Does having too many gears make you lazy?
Discussion
Here's the thing, at the end of my commute into work on Monday my right shifter decided to have a spazz and break..........completely.
Beyond repair I was now on the seventh cog of nine and the earliest I could get the bike to my LBS (which is nowhere near I work and wouldn't trust it with the two local ones to my work.) So I was left with 7th, 16th and 25th gears available for my 20 mile ride home for monday and the 40 daily miles tuesday and wednesday.
About half of my ride is up and down hills, some rather nasty ones at that. 7th and 16th WAYYYYY too light and 25th just that little bit toooooo much, so 25th it had to be.
Whilst it was certainly harder (especially homeward bound) there was absolutely no noticable difference in the time it took, if anything it was slightly quicker!
New set of Shimano XT shifters later and the ride in this morning kinda felt 'lazy' as I was using the gears more.
So, the question is whilst 3 gears may be ok for road use I like to have the option when hammering off road, should I change to a different set up? Maybe 2x10 or 1 x 10? Or maybe just do the sensible thing and get a road bike?
Beyond repair I was now on the seventh cog of nine and the earliest I could get the bike to my LBS (which is nowhere near I work and wouldn't trust it with the two local ones to my work.) So I was left with 7th, 16th and 25th gears available for my 20 mile ride home for monday and the 40 daily miles tuesday and wednesday.
About half of my ride is up and down hills, some rather nasty ones at that. 7th and 16th WAYYYYY too light and 25th just that little bit toooooo much, so 25th it had to be.
Whilst it was certainly harder (especially homeward bound) there was absolutely no noticable difference in the time it took, if anything it was slightly quicker!
New set of Shimano XT shifters later and the ride in this morning kinda felt 'lazy' as I was using the gears more.
So, the question is whilst 3 gears may be ok for road use I like to have the option when hammering off road, should I change to a different set up? Maybe 2x10 or 1 x 10? Or maybe just do the sensible thing and get a road bike?
I've run 2x9 on my hardtail for about the last 10 years (and then 2x10 when I renewed all the drivetrain on it last year), never once missed the little ring, even on the steepest climbs. Dumping the little ring also stopped the chainsuck issues I used to have. My full sus bike has 3x10 but I don't think I've ever intentionally used the little ring.
I think a single front chainring would be a step too far though, maybe fine if you live on the doorstep of a trail centre but in the south east you end up having to do a bit of road riding to link up trails and not having a big ring would get tedious.
I think a single front chainring would be a step too far though, maybe fine if you live on the doorstep of a trail centre but in the south east you end up having to do a bit of road riding to link up trails and not having a big ring would get tedious.
lol gears are for queers
I don't think amount, maybe ratios can a bit on short rides for some people, a 34/32 is fine in the peak district/Alps, but when people use it up not very steep hilss and are hardly moving/nor in any physical discomfort...it makes you wonder....each to their own though
Although on my commuter, I only use the 39 ring with a 25-11 cassette, the commute includes a decent hill as well. Bike is fine for that day in day out, and done 3000 miles with only 8 gears and 28 pounds of iron! I wouldn't fancy riding it outside of my commute or on a 4 hour ride, would be fine, but grating, once the terrain starts changing and distance increase you realise the importance of well chosen ratios!!!!
I don't think amount, maybe ratios can a bit on short rides for some people, a 34/32 is fine in the peak district/Alps, but when people use it up not very steep hilss and are hardly moving/nor in any physical discomfort...it makes you wonder....each to their own though
Although on my commuter, I only use the 39 ring with a 25-11 cassette, the commute includes a decent hill as well. Bike is fine for that day in day out, and done 3000 miles with only 8 gears and 28 pounds of iron! I wouldn't fancy riding it outside of my commute or on a 4 hour ride, would be fine, but grating, once the terrain starts changing and distance increase you realise the importance of well chosen ratios!!!!
Get a singlespeed! It will open your eyes and personally, brings back some of the joy of cycling when commuting. No worrying about gears so once up to speed you can't really go much faster so you just sit there, spinning away, enjoying the ride. Get to a hill and you take a deep breath and push harder. Don't get me wrong, I love my other road bikes with their many gears but an easy going 20 mile ride on a lazy afternoon does wonders to my stress levels.
I've been racing a single speed rigid bike in the Nutcracker XC series, against more traditional XC bikes, I'm doing far better this year than last, faster lap times and higher up the results, and these are not flat courses. The only time I lose out is on anything flat and smooth, but these bits are few and far between.
My other XC bike now has a 36 up front and a 28-11 cassette, it's a 29er as well, I've found that anything too steep for me to ride generally finds me running past people twiddling away in a very low gear anyway.
