What Gearing should I use

[bgoetz]

I have a race this weekend that does not have significant climbs, but has more of what I would call grinders. I have a standard (52x39) 9spd and have two cassettes, a Dura Ace 12x23 that I use most of the time, it shifts smooth as butter and has the 16 tooth that is sort of my go to gear. I also have a Ultegra 12x27 that I bought strictly for climbing, it still shifts nice, just not as well as the DA and I would be trading my 16 tooth and 23 tooth for a 24 tooth and 27 tooth, plus it weights a good bit more. I am thinking that I would like a gearing that allows me to go through the race without shifting into my small chain ring (takes time and a chance of dropping a chain), but I don't want more gearing that I really need. I am sure that I could get away with the 12x23, even climbing mostly in the saddle, but my concern is that towards the end of the race, when my legs are getting fatigued, I may find it useful to spin the 27 a bit more and give my legs a break. Plus a 27 tooth may make it nice to cover an attack on a hill.

So do I put aside my go to cassette to go with a gear that I may or may not use, or do I stick with my 12x23??

 

[Ozgur.Nevres]

IMO, if you have a chance to dropping chain, it would be better to choose 12x27 cassette and never use the small ring.
I once dropped my chain during a race, so i lost my connection with the main group and i couldn't catch them. It happened about 10-11 kms to go...

But in this option, the gear ratios may not be convenient to the flats...

I am just wondering, why did you choose 12x23 cassette? 11x23 would be a better option, especially in high speed downhills.

 

[swampy1970]

You mention a risk of dropping a chain - have you ever done that on your bike? If you have then I suggest you sort out the problem.

I'd stick with the 12-23 and use the small ring where required. The 16 sprocket is a handy gear...

 

[quenya]

Don't drop your chain, and get an 11-25... If climbing just isn't your forte you'll want the extra gear inches the 11 gives you on the descents. If you can race uphill a 25 should work just fine, I'm a decent climber but not a small guy (by cycling standards) and I find a 39x25 adequate on long sustained climbs and really steep stuff (20% and higher grades). Really, if you have to shift down the chain ring shift up a few cogs on your cassette. If you do drop a chain relax, pedal smoothly and shift up a little bit the chain will probably slip in to place on your small ring. If it goes into your big ring you may need to give it some torque. Dropping a chain will probably not cost you the race. Neither will your gearing, btw.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by quenya .

Dropping a chain will probably not cost you the race. Neither will your gearing, btw.

Tell that to Andy Schleck.

... and don't bother with funny pulley wheels either.



I guess that's what you get when you try and stuff it in 39x12 going up a HC category moutain at over 6,000ft. The chain was in oxygen debt...

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. Two obvious options come to mind ...

1. restack the Ultegra's large spider onto the DA stack ... 12-13-14-15-[COLOR= #0000cd]16-17[/COLOR][COLOR= #d3d3d3]-19-21-23[/COLOR][COLOR= #d3d3d3]-[/COLOR]21-24-27
2. or, buy an 11-32 LX cassette and restack its 28t on the end of your DA stack ... 12-13-14-[COLOR= #0000cd]16-17-[/COLOR][COLOR= #808080]19-21-23[/COLOR][COLOR= #0000cd]-[/COLOR][COLOR= #ff0000]28[/COLOR]

In the first instance, you would have to ask if you need-or-would-miss the 19t? I think not ...

Of course, in the latter example, you could keep the 15t and remove one of the other cogs.

 

[swampy1970]

A 17 to a 21 jump would be fairly disconcerting and you'd be assured of losing a wheel if you were pegged at your threshold and needed something 'slightly' smaller and I think given the nature of the course, as described by the OP a 28 would be overkill.

 

[An old Guy]

As alfeng suggests it is a good idea to have enough cassettes around to build up the gearing you need for a race.

---

I was using a 16-27 last year and this spring. I am now using a 14-25 on the same routes. I could get by with an 11-21, but I don't want to draw attention.

Keep a big cog on your bike and other racers might not regard you as a threat.

