 inches unless you're running a 26x1.95 rear tire (559 rim with a 50c
wide tire.) For reference, with a
26x1.25 tire, you'd be getting 102 inches, using the 46T chainring.

I'm in the minority, but I hate to run out of high end gears. As a corollary, I hate to make a
habit of cruising in my highest gear. So the highest gear isn't as important to me as the next two.
I like to have at least one in the 90s and one in the low 100s, and a sprint gear around 125-135
inches. There's no major hills over 5% where I ride, so the only reason I have a triple is for when
I go on trips - a 40" low would be fine otherwise. For touring with a load, I'd want about a 20"
low gear, and having a gear over 110" wouldn't matter as much. I had a 17" low on my V-Rex for
years and never used it.

Before anyone asks, I don't coast on downhills if I can see the bottom. I don't take chances on
curves, but recumbents are made to be powered down hills, and anyone who doesn't ride their
recumbent like a recumbent is doing things the hard way.
--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24/63 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[John Foltz]

Tom Sherman wrote:
> GeoB wrote:
>
>> ... Going fast: I will never use my highest gears. Scary. To darn twitchy.. when I pedal at
>> speeds above 30mph the side-to-side input > from my feet and the slightest input from my hands
>> makes the bike > wanna go side-to-side. I don't like to go fast. I have been 'down' > on
>> motorcycles and bicycles hundreds of times and I feel I am statistically ready to get hurt.
>
>
> A bike that behaves in the manner described above is either poorly designed and/or does not fit
> the rider properly (weight distribution and/or steering setup).
>
I've heard of this complaint before, applied to Visions. The newer ones are a few inches longer,
but older models has WBs as short as 36-38 inches. One VR-44 rider in our club added a bungee
cord stabilizer to his steering. He hated the stock steering, but claims the bungee made the
bike rideable.

I agree, I wouldn't want a bike like that.
--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24/63 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[Tom Sherman]

Peter M Spirito wrote:
>
> ... There is one brand of bent that boasts of 72 speeds.....out of 24 I only use 10...out of 72 I
> bet you only get one or two more useful shifts....

Peter,

The real advantage of adding a 3x8/9 DualDrive hub (or and older Sachs/SRAM Spectro 3x7 hub) to a
triple crank/rear cluster bicycle, is not more ratios in the middle of the range as these are mostly
near duplicates [1], but the two to three additional ratios that are gained at both the low and high
ends. As you will find out, you will want both higher and lower gear ratios on a recumbent than you
would find useful on an upright road bike.

[1] And the shifting pattern would be too complicated for almost anyone to remember and use.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) Various HPV's

 

[Jude T. McGloin]

John, I agree with you. Some will, some won't. Like you, I have little need for real small gearing
when riding in my regular riding area. On the AERO I run a 52/42/26 with a 11/23. If say, I go to a
rolling hill ride I may elect to go to an 11/27 but also have a 25. I also can go to a 32 if needed.
In my case I tailor the cassette to the ride terrain and purpose. This only makes sense...a well to
me anyway. I believe that, for me, effective riding involves using eveything the terrrain and
conditions will give you. I also pedal downhill, but keep safety in mind when I do so. Then use my
momentum to best advantage for the next climb maintaining my cadence within a range that is
effective for me (90+). I attempt to stay within this range in all gears whether it bombing down a
hill, climbing or going 15 mph or less into a killer headwind.

There is no real gearing scheme that appeals to everyone. If stock bents came with lower gearing the
complaints would still be there. So they try to cover as best they can, both ends.

Sooo..."Each to their own, one persons gearing makes the others groan" There are masher, tourers,
racers and spinners. Competitive speedsters and recreational grinners. Sloggers that find frequent
stops that are winners. The minimilast, maximist and learning beginner. Some will ride centuries at
5 hours or less...some will take 10 on a bike thats a mess. It can be loaded touring and end with a
tent or an all out butt busting competitive event. Each one has their type of pleasure with aches
and pains but memories to treasure. For the occaisional rider what does it matter? For the tourer,
commuter or those who crave speed... fit the steed to the deed and you might just succeed.

