[giveme2wheels]

Hey all,

I am building up a 2nd lighter wheelset and I live in the Rockies and do lots of elevation riding. I run a 12-25 in the rear and notice the difference (a good one!) when riding with my buddies in the hills. My question is this--if I drop down to an 12-21 I know I will I be noticing a difference--should I compromise and go with a 12-23? Am I thinking too much into this?

I do ride in the flats quite often and a 12 is a 12 is a 12 (used to it, not arguing going to an 11). Will I see a benefit of going to 12-23 or should I stay 12-25? As I noted before, it does make a diference for me when I ride with my buddies on large elevation gains. Will I need to adjust my cadence, etc?

Should I just leave well enough alone?

Any thoughts/comments weight in pls...

Thx,

-Jay

 

[bots21]

Yes..

I've got everything from 11-21 to a 12-17. I actually swap alot ,but yes it will make a difference. Not only will you feel the top end, but the jumps between cogs will alos be noticable. I used to ride a 12-27 alot, but found that I hated the larger jumps in gears. Plenty of people will say its not that noticable, but I think it is. If you ride the flats alot, then a 12-21 or 11-21 will probably suit you well.

 

[California L33]

Hey all,

I am building up a 2nd lighter wheelset and I live in the Rockies and do lots of elevation riding. I run a 12-25 in the rear and notice the difference (a good one!) when riding with my buddies in the hills. My question is this--if I drop down to an 12-21 I know I will I be noticing a difference--should I compromise and go with a 12-23? Am I thinking too much into this?

I do ride in the flats quite often and a 12 is a 12 is a 12 (used to it, not arguing going to an 11). Will I see a benefit of going to 12-23 or should I stay 12-25? As I noted before, it does make a diference for me when I ride with my buddies on large elevation gains. Will I need to adjust my cadence, etc?

Should I just leave well enough alone?

Any thoughts/comments weight in pls...

Thx,

-Jay

Does your current 12-25 have a 23 in it? If it does you know exactly what your lowest gear will be. Go out and ride it on the steepest hill you'll encounter and see if you're comfortable with it. The Rockies don't have anything really steep, right? I know some people really like to push tall gears, but I like low gears so I can keep the cadence up. (I've got an 11-34 cassette on my mountain bike and fear no hill. My legs may look like a duck's swimming upstream, and I may slow to 4 mph on insane grades, but I've never stalled for lack of leg power.)

If you don't want a big difference in gears have you considered a custom cassette with a "bail out" low gear for those, "Gee, I didn't think it would be this steep" grades? Sheldon Brown talks about them on his site. The plus is closely spaced gears until you get to the bail out point. The minus is that since it's not a factory designed cassette the shift to and from the bail out won't be smooth.


L33

 

[ergott]

Hey all,

I am building up a 2nd lighter wheelset and I live in the Rockies and do lots of elevation riding. I run a 12-25 in the rear and notice the difference (a good one!) when riding with my buddies in the hills. My question is this--if I drop down to an 12-21 I know I will I be noticing a difference--should I compromise and go with a 12-23? Am I thinking too much into this?

I do ride in the flats quite often and a 12 is a 12 is a 12 (used to it, not arguing going to an 11). Will I see a benefit of going to 12-23 or should I stay 12-25? As I noted before, it does make a diference for me when I ride with my buddies on large elevation gains. Will I need to adjust my cadence, etc?

Should I just leave well enough alone?

Any thoughts/comments weight in pls...

Thx,

-Jay

What do you hope to gain by switching? If you use the 25 then stick with it. If you can get by with a 23, then get a 11-23 or 12-23. If you can climb with a 11-21 then you don't need my advice


-Eric

 

[giveme2wheels]

What do you hope to gain by switching? If you use the 25 then stick with it. If you can get by with a 23, then get a 11-23 or 12-23. If you can climb with a 11-21 then you don't need my advice


-Eric

Eric,

Thanks for the laugh this am! Funny dude, and you are right. Climbing in a 11-21 would allow me to open bottle tops between calf and ham (that would be a cool party trick eh?).

I suppose I was wondering if I was "missing anything", ya know like a secret--counting cards at blackjack or having an inside lead in the winning quick-pick lotto numbers

I will prolly stay with the 11-25 for the time being, Cali L33 is a spinner like me, After the summer gets here and I don't feel as worn out by the cold, I will try that 12-21 or 11-21 and let y'all know the verdict. I am sure it will be a lesson in pain, but it shoud be a fun experiment/good use for my chain whip and lockring tool.

-Jay