kehoe@reed.UUCP (Dave Kehoe) (11/17/85)
>The equipment consists of an Ultra 6 freewheel (13-15-19-24-30-34), >Huret Duopar rear derailleur, Specialized triple crankset (26-42-47) That's radical? Sounds like the same old heavy, can't- find-the-gear-I-want drivetrain. I'm a firm believer in experimenting with gearing on the road (not on paper), and the only drivetrain that allows cheap experimenting is the Stronglight 93 crankset and the Ultra-6 freewheel. Chainrings cost $12, go down to 28 teeth, and inner and outer rings are interchangable. Sprockets for the Ultra-6 are also cheap and easy to find. After much experimenting I found the perfect gearing (perfect for myself -- high-speed, high-rpm commuting and touring, with lots of hills): 28-36 chainrings, 13-21 freewheel. Range is 36 to 74.7 inches, I can climb anything in Portland even when I'm tired, I begin to lose torque around 30mph and spin out at 35mph (150rpm). To spin, I need a close-ratio freewheel and fairly close chainrings. Also, shifting is much improved and I save a pound over a 42-52 14-28. Spinning is also much easier with small chainrings/sprockets; the decrease in friction makes a much bigger difference than I expected. Speaking of spinning, rollers are the most wonderful invention for winter since hot chocolate and warm girlfriends. Reed College has a two sets of old Cortina rollers which I use. I replaced the rubber belts with new plastic belts -- much quieter. I don't know of any other sport that gives me such a workout in so short a time. In 20 minutes I'm so exhausted that I can't stand up. Spinning is essential on rollers; I spin a 52x14 so fast you can't see my knees. I can't spin smoothly on the Vetta wind trainer that I bought my dad, so I absolutely hate the wind trainer. But my father, who doesn't spin, can't ride rollers at all. Buy rollers if you spin, buy wind trainers if you don't. Rollers are also much more fun if you have someone to ride against, or work out where there's people walking by (as at Reed College's sports center). People always stop to watch or want to try it themselves. Wind trainers never draw a crowd. -- "Why my thoughts are my own, when they are in, but when they are out they are another's." -- Susanna Martin, executed for witchcraft. Dave Kehoe tektronix!reed!kehoe (503) 230-9454 (h) 684-3314 (w)
marcum@sun.uucp (Alan Marcum) (11/21/85)
In article <2143@read.UUCP> kehoe@reed.UUCP (Dave Kehoe) writes: > In article <2954@sun.UUCP> marcum@sun.UUCP (Alan M. Marcum) writes: > >The equipment consists of an Ultra 6 freewheel (13-15-19-24-30-34), > >Huret Duopar rear derailleur, Specialized triple crankset (26-42-47) > > That's radical? Sounds like the same old heavy, can't- > find-the-gear-I-want drivetrain. The point of this gear setup is to allow fine-grained choice of the desired ratio, while maintaining a very wide gear range, suitable for loaded touring in hills. > I'm a firm believer in > experimenting with gearing on the road (not on paper),... Agreed; this gear setup was the result of experimenting with various arrangements, both on my single and on my tandem. Like Dave, I like to spin fairly fast -- around 90rpm as a normal cadence. A 36" low gear is pretty low; yet, when you're uphill, into the wind, loaded down, 36" seems awfully high. Commuting is one thing -- I do that, too -- and unloaded touring, or centuries are another, and loaded touring is something else again. The gearing I mentioned was an example of something that works for me; for different applications, different gears are appropriate. -- Alan M. Marcum Sun Microsystems, Technical Consulting ...!{dual,ihnp4}!sun!nescorna!marcum Mountain View, California