Need equipment help on the hills

[boardsonfeet]

I'm new to this forum and really to cycling in general, I've always been a runner and a few years back while trying to heal from a running injury, I decided to try cycling. I visited my local bike shop and was depending on his knowledge and advise to guild me toward a good match for the type of riding I was interested in. Overall I have been fairly happy with the results, but after riding my first century ride a few weeks ago on a hilly course, I became more educated about the need for the right gears. I currently have a DeBernardi frame with the Veloce 9 speed Campagnolo rear set and a double crankset in the front. On the hills I observed that everyone was spinning in a much lower gear than I was in my lowest (or requiring less force that is). My friends explained the shortcomings of my equipment and now I realize I need to try and find a way to add a triple chainwheel to the front if that's the easiest and least expensive way to do this. I started reading some posts about this, but I thought if I listed what I currently have it might be easier to get solid advice. My current chainwheel is a 172.5 Campagnolo, I haven't counted the number of teeth on the two rings up front, but I can do that if it's important. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jhuskey]

Don't know which 9 speed cassette you have but have you considered trying a 13/28 rear cassette. It would be a lot cheaper than converting to triple and I can't imagine needing a lower gear set up.

 

[boardsonfeet]

I'm willing to look at the least expensive option, I just thought that if I changed the rear cassette I would need to change things like the rear derailer and chain (and maybe more). Maybe I should have posed the question without my own suggestion since I don't know much to start with.

 

[jhuskey]

You can change the cassette as long as you stay with a campy 9 speed. The cassette gear ratio can be changed and I think pretty inexpensively for a Veloce grouping. You don't have to change any other components, however be sure and check your chain for wear. I would recommend changing the chain also if it has wear.

 

[Eichers]

Originally Posted by jhuskey .

You can change the cassette as long as you stay with a campy 9 speed. The cassette gear ratio can be changed and I think pretty inexpensively for a Veloce grouping. You don't have to change any other components, however be sure and check your chain for wear. I would recommend changing the chain also if it has wear.

This is good advice /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

You can also change the front dual chainset(crankset) to a smaller dual chainset. So if you currently have a 53/39 you might be able to use a 50/34 (compact) dual chainset. You need to check if your front derailleur can accommodate a 16T movement from the 50T to 34T /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[boardsonfeet]

[COLOR= black][SIZE= 10pt]Both of these options sound reasonable (cost wise) so where I could really use the advise now is where in your opinions do you see the biggest (help during steep assents) bang for my buck? My current cassette is 9 rings that go from 23 teeth down to 12, does anyone know how large of a direct replacement cassette is available, and how much of a difference this change would make during climbs? Changing to a smaller double crankset sounds good also, any opinions on which change would provide the greatest results, or would it take changing both to ready feel the difference? I have no idea how to check my derailleur for 16T movement, is there a site where I can read about this? If anyone knows which models that can replace the Veloce Campagnolo 9 speed setup I have, that would be very helpful.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= black][SIZE= 10pt]Thanks again[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[jhuskey]

I know a 13/ 28 is available for the rear cassette.The 28 would be a good bail out gear for the steeps.

 

[boardsonfeet]

So you think the increase from 23 to 28 on the large ring would help enough alone to try and then look at changing to the smaller crankset later if I really need it? Would I simply search for a 13/28 Campagnolo 9 speed cassette?

 

[jhuskey]

IMO it would be sufficient. You can go 4 mph up a climb with a 28. Any slower than that and you might as well push and yes you should be able to find a 9 speed cassette pretty easy.

 

[boardsonfeet]

That's great news, thank very much.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by boardsonfeet .

So you think the increase from 23 to 28 on the large ring would help enough alone to try and then look at changing to the smaller crankset later if I really need it? Would I simply search for a 13/28 Campagnolo 9 speed cassette?

Yup - that's all you need to look for.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CS408A03-Campagnolo+Veloce+Ud+9Sp+Cassette.aspx

I put the link there as an example but most good bike stores should be able to get one for you.

A 23 to 28 sprocket difference is a fairly big jump.