Hill climbing gearing?

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Permalink Reply by Kris Fleming on March 9, 2015 at 6:59am

You sure those chainring numbers are accurate?  Typically CX bikes come with a 46/36. Only way you are getting a 26 on the front is if you have a MTN double crank.  It would also give you less than a 1:1 ratio as your lowest gear (26f/28r), which is pretty darn low.

 

Assuming you have a 46/36, you could potentially go to a larger rear cassette (12-32) if the rear mech will accommodate it.  Or you could get a 34f chainring, or potentially both.  If you want smaller than a 34f ring, you'll have to swap out the crank to a MTN double.

 

Or you can just gut it out and watch your progress as you get better and better at climbing.   

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Permalink Reply by Jon Paul on March 9, 2015 at 7:28am

Thanks Kris. I'm sure you're correct about the chainrings. I will probably start with the 12-32 and see how that goes. i live in the mountains, so i climb on every ride. I just want to start doing some notoriously steep road climbs as part of my travels. I'm just looking for that "extra gear" when the road goes above 12-15%.

Thanks again for the input.

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