Gearing UP my touring bike

"SMS" wrote in message
...

This won't be low enough for fully loaded touring on steep climbs, but
48/11 isn't high enough for a road bike in some situations.

Yeah, my 52/13 geared one spun out at somewhere over 40mph, so I had to
freewheel to my 55mph solo record. Fortunately the tandem has 50/11,
otherwise we'd really be struggling to get over 50...

(for the avoidance of doubt, this is on fairly steep downhills and the
record is with a decent tailwind too)

SMS wrote:

48/11 isn't high enough for a road bike in some situations.


I don't think Eddy ever rode that high a gear on the road, and he did
pretty well!

Art Harris

On Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:20:04 -0800 (PST), Art Harris
wrote:

SMS wrote:

48/11 isn't high enough for a road bike in some situations.


I don't think Eddy ever rode that high a gear on the road, and he did
pretty well!

Art Harris

Dear Art,

Actually, Merckx was one of the first to try the 11-tooth in the Tour.
Earlier riders just used bigger front sprockets. What follows is a
brief chronology of high gearing in the TDF, followed by a table
sorted from lowest to highest. The Cycling News article is a quick,
fun read.

"When Antonin Magne won the first Tour de France individual time-trial
in 1934, he therefore did it on a single gear of 49 x 16."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features....woodland_gears

1935 TDF . . . 1935 Maes Romain (Bel) The innovations of the year were
the red flag, dural wheels, and a 52 tooth chainwheel. [No derailleurs
allowed for team riders!]

http://www.kc3a.com/pj_divers/tourde...nts_en.inc.php

"After the war, in 1952, another Frenchman, Louison Bobet, slammed his
bike into 52 x 14 - pretty much the highest gear that machinery would
provide - when he reached the wind-blown final stretch of the Grand
Prix des Nations in 1952. A blonde, 19 year-old whom few had heard of
watched with interest as Bobet came from behind to take the podium,
thanks to that gear. The next year Jacques Anquetil fitted a single
52-tooth chain ring and a one-step, five-speed freewheel that gave him
14-18.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features....woodland_gears

"Roger Rivière used 53 x 13 to win a rolling time-trial in the Tour of
1959. By 1963, Raymond Poulidor was riding 53 x 13 - and winning."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features....woodland_gears

1966 TDF . . . Lucien Aimar tested a 55 x 13 gear.

http://www.kc3a.com/pj_divers/tourde...nts_en.inc.php

1970 TDF . . . Merckx, testing a 51 x 11 gear, won the stage
Valenciennes - Forest.

http://www.kc3a.com/pj_divers/tourde...nts_en.inc.php

1989 TDF . . . he [Lemond] used a 54 x 12 gear and tested the
triathlon-style handlebars in the stage Dinard-Rennes.

http://www.kc3a.com/pj_divers/tourde...nts_en.inc.php

"You'd think the field would creep along, but it was nothing like
that: the best could turn a 48 x 18 gear at 125rpm to finish a 25-mile
race in less than an hour. To put that in context, and to show how
things have developed in 50 years, Lance Armstrong averaged around 108
rpm in flat time-trials in the Tour, turning a gear half as big again
(53 x 13)."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features....woodland_gears

The 53x11 is pretty much standard in the modern Tour, with some riders
going to 55x11

TDF high gears

193x various 48x18 = 2.6667 125 rpm
1934 Magne 49x16 = 3.0625
1953 Anquetil 52x14 = 3.7143
1959 Riviere 53x13 = 4.0769
200x Armstrong 53x13 = 4.0769 108 rpm tt
1966 Aimar 55x13 = 4.2308
2008 orgposter 48x11 = 4.3636
1989 Lemond 54x12 = 4.5000
1970 Merckx 51x11 = 4.6364
200x Armstrong 53x13 = 4.0769
200x modern 53x11 = 4.8182 normal
200x modern 55x11 = 5.0000 extreme

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Nov 24, 1:35*pm, Hank wrote:
On Nov 24, 9:26*am, Woland99 wrote:

Is there any way to
compute force or power that new crankset would require.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

WHAT MEANS THE %'S IN SHELDON'S GEAR CALCULATOR ?

In article
,
Woland99 wrote:

I have a touring bike that I would like to "gear up" a bit -
temporarily - so it can perform more like a road bike. It came with
rather low gearing 48/36/26 crankset (Shimano Deore) and 11-32
cassette (SRAM PG 950). I bought a Ritchey wheels and put 9spd 12-23
(?) Ultegra cassette on it. And I am thinking about changing
crankset/chainrings.

Well, doing the math, that 48 x 11 is about the same as a 52 x 12. Eddy
Merckx used to race on a 52 x 12 and won more races than any other
professional cyclist in history. Did you need to go faster than him?

Few people other than professional racers can motor along in a 52 x 12
for anything other than downhills or major tailwinds. Back when I
raced, I used a 48 x 11 and was able to sprint at 38.5 mph on level
ground with no wind. With a 53 x 12, I sprinted at 38.5 mph. When I
raced on the velodrome using a 50 x 14, I sprinted at 38.5 mph. You may
have spotted a trend there- my speed was limited by my abilities and not
the gearing.

