Following a recent trip to South Wales Billy McNamara posted the following on Clarencourt Cycling Club’s Wall:
“The Great Debate – Gear Ratio’s – Is the following statement about my new bike true? I have been advised by several people it is true and others who say it’s not…
”Have checked the bike gears using an online gear calculator. I have had to make assumptions about crank length and the gears on your old Specialised Allez (Triple 3 x 8). Anyway your new Specialise Roubaix (Compact 2 x 10) will have 34 teeth on the smallest chain ring and 28 teeth on the largest cassette ring at the rear, compared to your old one that has 30 teeth front (granny ring) and 26 (biggest one at the back). These give roughly the same ratio, so you should not have an issue climbing. The 10 speeds at the back will mean it’s easier to find a happy cadence as the jumps between them are smaller.”
Is this true? I don’t want to make it any harder to climb hills than it is already.
Read the comments on the Clarencourt Facebook page and continue the debate or comment here…