Jude....///Bacchetta AERO St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle and Sports,
Inc 1-800-586-6645 "John Foltz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> GeoB wrote:
> >
> > I have a Vision R40, 20" in front, 26" in the rear. I crashed and smashed my front chainrings
> > and replaced them with Cannondale Coda mtn bike gearing. I now have 22/36/46 or maybe it is
> > 22/34/44, with an 11-32 cassette. This yields 17.9" - 108.7" gear/inches
> >
> You're not going to get 108.7 inches unless you're running a 26x1.95 rear tire (559 rim with a 50c
> wide tire.) For reference, with a
> 26x1.25 tire, you'd be getting 102 inches, using the 46T chainring.
>
> I'm in the minority, but I hate to run out of high end gears. As a corollary, I hate to make a
> habit of cruising in my highest gear. So the highest gear isn't as important to me as the next
> two. I like to have at least one in the 90s and one in the low 100s, and a sprint gear around
> 125-135 inches. There's no major hills over 5% where I ride, so the only reason I have a triple is
> for when I go on trips - a 40" low would be fine otherwise. For touring with a load, I'd want
> about a 20" low gear, and having a gear over 110" wouldn't matter as much. I had a 17" low on my
> V-Rex for years and never used it.
>
> Before anyone asks, I don't coast on downhills if I can see the bottom. I don't take chances on
> curves, but recumbents are made to be powered down hills, and anyone who doesn't ride their
> recumbent like a recumbent is doing things the hard way.
> --
>
> John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24/63 --- _\\/\-%)
> _________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[Tom Sherman]

"Jude T. McGloin" wrote:
> ... There is no real gearing scheme that appeals to everyone. If stock bents came with lower
> gearing the complaints would still be there. So they try to cover as best they can, both ends.
>
> Sooo..."Each to their own, one persons gearing makes the others groan" There are masher, tourers,
> racers and spinners. Competitive speedsters and recreational grinners. Sloggers that find frequent
> stops that are winners. The minimilast, maximist and learning beginner....

Jude,

In my opinion, a good LBS should find out what the customer needs so the riding experience will be
a positive one - this could include not recommending certain bikes (that would be excellent for
other riders) or in the context of this discussion, changing drivetrain components to fit the
rider's needs.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) Various HPV's

 

[Jude T. McGloin]

Tom, I ask a lot of questions of the prospective customer. Too often sales people are more
interested in selling what they need to sell vrs. meeting the needs of the buyer. Because most
recumbents come with a stock component specification dealers can be reluctant to make changes that
cut into their already modest margain without passing on the cost to the customer. I personally love
to custom build to the customers needs. However, this can sometimes be an expensive way to go.
Gearing is easy if its just a cassette issue. Some other changes involve costly swapouts. Many on
this NG have multiple bikes. I have bents at two extremes. An minimalist AERO and a maximus bikeE
AT. The bikeE has a fairing, fenders, underseat rack, rear rack, three headlights and tailights. I
looking at building up a BARON, like John Foltz I would elect for a double with some big gears,
since it would be more of a flatlander. Again, IMO the key is "Fit the steed to the need"
Jude....///Bacchetta AERO St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle and Sports,
Inc 1-800-586-6645 "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Jude T. McGloin" wrote:
> > ... There is no real gearing scheme that appeals to everyone. If stock bents came with lower
> > gearing the complaints would still be there. So they try
to
> > cover as best they can, both ends.
> >
> > Sooo..."Each to their own, one persons gearing makes the others groan"
> > There are masher, tourers, racers and spinners. Competitive
> > speedsters and recreational grinners. Sloggers that find frequent stops
that
> > are winners. The minimilast, maximist and learning beginner....
>
> Jude,
>
> In my opinion, a good LBS should find out what the customer needs so the riding experience will be
> a positive one - this could include not recommending certain bikes (that would be excellent for
> other riders) or in the context of this discussion, changing drivetrain components to fit the
> rider's needs.
>
> Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) Various HPV's

 

[Dj Blag]

