How was your cycle commute?

[weepiper]

No, that's how I roll. Technology needs to adapt to me, not the other way round
If that gear is possible to use, I should be able to use it if and when and as often as I want!

You can use it if you like but it will wear everything out faster - if you stand the bike against the wall and look along the line of the chain from behind, you'll see it has to bend like this

this puts a lot of stress on the chain. It also means the rear derailleur is sitting at full stretch all the time so the spring will get baggy and floppy faster. Ideally you want to try to keep the chain as straight as possible. You should be able to replicate how that gear feels by putting it on the inner chainring and one of the smaller rear sprockets.

 

[Orang Utan]

Let it bend!

 

[weepiper]

Let it bend!

*sucks teeth*

 

[Orang Utan]

*sucks teeth*

I keep you guys in business!

 

[gentlegreen]

I keep you guys in business!

Just hope you don't actually snap your chain or mess up a critical gearchange because you've knackered your transmission...

 

[gentlegreen]

It's such a pity they sell bikes as "33 speed" or whatever when they aren't.
I also find it rather scary that some cyclists don't know how their gears work - this is 1st year general science.

 

[Orang Utan]

It doesn't matter that much to a lot of us!

 

[gentlegreen]

Perhaps you would learn if you moved somewhere with proper hills ...

 

[Orang Utan]

Just hope you don't actually snap your chain or mess up a critical gearchange because you've knackered your transmission...

That is a concern I suppose, but not enough of one.
I have got used to doing it one way - I'll never remember to do it another.

 

[Orang Utan]

Perhaps you would learn if you moved somewhere with proper hills ...

I reckon!

 

[gentlegreen]

By the sounds of it you don't need a wide range of gears - perhaps an 8 speed hub gear would work for you ?

 

[Orang Utan]

By the sounds of it you don't need a wide range of gears - perhaps an 8 speed hub gear would work for you ?

I already have a bike that I like

 

[Orang Utan]

Never liked my hub gears on my hybrid anyway

 

[gentlegreen]

I just can't imagine doing everything on my big front cog.

Perhaps you could just put a single big front cog in the middle.

 

[Orang Utan]

I just can't imagine doing everything on my big front cog.

Perhaps you could just put a single big front cog in the middle.

But I already have one!

 

[gentlegreen]

But I already have one!

so what is your gearing ?
50 and 34 on the front, 11 to 32 on the back ?

 

[Orang Utan]

so what is your gearing ?
50 and 34 on the front, 11 to 32 on the back ?

C'mon GG, you know me by now

 

[weepiper]

so what is your gearing ?
50 and 34 on the front, 11 to 32 on the back ?

He has a big one and a little one at the front. And some at the back, some of which are little and some of which are big. HTH

 

[Orang Utan]

I'm not going to count them!

 

[joustmaster]

i'm going to count mine.


bored.

 

[Frances Lengel]

For me the pulling away from lights gear is middle cog at the front, second smallest at the back. It isn't at all a ballache to change gear on the front cog.

 

[joustmaster]

front 38 and 50
back 12 to 22

 

[gentlegreen]

Not a perfect fit, but going from small to big only really offers one higher ratio.
Similarly at the bottom end on my 3 x 8 hybrid :-



I could have sworn it was more like 3 whole extra ratios ...

But it's less unkind on the chain if I stay on the granny for longer than expected.

Every evening I have a slight downhill run where I use my big front cog, but I've taught myself to change the front cog when it levels off rather than the back one - though when my legs are up for it I sometimes forget and don't notice for another half mile or so ...

 

[Dogsauce]

its a bit too much hassle changing the front cog though..

It is for me, though I do now have a changer on the bike (half a clothes peg that slots nicely into the mount for my old Catseye front light) rather than having to use a stick or bit of litter in the street to put it back on the 56 when it occasionally bounces off or if I change up too quickly. 500ml pop bottles were a favourite. I never quite mastered changing it back with my foot while riding, I can only do that if the chain drops off to the right.

 

[gentlegreen]

 

[Dogsauce]

I've actually bought a new bottom bracket cartridge that is longer than the old that I'm replacing, so that the 56 is a bit further out and more in line with the higher gears on the back. The back is only 12 to something, not 11, so not as mental as it sounds (not sure you can get an eleven for the sort of block I have on). I do change down at the lights most of the time (if I'm not distracted) and for proper hills (we have a few in Yorkshire ). If I go into the lowest gear at the back the chain will often slip onto the smaller cog at the front anyway.

I remember trying to explain to explain gears to a not-particularly-bright-at-maths friend once - he couldn't get his head round the fact that big on the front is harder, but big on the back is easier. Couldn't grasp ratios even slightly.

 

[a_chap]

Today I did something stupid.

It was clear blue sky first thing and on the radio the weather forecaster said "no rain". So I rode to work without my waterproofs.

I got soaked on the way home. I mean really soaked.

 

[gentlegreen]

The weather's probably a bit steadier down here.
I find I can rely on the met office and radar.
So no surprise downpours - but once in a while some drizzle can be magicked-up by low cloud.

 

[gentlegreen]

I just spent far too long - over 2 hours - fitting my new back wheel ..
I was going to leave on the old transmission and wear it out over the winter, but I couldn't bring myself to do that - I had to fit a new middle front cog anyway - so did the whole thing.

My front shifting has been a huge pain recently and I found my front shifter was sitting more on the cable than the limit screw at the small cog end, so I remedied that - but it seems I need to learn to change down before I get onto the biggest back cog where the chainline is troublesome.

 

[stavros]

Very short this morning, at about 5 miles. I'd only planned to make it that long, but I seriously misjudged the temperature at 8.30am and didn't wear my winter gloves. Feeling in my fingers was minimal in the latter stages, with great pain as it came back on arriving home.