I keep hearing about people who train on lets say 12-27, but race on 11-23. I know this isn’t such a big problem now that the 10 speed DA is out, but still. Wouldn’t it be smarter to train on the smaller cogs to strengthen your legs, and then race on something like 11-25 (if that’s possible) so you’d have that emergency gear if your legs are feeling crappy.
Any insight from the bike experts?
Your reasoning makes sense to me. Personally, I only change gearing based on the course - 12/24 for hilly races and 12/21 for flat races.
I live in a hilly area and tend to think that a better solution to a 10 sp is a 50/34 compact crank. I’ll let you know in spring since I bought two pairs this winter, for tri and road bikes.
I really don’t understand why people who live in flat areas would consider the 10 sp.
My biggest gear is 52-16 so I’m not one to complain. We ride in a pretty big group with some strong older guys, and I keep getting dropped on the downhills.
The absolutley best place I like to ride is this 20k road that’s all slightly downhill with a slight tailwind. If you don’t pedal hard you won’t go that fast, but if you put in some work you can tear that course up in less than 25 minutes. I bet a strong rider can hold 55 kph there with some effort (with a 54-11+ maybe).
I’ve been running a 12-25 on the road bike with 53/39. I find I can’t come close to spinning 53/12 unless on a steep downhill and even then I’ll go just as fast tucking aero and coasting. A few of the hills on our Thursday night hill ride are really steep and the guys with triples have an advantage. I think the 50/34 compact might just be the ticket.
Depends on where you live. I can step outside my door and climb 15,000 ft if I so desire. I’m sure not doing that on a 12-21. I also like to spin on the climbs, so I’ll throw on the 12-27 on big climbing days. I change cassettes frequently on my road bike depending on if I’m doing a serious climbing ride or heading out w/ the local roadies.
I generally keep a 11-23 on the TT bike, though I’ll also change that depending on the course. Many wheels + many bikes = many cassette options.
The advent of the cassette rear cog-sets years ago certainly gave more flexibility in terms of choosing gearing for specific rides or races. However, I must admit that all this time all I have ever used is a 12 - 23. Now though, as my fitness is waning I must admit that from time to time I have noticed the need for a 25 which I will be looking into shortly.