My Phantom has a 30/42/52 crankset. When I bought it from Rolf at HostelShoppe, I asked about lower
gearing. He suggested I try it as is because: 1-the bike is much different than my Linear LWB, and
2-the standard crankset, with its ramps and pins make shifting very easy. He was right about both,
but since I got the bike late last season, I never got into good enough shape to attempt my favorite
long climbs that of course, result in my 'greater favorite' downhills. Of the hills that I did ride
last year, I didn't run out of low gears, so I may be ok. My Linear had a single front ring when I
got it, with the Sachs 3x7 in the rear. It didn't have enough low for me, so I changed the front to
a Mt. bike crank, and resulted in 63 gears, probably many redundant. The climbing/spinning ability
was great, but the bike was too relaxed for me. I sold it to a gentleman who took it to South
Florida, which is a great place for a bike like that. I don't know if I answered your question,
other than the fact that if the gearing were to limit my climbing ability (the part of cycling I
dislike) I would change the gears. Chas

 

[Tom Sherman]

Dj Blag wrote:
>
> My Phantom has a 30/42/52 crankset. When I bought it from Rolf at HostelShoppe, I asked about
> lower gearing. He suggested I try it as is because: 1-the bike is much different than my Linear
> LWB, and 2-the standard crankset, with its ramps and pins make shifting very easy. He was right
> about both, but since I got the bike late last season, I never got into good enough shape to
> attempt my favorite long climbs that of course, result in my 'greater favorite' downhills. Of the
> hills that I did ride last year, I didn't run out of low gears, so I may be ok. My Linear had a
> single front ring when I got it, with the Sachs 3x7 in the rear. It didn't have enough low for me,
> so I changed the front to a Mt. bike crank, and resulted in 63 gears, probably many redundant. The
> climbing/spinning ability was great, but the bike was too relaxed for me. I sold it to a gentleman
> who took it to South Florida, which is a great place for a bike like that. I don't know if I
> answered your question, other than the fact that if the gearing were to limit my climbing ability
> (the part of cycling I dislike) I would change the gears. Chas

The Phantom should be able to handle a 52/42/24 chainrings as long as you are not trying to use
Shimano Rapidfires or some other indexed system with only three positions for the front derailleur.

Typically, combining a triple crank with a 3x7 hub will result in more than 40 near duplicate
gear ratios.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) Various HPV's

 

[Dj Blag]

Tom wrote:
> Typically, combining a triple crank with a 3x7 hub will result in more than 40 near duplicate
> gear ratios.

Wow! That many? I did 'do the math' when I made the conversion, but after looking at all those
numbers, I figured it wouldn't make a difference riding anyway. "If it feels good, it must the the
right gear"!? Chas

 

[Pete Huber]

I added a fourth chainring and an extra return side chain tensioner in order to utilize 20, 30, 42,
60 chainrings with an 11-21 rear derailler. This arrangement gives great range with little change
between gears. Living in a mountainous area the gearing provides plenty of options for both uphill
and downhill.

Pete Huber Speed Ross Pulaski, VA

"Greg Peek" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I would like to get some opinions if lots of you could jump in and help. What gear inch range do
> you like / want for the following types of riding: Touring: Recreatioanl riding: Commuting:
> Going fast:
>
> Thanks for the assistance,
>
> Greg Peek ATR / Longbikes mailto:[email protected]

 

[Paul Worden]

>John wrote: but recumbents are made to be powered down hills.

With my current 60 front and 11 rear (where's that gear inch table?!), speeds of more than 60 kph
(36 mph) require a higher cadence than I can (want to?) give (down hill.) Steering weave isn't a
problem, but wind gusts do move the trike a foot or so sideways oof line.

Recumbents (well - some) roll fast downhill and accellerate rapidly, so pedalling downhill doesn't
add much to the average speed. It's on the cusp at the bottom you can kick it in and keep it going
for the next rise.

With a Sachs rear hub, I could pedal at 70 kph, but I didn't like the drag. The trike felt 'stodgy.'
But for touring, the Sachs was great, particularly on the low end.

Paul W - MR Swift