Well, that entirely depends on your cycling. I would do a search. There are a number of posts on this topics and you will hear people recomending 23's -27's. What do you normally ride? Do you train on similar terrain? Remember, nothing new on race day ;)

FWIW I will be riding a 12-25. I am sure that I could complete the course just fine on a 23, but it will be nice having an extra gear the last ten miles of that bike course.

My last recommendation would be that if you are in fact going to change your gearing for the race, do your long ride this weekend on your race gearing. In fact, I would do every ride from here until race day on your race gearing.

Mis dos pesos. Good luck!! I'll be up there this year too.

A few questions:

What is your FTP?
How long do you plan for the ride?
What is your history in the marathon?

This would be my range of answers:

• 5:30 or less 39x25
• 5:40 or less 39x27
• 6:00 or less 34x25
• >6:00 34x27
• >6:30 GET A TRIPLE

Bottom line is that the gearing should be matched to the abiliity of the rider, if not, the rider will be riding at 55 RPM to stay below their 70%FTP pace on the hills :-)

I plan to ride a touch under 6 hours and will have a compact with an 11-26 on the back. Last year I rode with a 53/39 and a 12/27. I would bring all the gears that you have so you can spin the hills back into town.

Chris, you need to show up with an 11/19 corncob in the back and a 60/48 pizza plate combination...come on man, with that gearing you can gain 10 min on each Keene descent and then simply stand up on the 60/11 combo and your Zipp 808 should turn 6 revolutions per pedal stroke and you'll catapult back into town for the marathon (@ 300% FTP...)

Wow!
I did LP last year with the Lucero with probably at least 39x25 and more likely 39x22 (got the the Lucero the week before from Dave Harju and I had not clue about gearing at the time) in 5h56 and probably blow up a bit (the brain did blow up for sure, the legs probably) on the mary @ 4h13.

If only I had the proper gearing......

Good to know for next time.. maybe IMLP09....

Fred.

Bottom line is whatever "small gear" you NEED (vs have) for Whiteface over 1 hour is what you need on Papa Bear after 6+ hours of exercise (swim+ bike cumulative time)

Anyone who cannot ride 60/11 from whiteface back to town is obviously a poseur.

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last time I did IMLP(04), I had a triple and a 12-27. This year, doing it on a tri-bike with double and 12-27. For a middling rider(expect a 6:30-ish split) who tries to stay in the saddle and not hammer the climbs, having the 27 is nice. I see lots of folks with doubles standing up on the long climbs, which just kills you. They should likely have trips or compact cranks.

If you are planning on 6-ish ride, you probably don't need the 27. It's always nice to have a bail-out gear, so a 12-25 might not be a bad idea.

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Are your recommendations for 700c or 650c wheels? Or it makes little difference?

I have a 650c bike.

With a 39 x 23, Sheldon Brown says that 80 rpm is ~ 10 mph. 60 RPM is ~ 7.5 mph.

Will I really be riding below 8 mph on some of those hills? Where I'm from that is pretty steep! In my area, if I fall below 15 mph I feel like I'm on a moutain...this is going to be fun...

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"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

There are a few place on the course where the hills are quite steep. I think that the steepest is the short hill on the out-and-back. Better than 8% grade for a 100-200 yeards if memory serves. And the last several miles of the loop are generally up, with the 5 big hills at the end. I believe that the whole course is ~6,000 vertical feet of climbing.

I can only speak for myself, but I know there are places on the course where I will be glad to roll along at 10 mph.

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Dev,

Last year only 964 out of 2138 finishers got off the bike in less that 6 1/2 hours. Are you saying that the other 1174 all should have been on triples?

I've done a ride that has ~7500 vertical feet in ~ 60 miles of riding several times on my 39 x 27. Parts of it are hard but I can do it. What's going to happen to me at LP?

I plan to ride 5.1x or so and will be bringing a 11-28 SRAM. Good gearing for the down hills and a just in case gear. Infact I always try to ride with the widest range of gears. No shame in gearing here.

