Hi…my new tri bike…well new to me has a 55-42 chainrings and a 12-23 cassette…is that normal gearing for a tri bike…its kinda rough on the hills for this 44 year old dude…just curious as to what most people are using…bye the way its a trek hilo…thanks
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yah a 42x23 will be not enough for a lot of people of all ages. certainly i couldn’t climb all day in that gear. and a 55x12 will be too much for a lot of people of all ages.
to me it seems silly to get a 55 before getting an 11 on the cassette.
i’d say most tri bikes will have the 42 SCR but standard 53 BCR. People who want to ride what the uberbikers ride will get 54, 55 and larger BCRs.
I personally would recommend looking into compact cranks with an 11-23 or 25. or just standard 39/53 cranks may do.
you just have to find what works for you.
I think the Hilo has 650 wheels doesn’t it? If so you might want to run a 12-25 or even a 12-27 rear to get the extra hill climbing ability. For 700 wheels, run a compact crank (34-50) with an 11-21 rear. Great hill spinning, lots of gears in the 18-23 mph cruising range and spinout at about 37 mph. Works for this 42 yo.
yea…it has 650’s…hills are a bitch but she’s mother fast on the flats and downhills
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If it has 650 wheels, the 55/42 is still over kill for most people. I’d switch to a 53/39.
Who’d ya get it from? A road racer?
I got it used (20 miles on it) from a lbs…$700.00
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