Cassette help please!

Hi
I run a SRAM RIVAL set up,
Hi

I run a SRAM RIVAL set up, On the front I have 50/34 and normaly a 11-23 Cassette fitted for cummuting and general use!

I also own a 11-32 and Medium cage mech on the cheshire cat 2015 and the cheshire cobbled classics 2014 the 11-32 will go on as they both involve a lot of climbing when I did the C2C in june I didnt have 11-32 on the 2nd day with near 2000m of climbing the extra teeth would have been so welcome

the rest of the time the 11-23 will stay on to keep a certain level of strength in my legs the more you ride and the harder you push the fitter you will get but you still have to enjoy it!

if its going to be a hilly ride its only a 10 minute job swaping over and I dont care when people say about my choice of gears I generally get up the hills quicker on my 34, 23 than they do I just choose to make it easy!

I just wrote this in another
I just wrote this in another ‘thread’ but seems just as applicable here….

I investigated the whole compact/triple ‘business’ when I bought a road bike and boy were there some megabytes of data on it. Opted for a compact in the end but where I live is pretty hilly so I’m occasionally out of the saddle. I was recently in the Vosges and Swiss Alps and triples were EVERYWHERE! Granted it’s a bit more ‘hilly’ but they were being ridden by ‘wiry’ locals who looked like they spent most of their spare time riding bikes. I remember a Dutch couple burning past me on a Cat 1 climb; I was in my lowest gear and they still had a few more to play with. I went into a local bike shop and was admiring a row of Orbea bikes (incl carbon); all fitted with triples and not a compact in sight. A friend of mine who has done the Etape and Marmotte said that he’d wished he’d had a triple on the final climbs. Not sure it matters what you’re riding but nothing beats overtaking someone on a hill riding a more expensive bike than yours.

Why some people think it’s
Why some people think it’s not the done thing to cycle at an efficient cadence up long steep hills, I cannot understand.

Personally I say put on whatever gears you need to maintain a comfortable cadence up the steepest hill you have to deal with.

If you believe riding fast up steep hills is essential to avoid falling over, I think that’s a different problem and it might be wise to work on your bike handling. With practice it is perfectly possible to ride an 26″ mtb or tourer with a 22×32 gear up very steep hills at an efficient cadence without wobbling that much.

My wife and I retired to
My wife and I retired to Korea and I shipped out my 20-speed Felt F75, a good entry-level road bike. Whereas the 11-28 cassette was fine for me in London, I was struggling on Korean hills even in the city. To give you an idea of the gradients, the first time I unloaded a toolbox from the car outside our flat I made the mistake of putting it on the road. It accelerated downhill until it lodged against a tyre of the next car down. Plenty of hills like this.

So, with the Felt 8 years old and needing replacement chainrings, cassette and chain, I switched to a 12-32 and my original Shimano 105 copes fine. I can vouch that the extra 4 teeth do make a difference; I can now cycle up to my gate and climb pretty well all the local hills.

Losing weight, getting fitter and putting up with pain? If your cycling is more endurance than enjoyment, you’ll probably give up long before your free bus pass and pension. After 50 years on more bikes than I care to count, I’m routinely getting up at 5a.m. this summer to enjoy riding before the temperature hits 30C. We also have a self-built timber house on a steep mountain road in the countryside. For this I ride my Giant XTC with 30 gears. You’ll read comments about modern bikes having “too many gears”. Well, I wouldn’t like fewer: they all get used within the first 10 minutes of steeply undulating mountain roads.

Finally, when you get to the wrong side of 60, your legs don’t rev like they used to. You become more diesel, less petrol, you have the torque but the legs can’t be persuaded to fly round. More gears over a wide range mean that the legs can keep a steady rhythm and frequent gear shifting takes care of the road speed.

Enjoy riding and you’ll cycle more and drive less. That’ll go a long way towards fitness and weight control. When retirement gives you more time for cycling, you’ll be keeping up with the speed merchants half your age and it won’t hurt. Honest!

dreamlx10 wrote:chiv30

dreamlx10 wrote:

chiv30 wrote:

dreamlx10 wrote:

Still no need for your use of the word “Prick”.You obviously can’t handle criticism, even though it’s not directed at you.

Anyone else notice the irony here…..

:evil:

I don’t think calling someone a “Prick” is criticism though. It’s just name calling.

I think I called you an elitist prick, this was based on your response thus criticism, however just a prick would have been name calling , in that respect you are correct .

Now I have passed my helpful advice on, so I am happily finished with this thread however I do believe the op also asked for your most hated kit so by all means carry on and answer him 😀

chiv30 wrote:dreamlx10

chiv30 wrote:

dreamlx10 wrote:

Still no need for your use of the word “Prick”.You obviously can’t handle criticism, even though it’s not directed at you.

Anyone else notice the irony here…..

:evil:

I don’t think calling someone a “Prick” is criticism though. It’s just name calling.

big mick wrote:dreamlx10

big mick wrote:

dreamlx10 wrote:

I would say if you can’t get up any of the hills with a 34/28 then don’t bother going you either need to lose a lot of weight or get fitter.

So true

It isn’t true at all , as the op said his fitness and weight aren’t an issue he just wants to make his hill climbing easier …. It’s no wonder people stick to mtbs with attitudes like this :O