Help please

[adfreetv]

Hi all... I am a newbie to road cycling..

Need help on purchasing a new bike. Have approx 3.5k to spend.. Looking at Scott, Trek or Giant.. Carbon if possible and 3 rings on the front for the hills I live in..

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks

Adfreetv...

 

[peterlip]

Hi all... I am a newbie to road cycling..

Need help on purchasing a new bike. Have approx 3.5k to spend.. Looking at Scott, Trek or Giant.. Carbon if possible and 3 rings on the front for the hills I live in..

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks

Adfreetv...

I don't know this, but I suspect you may find it hard to get a Carbon bike with 3 chain rings.
How about getting something with a compact crank, which is typically 2 chainrings, but smaller. Your almost get the range you would get with a triple.
For example, how about this:
http://www.bicyclestore.com.au/Felt-F4C-pr-20857.html

 

[adfreetv]

ok thanks, will check it out.. suppose the 3 chain ring issue will be less of an issue after a few months of pushing up the hills!!

thanks again..

adfreetv...

 

[jur]

suppose the 3 chain ring issue will be less of an issue after a few months of pushing up the hills!!

That is right. You will only need that granny gear for climbs of the Mt Baw Baw calibre, and they are not common.

 

[gclark8]

A question, do you want to climb on the seat or standing?

If seated, then a triple is the only way to go. You can have any group you want on a carbon frame, its your money!

My suggestion is Ultegra 10 speed triple with 12-27 cassette and spin up the hills. Any good LBS can spec a Giant or Scott with that! Save some $$ for the wine cellar!!

 

[adfreetv]

A question, do you want to climb on the seat or standing?

If seated, then a triple is the only way to go. You can have any group you want on a carbon frame, its your money!

My suggestion is Ultegra 10 speed triple with 12-27 cassette and spin up the hills. Any good LBS can spec a Giant or Scott with that! Save some $$ for the wine cellar!!

Currently have no choice than climbing seating.. Totally out of shape however standing is what I want to get to.. Will check your suggestions out..

many thanks

adfreetv.

 

[artemidorus]

Currently have no choice than climbing seating.. Totally out of shape however standing is what I want to get to.. Will check your suggestions out..

many thanks

adfreetv.

Standing is less efficient than sitting. It doesn't take a high level of fitness, just a certain amount of training of specific muscles to be able to stand all the way up a hill. I can stand till the cows come home, but I am not a particularly fit cyclist, simply one equipped only with a double chainring crank. For any given level of fitness, a bike with gears allowing you to maintain adequate cadence while sitting will get you up the hill faster.
Sure you can survive any big hill with a double, but if you want to get up it quickly and in relative comfort, get a triple. Remember that most standard road bike gearing is appropriate for a B grade racer or better, not a mere mortal. If you anticipate getting to that level quickly, and you think that you might want to race, then consider the double.

 

[robalert]

i checked out the avanti carbonio and specialized roubaix, both in your price range and sweet bikes...

you could always change the rear cassette to the 12-27 before you walk out of the store which should give you enough gearing to spin...

 

[su22]

A question, do you want to climb on the seat or standing?

If seated, then a triple is the only way to go. You can have any group you want on a carbon frame, its your money!

My suggestion is Ultegra 10 speed triple with 12-27 cassette and spin up the hills. Any good LBS can spec a Giant or Scott with that! Save some $$ for the wine cellar!!

adfreetv, don't bother with a triple-chainring. Go with gclark's suggestion of 12-27 casette. I have a Giant TCR Composite 1, double chainring (52/39 - i wasn't strong enough to use the 53 so downsized to 52 with new crankset), 12-27. the 12-27 is sufficient for any hill climb up to a ~10% gradient. you don't want to be spinning away and not going anywhere with a triple crankset-- there's a point where it becomes inefficient and you should just get out of the saddle and climb.

another reason to ditch the triple is that you'll have to carry the extra weight of a triple crankset. As long as you get a light bike, you'll be fine on a double crankset with gearing like a 12-27 casette. It's pretty generous.

 

[artemidorus]

adfreetv, don't bother with a triple-chainring. Go with gclark's suggestion of 12-27 casette. I have a Giant TCR Composite 1, double chainring (52/39 - i wasn't strong enough to use the 53 so downsized to 52 with new crankset), 12-27. the 12-27 is sufficient for any hill climb up to a ~10% gradient. you don't want to be spinning away and not going anywhere with a triple crankset-- there's a point where it becomes inefficient and you should just get out of the saddle and climb.

another reason to ditch the triple is that you'll have to carry the extra weight of a triple crankset. As long as you get a light bike, you'll be fine on a double crankset with gearing like a 12-27 casette. It's pretty generous.