My other XC bike now has a 36 up front and a 28-11 cassette, it's a 29er as well, I've found that anything too steep for me to ride generally finds me running past people twiddling away in a very low gear anyway.
I've really found the benefit of a 28 rear cassette in the last weekend on a 200 mile charity ride. I was steaming past all of my mates on the steepest hills and it clearly wasn't a fitness thing, just having more flexibility with a triple chainset and a 'crawler' gear on the back.
Didn't have to get off and walk at any point, which is my personal goal
)
Didn't have to get off and walk at any point, which is my personal goal
)A guy on my reach truck course last week was biking from Bedford to Alconbury (A421 and A1, crazy - 26 miles each way but... on those roads?!) with his mountain bike stuck on the 2nd chainring and 4th of 7 on the rear.
At the moment I am too bloody feeble (not a lotta time on the pedals) to get up the only hill locally without dropping onto the granny ring but In the future I'd like to go 2x up front because I only use that ring for that hill. I'd probably keep it around for if I went to ride in Wales but I'm in Bedfordshire...
At the moment I am too bloody feeble (not a lotta time on the pedals) to get up the only hill locally without dropping onto the granny ring but In the future I'd like to go 2x up front because I only use that ring for that hill. I'd probably keep it around for if I went to ride in Wales but I'm in Bedfordshire...
richardxjr said:
Yep 1x10 is lazy enough. Singlespeed is ace though for getting the most out of shorter 1-2 hours rides imo.
But I'd wager you'd be healthier and faster over a long all-day ride (esp MTB) with good range of gears, short rides you can get away with less (1) using bursts of muscle power, once you've cooked your goose and back to breathing ad spinning you'll want a multi-speed transmission.Now expecting numerous posts from iron men who've done 250+mile days on steel single speed bikes and their "knees are fine" yeah ok, wait till you retire and can't hobble down to the bowling alley once a week ;-)
Fugazi said:
Get a singlespeed! It will open your eyes and personally, brings back some of the joy of cycling when commuting. No worrying about gears so once up to speed you can't really go much faster so you just sit there, spinning away, enjoying the ride. Get to a hill and you take a deep breath and push harder. Don't get me wrong, I love my other road bikes with their many gears but an easy going 20 mile ride on a lazy afternoon does wonders to my stress levels.
The trouble with that is the fun doesn't last long when doing a long ride with lots of hills. A while ago I did a 65 mile ride with over 6700 ft of climb. Some of the hills were 20%.....try that on your single speeder!
E65Ross said:
The trouble with that is the fun doesn't last long when doing a long ride with lots of hills.
A while ago I did a 65 mile ride with over 6700 ft of climb. Some of the hills were 20%.....try that on your single speeder!
I think you missed the bit where I said that I loved my "other road bikes with their many gears" and the "easy going 20 mile rides".... A while ago I did a 65 mile ride with over 6700 ft of climb. Some of the hills were 20%.....try that on your single speeder!
I've been on 100 mile sportives where people have taken part on single speeds, I wouldn't do it simply because I don't fancy burning out that far from home but if you're confident in your abilities then why not? All the big Tours used see riders on fixed gear bikes undertaking epic climbs, so it's not impossible and one of my goals this year is to crack a notorious cheeky little climb near me called Shaley Brow on a single speed bike before the end of the year. Hills are never fun, even on a normal road bike can you end up turning yourself inside out, sweat pouring off you, throat dry, lungs burning, pins and needles shooting down your left arm, turning blue......Or is that just me? But getting to the top is what it's about and to me conquering a relatively modest hill on a single speed would be a far greater achievement than any other ride I've done so far. Although in general it's just a different approach to cycling that's a refreshing break from worrying about my cadence and average speeds.
t would hate it on really hilly rides! My single speed comes out at the end of October and stays out until the end of March because of the amount of salt the council like to spread here.
It's great for 80-90 mile rides around this area with plenty of climbing utilising its 70.2 gear inch 48T-18
Plenty Cat 3 and 4 climbs included
It's great for 80-90 mile rides around this area with plenty of climbing utilising its 70.2 gear inch 48T-18
Plenty Cat 3 and 4 climbs included
E65Ross said:
The trouble with that is the fun doesn't last long when doing a long ride with lots of hills.
A while ago I did a 65 mile ride with over 6700 ft of climb. Some of the hills were 20%.....try that on your single speeder!
How about 4600ft in 30 miles then?A while ago I did a 65 mile ride with over 6700 ft of climb. Some of the hills were 20%.....try that on your single speeder!
30th back out of 284 starters, on a 36/20 single speed 29er.
https://app.strava.com/activities/301707259
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