Range is as personal as saddles or crank length, since depends on pedaling style as well as fitness. I'm not particularly fit by any means, but a sub 20" gear would simply gather dust on my bikes. I *would* use an 18" gear on a bike set up for steep singletrack at altitude, and I daresay, for loaded touring, but not for anything around town.
I live in rolling terrain and often carry (rear) loads, and find that even with a 30 lb load, a longish hill, and a headwind, I'd not want anything lower than a gear in the low 20s, particularly if more extreme gears at the ends interferes with closer ratios in the middle. Likewise, I'd never use a 98" gear either, and find a range between say 85" and 30" fine for the sort of pavement and dirt riding I do, loaded or not. On my erstwhile Fargo, I had the X2D set up with Guard/38/24, and a 13-27 t 9 speed (friction, Silvers) which gave me a 40" low on the 38, enough for most paved hills, and a 25" bailout, which I don't think I ever used. But I had close middle ratios: 38.0 24.0 13.0 83.3 14.0 77.4 48.9 15.0 72.2 45.6 16.0 67.7 42.8 17.0 63.7 40.2 18.0 60.2 38.0 20.0 54.2 34.2 23.0 47.1 29.7 27.0 40.1 25.3 Since I am limited to wide Q on the Fargo replacement Matthews due to the width of the stays (minimum would be no less than 168; presently 173-175 -- but then I can also run 3" 559 mm Knards should I want to) I decided to keep a triple and run Hi and Lo cruising ranges on 44 pavement and 40 dirt t big rings, with a 26" bailout. This gives me close ratios, a low enough range on dirt, and I can dump easily from pavement to dirt range without losing range or close spacing. 15.0 83.6 76.0 16.0 78.4 71.3 17.0 73.8 67.1 18.0 69.7 63.3 19.0 66.0 60.0 39.0 21.0 59.7 54.3 35.3 23.0 54.5 49.6 32.2 26.0 48.2 43.8 28.5 30.0 38.0 24.7 This setup also gives me larger cogs and cruising gears with no or minimal chain deflection. On Sun, May 29, 2016 at 3:15 AM, Tim Butterfield <[email protected]> wrote: > Building further on the 2x10 possibility, I did some further playing with > Sheldon's gear inch calculator. If I could pair the Sugino XD2 26t-40t > crank with the Praxis 11-40 10 speed cassette, that would provide a range > of 26x40=17.6 up to 40x11=98.2. From 17.6 to 98.2 is quite a range of > gear inches. I not sure if I would use either extreme, but they might come > in handy if I ever needed it, especially if I put a decent sized bag on the > back rack. For a weak rider that might have a mix of flats and hills, what > would you think of that range? > > Thanks. > > Tim > > On Sun, May 29, 2016 at 1:49 AM, Tim Butterfield <[email protected] > > wrote: > >> What do folks think of wide cassettes? There used to be a IRD/Riv 9 >> speed 12-40 "Elite Wide", but that has been discontinued. (I wish >> discontinued items were not so prominently placed, but that's a different >> issue.) I found there is a Praxis 10 speed Wide Range 11-40 MTB cassette >> available. That should still work with indexed DT or BE shifters like the >> Shimano 7900. Since I'm weak, I wonder if this might be better than a >> standard road cassette like a 11-32. I'm definitely going to need a low >> gear if I'm going to try climbing any hills. >> >> As for the DT vs BE shifters, I can see using either in rural areas. My >> current leaning is toward 2x10 with 7900 DT shifters, indexed for the rear >> and friction for the front. But, how might DT or BE shifters compare with >> brifters for urban usage? Until I work up to it, most of my short-term use >> will be (small city) streets and paved MUP. I'm wondering if brifters >> might work better in that environment. >> >> Thanks again for all of the advice and ideas. >> >> Tim >> >> >> On Wed, May 25, 2016 at 7:14 PM, Tim Butterfield < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I've been thinking of getting a Rivendell bicycle for a long time. I >>> first joined this group to lurk back in 2010 and have been a member and >>> sometimes lurker since then. But, I had not made the commitment and >>> purchased a Riv. The closest I came was getting a Velo-Orange Rando. That >>> was sort of rivish. >>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/timbutterfield/sets/72157624827193423 >>> >>> Being in the suburbs of Chicago near O'Hare airport limited my comfort >>> using it the way it should have been. That bike was sold before I left >>> Chicago to live full-time in an RV. Once we decided to settle in >>> Anacortes, WA (still in the RV), I purchased a Specialized AWOL Comp, >>> definitely not rivish. >>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/timbutterfield/sets/72157644371355428 >>> >>> It's a nice bike, but I now want something more rivish, this time, the >>> real thing. I'm thinking of getting either the Roadeo or the A Homer >>> Hilsen. I like the idea of the liveliness and sportiness of the Roadeo, >>> but like the bit of extra versatility of the AHH also. With my weight at >>> 200+ (PBH 33" or 83.8cm, age 51), I'm leaning towards the AHH instead of >>> the Roadeo. I can start more roadish with the AHH and, as I build my >>> abilities further, expand the bike to fit new and/or different tasks >>> without having to change frames. >>> >>> So, I'm fairly settled on getting my first Riv, one of the two >>> mentioned. My pondering now is mostly on how to appoint it. My Rando was >>> more modern with the 105 setup. The AWOL was definitely modern with discs >>> and SRAM setup. But, I'm not tied to that. Though I haven't used it much, >>> I like the looks of a quill stem, drop bars, and downtube shifters. It >>> looks clean and simple. I'm just not sure what it's like to live with. I >>> expect that, like many things, it is a matter of adapting to it. But, >>> using DT shifters or bar ends does set a direction as neither would work >>> with an 11-speed I could have instead. I'm trying to consider the pros and >>> cons of each. >>> >>> With my AWOL, I leave it locked to the cabana just outside my RV. Some >>> RVs have sufficient inside storage for a bike. Mine doesn't. >>> >>> My questions to the group are these: As I am not yet doing longer >>> distances, are there still benefits to the more traditional setups? If I >>> pick either one, what might I later miss the other may have provided? Are >>> there likely to be any weather related or other wear issues leaving a Riv >>> locked to the RV park cabana like I do my AWOL? I'm doubtful of that, but >>> don't want to mistreat it either. Any thing else I should consider? >>> >>> Thanks for any advice you have. >>> >>> Tim >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten ************************************************************************** ************** *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on the contours of which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu *Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.* *(The cross stands motionless while the world revolves.) *Carthusian motto *It is *we *who change; *He* remains the same.* Eckhart *Kinei hos eromenon.* (*It moves [all things] as the beloved.) *Aristotle -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