 

[quenya]

Tell that to Andy Schleck.
 
... and don't bother with funny pulley wheels either.
 

 
I guess that's what you get when you try and stuff it in 39x12 going up a HC category moutain at over 6,000ft. The chain was in oxygen debt...

I thought of Andy when I typed that... But if our OP has Andy's climbing prowess then I'm fairly certain that he wouldn't be concerned with a 39x23. And, if our OP is racing against Alberto Contador tossing a chain is the least of his worries. And watching those two guys racing to see who could climb the slowest was embarrassing. I wish for a GC contender who will risk losing by racing to WIN!

 

[bgoetz]

I am sticking with the 12x23, it seems that from talking with people who have raced this course before, I will likely need to drop down to my 39 even with the 27. The reason I don't have a 11 tooth is simply because I have never need one to this point. Honestly I am not real sure why, because when on a sustained effort I typically turn a bigger gear @ 85-90 rpm, I would also consider myself a pretty good sprinter, but for some reason I prefer to spin more when I sprint, in fact I don't typically even use the 12 tooth. I have no problems hitting mid/high 30s in a 13 tooth. Most of the decents around here are short and steep, so it is rare that I find myself at a sustained 35+ where I would find an 11 tooth useful. Now that I have said that I am sure that I will find myself needing one this weekend, LOL.

Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by quenya .

And watching those two guys racing to see who could climb the slowest was embarrassing.

Any moment in particular? I recall one moment in the Alps on a not-so-big hill where a bit of cat and mouse occurred but apart from that they were going pretty quick.

The domestiques in Saxo and Astana who were brought in for mountains duty were just unbelievable but the fact that they ride so damned fast when riding what just looks like tempo makes it seem like the team leaders really don't go all that much faster when it's money time but when you're going like a missile up hill already, attacks that look spectacular are not gonna happen unless the rider just wants to look silly another 2 minutes up the road.

Take a look at the numbers:

If you just look at the queen stage that finished up the Tourmalet, which was always going to be the big showdown - Cancellara put the hurt on at the start of the final climb and shelled out half the group before Chris Anker (FTP 395watts) popped out a "mere" 415watts (6.6 w/kg) to hold ~15mph for a bit over 10 minutes on the lower half of the Tourmalet, before 'cruising' at a slightly less Godlike ~320watts for the remainder of the climb. That 'slow' ~5w/kg saw him get dropped for over 11 minutes in the less than 40 minutes of climbing that remained. It just puts in perspective how fast the "Schleck and Bertie show " were absolutely storming up that hill, despite the fact that Schleck was nearly constantly looking over his shoulder...

... and this was after a hard day where Chris Anker put out some big numbers- Col De Marie Blanque (16 minutes and a normalized power of 390 watts(6.0 w/kg) on the steep section at the end) and the Col du Soulor, 36 minutes with a normalized power of 374 watts (5.8 w/kg) and 17 previous stages.

... and those were similar efforts to ones made in previous mountain stages.

Of course I use words like mere, cruising and slow with massive heaps of sarcasm.

15mph on slopes that are ~8% grade - that's gotta be around 39x16 at low to mid 80s rpm. We should use that as a "yard stick" for a comparison of how good we are (or aren't) compared to a top domestique who's ridden 17 stages of the Tour and has been pegged not a million miles away from threshold on pretty much every big mountain in the event.

 

[jhuskey]

I agree with you Swampy and would add that this is done after days and days of racing. I am told that it is not as easy as it looks. The TDF that is.

 

[ccallana]

I was on the side of the Tourmalet for that stage, and I was shocked at how fast those guys were climbing after 17 days, at that grade. I had a hard time walking up it let alone riding in some massive gear...

Even so, it did not seem as though they were giving it everything they had.... maybe they were and they just hide it well Horner as usual was smiling, and McEwen brought up the rear, even pulling a wheelie at one point (too close to the edge to get a picture of it though)



Here we are on the side of the road http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/5056383238_24d73a29ee_o.jpg


And here they are going by
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4826176766_6fd3a2b0f7_z.jpg