Re: RTL: Ranking for non-geared teams

mscalisi

Since I haven't really done any head to head comparisons, I don't really
have any way of quantifying the difference in speed between my riding
geared and ungeared.

It's also hard for me to say that I know a 36er is faster than a 29er.
Between the two of us, Tom was faster on his 29er, but overall he is a
stronger rider than me.

It makes sense that the 44-inch gear should be easier to push uphill
and that the 56-inch gear should go faster downhill. It's also evident
that it's easier to control a 44" gear on a steepish hill than the 56".
A brake should eliminate that difference, but I have yet to find a brake
solution that I'm comfortable using geared up. (I fit a caliper brake
that seemed fine when 1:1, but super sketchy in high-gear)

One thing I like about my current setup is that with 127mm cranks, I
have two useful gear ratios. A 29er with 127mm cranks isn't often
useful in 1:1, except for maybe in the dirt. Of course you could
always drop down to 114mm cranks, which Tom was considering doing. He
probably won't now though since he's going to convert his ride into a
ride-to-the-trail and then ride-the-trail cycle.

If I could go back in time and make my decision again, I'd be very
tempted to go the 29er route, especially when you factor in weight and
portability.


GizmoDuck wrote:
> Forgot to ask, Mike, and those of you on 36" Sclumpfs....how much faster
> are you on that compared to the fixed 36"? Is it much faster than the
> 29" Sclumpf?
>
> I've just dusted off the chequebook and emailed Florian to go on the
> waiting list


--
mscalisi

><> Unicycle for (reducing the) Buddha <><
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