Do the majority of you ride 20 speeds?

Strumpetto

Do most of you ride 20 speeds? I'm oblvious to roady gearing.

Also, what is a good weight for a road bike? 17.5 decent or heavy?

Pegleg

I ride 16 speeds myself..as to weight I'd say thats decent touch heavier than my road bike and quite a bit lighter than my TT

Peg

Julian G.

I run 14 and honestly couldn't see myself needing more... I don't even use all of the gears I have now. Remember, extra gears means more rotating mass, wich is where weight affects you the most... so personally I'd opt for less sprockets, and no triple chainrings.

Bigbananabike

Having more gears gives a better choice for things like hillclimbing. More importantly it gives a better choice for getting the ideal cadence for you.

I found a good improvement of 9 speed over my 8 speed when I made the change about 4 years ago.

Re rotating mass - most of the quality 10speed cassettes are lighter than the previous 9 speed cassettes and for those who are really fussy there are Dura Ace etc and Titanium cassettes.

Me - I train on a SingleSpeed(freewheel not fixed) and my other training bike and my race bike are double 9 speeds.
Í'm slowly building up a 10 speed for next season(I guess - when I have enough $ for some better wheels).

Paul

pistole

- really agree.

- it lessens the 'holes' in the ratios.


.

Julian G.

Proven wrong I guess...

melslur

Most ride 10, as it is the latest. Many still have 9 (as I do), and fewer have 8,7,etc.. 9 is fine, but a generation old for Shimano. So 9 Ultegra is more akin to 10 105. And 17.5 lbs is decent; the best (most expensive) bike of course are in the 15-16 lb range.

kevinbob

i used to run 30 gears but switched out to 20, i figured i dont need the other ten gears i never use.
and my bike weighs 20.5, fairly heavy.

jcthomasjr

Been riding 20 speeds since 2004. Prior to that rode 14 since 1991. Big difference in terms of gearing choices and when I ride my 14 on the indoor trainer I can tell the difference.

17.5 lbs is fine. Not the lightest but not the heaviest. I would say what is more important is the feel. You could ride a 15 lb bike that does not have the qualities you want and the 17.5 lb bike may be heavier but have the qualities you are looking for. My bike weighs in at 17 to 18 lbs and is fine for my riding - the extra 2 to 3 lbs could easily be made up in my losing weight

__________________
Like each bike ride, life is a journey.

Sikhandar

Here in Italy we're very snob, if you do not race with a 20 speed (or 18) bike they'll laugh at you... very sad also because nobody use the 11 when sprinting...

tt1106

I have a new bike, so it has 20. It was a gift from my wife this year for Christmas, so I can't complain.

docgtn

I have a 20 for my road bike and a triple eight(24) for my indoor training bike. I did not realize how spoiled I had become. I started with a triple eight 5 years ago or so when I started riding and thought it was the greatest thing in the world. Several upgrades later I can not believe the difference. The smoothness of the shifting makes having a 20 worth it. Anyway I have never weighed my bike, but the easiest way to make your bike lighter is to loose 5 pounds from your stomach.

Skoorb

20. I really like, now that I moved from a 14 to it, the fact that I can hone in my cadence at almost all times. I like to be at 105-112 kind of range and in most cases can hit exactly that iwth all of the options of gears.

chainstay

Just curious, how much weight savings, if any, there is between a DA 9 speed , 8 piece gruppo---that is brifters, calipers, front derailleur, rear derailleur, 53-39 cranks, bottom bracket, chain versus and 12-25 cassette versus a DA 10 speed, 8 piece gruppo with the same items? If anyone happened to go through this updgrade recently, and as a result happens to have this information handy, I would appreciate it.