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Looking like a color blind super hero!
Damn triathlon.

I agree, I found this post a bit 'elitist'...so are you saying most of the LP field should be on a triple??? can't see that.

Not sure I could get a 60/11 moving without falling over unless there was a pretty good hill. Hoping to be "manly" by doing a lot more running than last year at the end rather than hammering those little hills back into town which sure seem like actual hills at the end of loop 2.

BTW how much difference is there between having a triple and a 34/26 anyhow...imagine it is pretty similar

How is it elitist to suggest that most people are overgeared? He's right, most of the LP field should be on triples. It's not a value judgement, only a statement of fact.

I rode 52-39/12-25 and NEVER took it out of the big chainring in the front. I am from Chicagoland so it is not like I was used to the hills, but for me low cadence(< 70) works the best.

It totally depends on how you ride.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

Dev,

Last year only 964 out of 2138 finishers got off the bike in less that 6 1/2 hours. Are you saying that the other 1174 all should have been on triples?

I've done a ride that has ~7500 vertical feet in ~ 60 miles of riding several times on my 39 x 27. Parts of it are hard but I can do it. What's going to happen to me at LP?

This is a combined response, and I agree with Muffintop who said that yes...half the field should be on a triple. It is not an elistest statement just a statement of fact.

You guys want to ride with Lance armstrong gearing with a 200W FTP, go ahead and fill your boots and ride with a 39x23. Don't come back crying when you are walking half the marathon. This course has nearly 7000 ft of vertical. Respect for this course starts with mating your gear selection to your engine....

I was top 50 out of T2 last year and did a 5:28 bike. I had a 34x25 and used it often. And I only weigh 140 lbs. If I guy my size needs that gearing, trust me, most of the field is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overgeared for their FTP.

I've done Ironman Lake Placid 8 times, had 4 good races and blown up 4 times. I've ridden the full 2 loop course over 20 times in training sessions. If you want to ask a real world age grouper about what gearing to use, who actually has experience on this course, with a real world engine with non PRO lame ass FTP, then consider my input.

If you think you have Rappstar FTP when you only have 70% of Dev FTP, then feel free to use Rappstar gearing :-)

Dev

Hi,

A double 39-53; 11-27 works great. This is what I used the last 4 times, and it seems to give me all the top and low end that I need.

Stephen J

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That is VERY helpful and surprises me. I thought I would be fine this year for training coming up with my 34/23. Thank gawd i have a new 12/25 in my basement. :)
Thanks Dev.

rode a 11 X 23 in 2003 and a 12 X 27 in 2006. My view is its better to have the 25 or 27 and not use it rather than wanting it and not having the gear.

This would be my range of answers:

• 5:30 or less 39x25
• 5:40 or less 39x27
• 6:00 or less 34x25
• >6:00 34x27
• >6:30 GET A TRIPLE

Dev,

Great advice. Having ridden IMLP a few times as a training ride. I would agree completely.

It's not what others are using, it's what you need!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I agree.

The reality is that most bikes are spec'd for racers, not real riders. So the double set-up is the standard, because it is what racers use(and cheaper to make). I think one reason for the success of compact cranks is that it allows for the gearing of a triple with only two chainrings. It's manly, but geared right.

If you look through the many threads on the topic of cadence and optimal cycling strategy, and you believe that you should always be spinning at 80-100 rpm, and at a steady output, then the number of people turning over real slow or standing on the pedals is an indicator that many people are overgeared.

And on the subject of saving me money, why do bikes sold in New England come spec'd with 11-23's? Seriously, who rides that?

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With that experience, what would you say was the difference between the good ones and the bad ones? Any particular mistakes the caused the bad ones which you have learned to avoid? Any strategies/approaches that you found were the key to the good ones? Was the difference training? Weather, etc?

Are you running the 11-28 on a Shimano or SRAM RD? I have an 11-28 and my shop cannot get it to shift properly with my DA RD and Zipp Wheels.

Bob