I did the death ride in 1997 with a 39/26 low gear. I could have used a
lower gear; it would have been nice. I was not a strong rider and on some
hill plodded along at 4 mph standing at a low cadence.
My friends and I had discussion on gearing, triple vs. double. I went for
the double that I had. While eating at a local restaurant we met a fellow
rider, he was 70 years old and this was going on his 5th deathride. He
admitted on using a triple for the 1st time for this years ride since he is
now 70 years old. I saw the 70 year on man on top of Carson pass (5th pass)
before me!
Key thing is train with the equipment you are going to use. I needed two
years of training to complete the 5 passes. My 1st attempt I did only 3
passes. On my 2nd attempt I trained more and loss 20 more pounds to lighten
the load. My final hard training ride was to climb Mt. Hamilton in San Jose
3 times in one day. This is about as bad as the deathride with 12000+ ft of
climbing and 120 miles, with high heat, but without the rain and hail that
you are likely to see on the deathride.
cel
"Dirtroadie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:App said:I am doing the Markleeville Death Ride (Sierra Nevada south of Lake
Tahoe) this year and am dithering about gearing. Here are my bike
options:
1. Compact (50/34) crank with either 13-29 or 13-26
2. 53/39 crank with 13-29
I have never gotten into the 29 with the 53/39 around here (the hills
of western Wisconsin) and have about 1400 miles since March plus ~500
trainer "miles" since Jan. 1. I will have 2000+ road miles in by the
time of the ride including a back-to-back century weekend.
Having once done the Death Ride myself and trying to glean what I can
from your description, I also would recommend the compact 13-29 setup.
The climbs are much longer than what you are used to and they are at
higher elevation as well. I did it comfortably with a 53/39 13-28 but I
live at altitude and do long climbs regularly. I had never even had a
28 on my bike for my normal riding but I used it regularly there.
Nobody says you have to use the lowest gears just because you have
them. In any case, you will not be likely to miss having the higher
gears while you might sorely miss (pun intended) having the lower ones.
DR