In article
,
Woland99 wrote:

I have a touring bike that I would like to "gear up" a bit -
temporarily -
so it can perform more like a road bike. It came with rather low
gearing
48/36/26 crankset (Shimano Deore) and 11-32 cassette (SRAM PG 950).
I bought a Ritchey wheels and put 9spd 12-23 (?) Ultegra cassette on
it.
And I am thinking about changing crankset/chainrings.

I have never tried anything like that so I really could use some
advice.
The idea is get higher top speed and but still preserve some climbing
ability
(I am rather heavy) so I think I would prefer triple in front. And I
would like
to be able (with that new crankset) to still use old wheels with 11/32
cassette
for more hilly rides.

Is it doable?
What are my options - as far as decent quality but affordable
crankset?
What sizes would be a reasonable step up?
Is it possible to just swap the chainrings? Or would it be prudent to
go for
different crank lengths for diff chainrings?
Any idea what to expect from new chainring? - I do not want to "gear
myself up and out" of my favorite hills to climb. Is there any way to
compute force or power that new crankset would require.

TIA for any pointers/info.

How tall a gear do you want?
You can almost certainly swap chain rings and go to
26-39-53, and go to a 11-23 cassette, getting you
two gears higher on the tall end.

--
Michael Press

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Woland99 wrote:

What are my options - as far as decent quality but affordable
crankset?

Look for a 52/42/30, i.e.
"http://www.icyclesusa.com/catalog/truvativ-elita-triple-road-crankset.htm"

Keep the 11-32 cassette.

This won't be low enough for fully loaded touring on steep climbs, but
48/11 isn't high enough for a road bike in some situations.

I run a 50x12 for my highest gear and have yet to lose a sprint due to
being spun out. Even the downhill sprint heading south on Skyline into
Sky Londa. At speeds above 35mph (actually, probably closer to 33 or so)
on a descent, it rarely makes sense to pedal. Proper body positioning
will allow you to pass many of the most-furiously-pedaling cyclists on a
descent.

If I was doing a ride in Colorado, where I understand many of the
descents are quite long and not terribly steep, and I might be trying to
get behind a truck to draft, I can see where a higher gear might be
handy. But that's not where I live, and it's not how I ride.

My racing gearing back in the day was 52x13. The only time I ever lost a
race due to gearing was as a junior, when I showed up with standard
gear-restricted junior gearing (48/15 I think; the limit was 84.9 gear
inches) to a race where they decided to not enforce the rule. Patterson
Pass Road Race. Finished with a downhill, tailwind section on Corral
Hollow Road, just west of I5. Spun out would be an understatement; I
believe it was won by Rod Jewett, a track star, who could push a very
big gear very fast.

(Please note that I lose sprints and lost many races, but not because of
gearing. I simply wasn't strong enough, or not daring enough to believe
I could fit between riders in a space half my width.)

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article
,
Woland99 wrote:

I have a touring bike that I would like to "gear up" a bit -
temporarily - so it can perform more like a road bike. It came with
rather low gearing 48/36/26 crankset (Shimano Deore) and 11-32
cassette (SRAM PG 950). I bought a Ritchey wheels and put 9spd 12-23
(?) Ultegra cassette on it. And I am thinking about changing
crankset/chainrings.

Well, doing the math, that 48 x 11 is about the same as a 52 x 12. Eddy
Merckx used to race on a 52 x 12 and won more races than any other
professional cyclist in history. Did you need to go faster than him?

Few people other than professional racers can motor along in a 52 x 12
for anything other than downhills or major tailwinds. Back when I
raced, I used a 48 x 11 and was able to sprint at 38.5 mph on level
ground with no wind. With a 53 x 12, I sprinted at 38.5 mph. When I
raced on the velodrome using a 50 x 14, I sprinted at 38.5 mph. You may
have spotted a trend there- my speed was limited by my abilities and not
the gearing.

I run a 55x11. It's not that I am stronger than average, it's just that
I prefer a slower cadence. I guess that since I'm 15% taller, I prefer
15% slower cadence.

On Nov 24, 11:26 am, Woland99 wrote:
I have a touring bike that I would like to "gear up" a bit -

Thanks again everybody for all the info - as usual I learned
quite a bit from you on subject of gears.

Let me explain some (partial) motivation for the post.
Yes of course you are 100% right - I am not Eddy M or Chris B -
I cannot push my largest gear (48x11) and cruise at 30mph on
flats. I can sustain perhaps 25mph but not for very long.
I sometimes run out of gears on descend - above 35mph but hills
where you can go for a very fast descend are not that plentiful
around Austin so that does not really matter.
I was hoping that higher gearing could give me some advantage
on trainer (see my previous thread on resistance on fluid Kurt:
http://tinyurl.com/5lsxgl

But that is less of an issue - I just got Minoura Gyro V150
trainer with variable resistance based on neodymium magnet
and I am rather impressed with the resistance you encounter
on higher setting - you do not even have to be in highest
gear for it to feel like riding uphill.
That particular trainer has some other issuses - adjusting
it to fit you bike is slightly cumbersome (altho you have to
do it once) and ergonomics of lever that adjusts resistance
could be better - it takes way to much space on handlebars.
Stability of the frame also could be improved. On a plus
side quick release holding skewer is well designed and functional,
resistance is good and trainer is rather quiet - you can watch
TV at normal level and pedal. I may still decide to upgrade it
to Tacx Satori - it offers similar resistance and has (I think)
bigger frame. Resistance lever is more ergonomic and (I would
hope) elastogel roller may give smoother ride.