Sorry to disagree again .
This notion of spinning away and going nowhere is a common misconception and is fostered by visions of Huffy riders with no idea spinning away against no resistance in their lowest gear up a tiny gradient, something that we have all seen. If your cadence drops below 90 on a hill because you have run out of gears, then you are going up that hill slower than you could.
The weight of the extra chainring and the longer RD cage is negligible unless the rider is already as lean as a kangaroo, in which case you might not need the triple anyway.
The point where it becomes inefficient is when your cadence goes over 105-110, depending on how trained you are for spinning.

 

[gclark8]

I agree,
I just weighed an inner TA chainring 20g,
I estimate 5 bolts, about 10g,
RD side plates about 10g heavier,
a few chain links, 30g,
the FD is lighter by about 1-3g.

If you were to shorten all the brake and gear cables you could save about 20g weight. Folding tyres will save even more, 650c wheels more yet!

I agree with the cadence comments, I rapidly fall off in effecency below 88. This is why my TRY-Bike has a triple. Also, try running a couple of Km after a climb below 90 cadence.

 

[mezzinator]

How about this for a solution.

Use a double chainring and get out on the bike... Just get fitter.

 

[Rayzor]

I'm currently riding a bike with a triple, but I'm also looking at a new bike.

This Time I'm considering a compact chain ring setup - 50 / 34 front 12 - 27 on the rear compared to my triple setup - 52 / 40 / 30 front 12 - 27 on the rear not a lot of difference between the lowest gears on both setups 30/27 opposed to 34/27.

One thing against triples is that they don't shift as well as the twin setups with the short cage derailer. It will also be a lot more costly to convert a new bike over to triple setup according to the bike shops I have spoken to.

 

[Daz1980]

Sorry to disagree again .
This notion of spinning away and going nowhere is a common misconception and is fostered by visions of Huffy riders with no idea spinning away against no resistance in their lowest gear up a tiny gradient, something that we have all seen. If your cadence drops below 90 on a hill because you have run out of gears, then you are going up that hill slower than you could.
The weight of the extra chainring and the longer RD cage is negligible unless the rider is already as lean as a kangaroo, in which case you might not need the triple anyway.
The point where it becomes inefficient is when your cadence goes over 105-110, depending on how trained you are for spinning.

Was just about to start a thread and ask about cadence but seen this thread so i will ask here. What cadence should i be looking at maintaining throughout a ride.

cheers
Daz

 

[flipper]

...
What cadence should i be looking at maintaining throughout a ride.
cheers
Daz

As artemidorus and gclark8 have mentioned, and if you do a search, you'll generally find similar answers, 90ish rpm is where you need to aim for.
If you don't have a cadence function on your computer/HRM, just count your revolutions for 15 secs and multiply. If you're quite a bit lower than 90, say you comfortably ride at 80, spend a few weeks riding at 82-83 to get comfortable with it and keep bringing it up slowly like that (then go for 85-86, 88-89 etc etc) over a period of time 'till you're comfortable at 90 on endurance rides.
I tend to do my endurance rides around 95-100, climb at 90 (under 80 and I'm history) and can spin comfortably to 130.
130+ and I start to bounce.

 

[Daz1980]

As artemidorus and gclark8 have mentioned, and if you do a search, you'll generally find similar answers, 90ish rpm is where you need to aim for.
If you don't have a cadence function on your computer/HRM, just count your revolutions for 15 secs and multiply. If you're quite a bit lower than 90, say you comfortably ride at 80, spend a few weeks riding at 82-83 to get comfortable with it and keep bringing it up slowly like that (then go for 85-86, 88-89 etc etc) over a period of time 'till you're comfortable at 90 on endurance rides.
I tend to do my endurance rides around 95-100, climb at 90 (under 80 and I'm history) and can spin comfortably to 130.
130+ and I start to bounce.

Thanks flipper been trying to get it at 82-85 lately so will try and push it up a little next ride and work on it progressively. Will keep an eye on the heart rate and when it seems to handle 85 will bump it up a bit till i am comfortablly at 90.

Thanks heaps

Daz.

 

[gclark8]

You will find if you drop a gear, and up the cadence to 90 the heart rate will drop. Try to maintain a steady HR and Cadence by just changing gears, ie: keep the exertion the same on flat roads and hills.

 

[Daz1980]

You will find if you drop a gear, and up the cadence to 90 the heart rate will drop. Try to maintain a steady HR and Cadence by just changing gears, ie: keep the exertion the same on flat roads and hills.

Thanks george i think that will help.

Daz