Top gear too easy!

[okgo]

Alright guys, still cycling to work, still enjoying it.

However the Rockhopper is giving me one issue. I am in top gear, I think it has 27 gears, but its far too easy.. And I will only ever have it in 27th or 18th.. Anyway I can get round this?

Or should I just slow down

[ewenm]

Fit a bigger outer chainring and/or smaller sprockets. Or get a road bike that will have higher gears anyway.

[okgo]

My rear cassette has seen better days anyway. So I guess I can fit any onto it? Even a road bike size one?

[Rico]

Upgrade to one of these

[R1 GTR]

Rico said:

Upgrade to one of these

Holy st!

How many teeth??

[okgo]

Can someone enlighten me as to what work would be required to fit a small 9 speed road cassette?

Thanks guys

[P-Jay]

Nothing really, you just need a casset tool and chain whip and there will be a how to on youtube. For a one off it's probably cheaper to get the LBS to fit it

BUT...... A road casset wont give you a higher gear, the highest gear is the same as it's limited by the size of the freewheel/hub body. It would be good for the speeds you want commuting as the lower gears will be higher and closer, but the top is the same.

As above, you need bigger front rings for higher terminal gearing.

Edited by P-Jay on Wednesday 19th August 15:09

[rocksteadyeddie]

What sort of cadence are you pedalling at? Be surprised if you are spinning out in top gear or anything even close.

[okgo]

rocksteadyeddie said:

What sort of cadence are you pedalling at? Be surprised if you are spinning out in top gear or anything even close.

Cadence? Sorry not a word I know..

Its in 27th gear, and I feel its too much pedaling..What more is there to say?

[rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

What sort of cadence are you pedalling at? Be surprised if you are spinning out in top gear or anything even close.

Cadence? Sorry not a word I know..

Its in 27th gear, and I feel its too much pedaling..What more is there to say?

Cadence is the speed at which your legs are rotating. Generally speaking it is technically more difficult, but more efficient, to pedal more quickly than "feels" right. Like changing your golf swing it will soon feel natural. Cadence is measured in revs per minute and a cadence of 80-90 rpm is not unreasonable for a recreational cyclist who is relatively fit. As a benchmark Lance Armstrong often pedals at a cadence consistently more than 100 rpm.

You can measure you cadence by counting against the watch, or by working it out based on your gear ratios (the first way is much easier). In some respects what you are saying is "my car doesn't go fast enough in top gear" when you are only reving the engine to 1500rpm.

HTH

[okgo]

I see.

What I want is more speed less rotations

[P-Jay]

okgo said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

What sort of cadence are you pedalling at? Be surprised if you are spinning out in top gear or anything even close.

Cadence? Sorry not a word I know..

Its in 27th gear, and I feel its too much pedaling..What more is there to say?

it's pretty easy to spin out an MTB on the road, my gearing it too low for the road really, but it's so rare for me to ride on the dark side I live with it.

[okgo]

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

[rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

You could always get a proper bike

[okgo]

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

You could always get a proper bike

Cycle to work scheme doesn't start again till october. I will be buying my Boardman Carbon Roadbike then

[P-Jay]

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

Christ, I bet, I'm doing it with 2.3 soft compound MTB tyres.

Ask your LBS about some bigger rings, Deore will be perfect for what you want, they don't cost the earth and out-last posher ones which is important for miles and miles of road use. You could fit a big 48t job like this (asuming yours is smaller). You might want a bigger middle ring to make it less of a jump.

Proper bike / Road Bike? That's a mutually exclusive term isn't it?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

Edited by P-Jay on Wednesday 19th August 16:51

[rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

You could always get a proper bike

Cycle to work scheme doesn't start again till october. I will be buying my Boardman Carbon Roadbike then

.... has had some good write ups.

The alternative with your current bike is to change the cassette. You will need to look and see how many teeth your existing top gear has on it (you can just count). It might be that there is no meaningful change as the lowest number you will get on any cassette is 11. In which case you are into changing chainsets (the big cogs at the front) which is a much bigger job (both in terms of complexity and cost).

[mchammer89]

Best bet is to go for bigger chainrings i'd say, much easier to fit too, you'll not be able to get a much smaller cassette than you already have, but you can definitely get bigger chainrings.

[P-Jay]

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

You could always get a proper bike

Cycle to work scheme doesn't start again till october. I will be buying my Boardman Carbon Roadbike then

.... has had some good write ups.

The alternative with your current bike is to change the cassette. You will need to look and see how many teeth your existing top gear has on it (you can just count). It might be that there is no meaningful change as the lowest number you will get on any cassette is 11. In which case you are into changing chainsets (the big cogs at the front) which is a much bigger job (both in terms of complexity and cost).

11, I thought they were all 12, well you lives and learns.

[rocksteadyeddie]

P-Jay said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

rocksteadyeddie said:

okgo said:

Yeh, it has 1.3 slicks too so its very easy. Hence my question lol.

You could always get a proper bike

Cycle to work scheme doesn't start again till october. I will be buying my Boardman Carbon Roadbike then

.... has had some good write ups.

The alternative with your current bike is to change the cassette. You will need to look and see how many teeth your existing top gear has on it (you can just count). It might be that there is no meaningful change as the lowest number you will get on any cassette is 11. In which case you are into changing chainsets (the big cogs at the front) which is a much bigger job (both in terms of complexity and cost).

11, I thought they were all 12, well you lives and learns.

Yup, 11 is the new 12 on most road bikes now - especially with compact chainsets. Not
entirely sure why as 99% of people do not have the strength to push them proprely away from alpine descents.

OP if you can change chainrings that is not a difficult job (unlike the whole chainset) and may well solve your issue. Changing your technique is, of course, free...