Gearing on my Raven Sport

[JPH]

Hi all . I just wanted to share my thoughts on the gearing on my RST . I have had it from new ,its six years old and covered just over 10,000 miles . It came with a 16 sprocket and 46 chainring which has been ok cycling around cornwall (i can ride any hill ok) . But i always thought it would be nice to have a couple of lower gears so recently changed to a 42 chainring . "WHAT A DIFFERENCE"! . I wish i had done it ages ago i have found the gearing much more usable and the same rides a lot easier and enjoyable . It just shows that sometimes it pays to have a fiddle

[Danneaux]

Hi jph,

Congratulations on a happy six years and so many miles on your RST; wonderful!

Yes, it can make such a difference when the gearing is "just right" for one's needs, as I (re)discovered with a cassette change here recently on my Sherpa. The gearing is something one uses on every ride, and changing to the smaller chainwheel didn't just change your high and low, but everything in-between as well.

It just shows that sometimes it pays to have a fiddle

I'll say!

You may be as tired hearing this as we sometimes are with Hollywood, but I believe your general part of the country (Port Isaac and surroundings, anyway) was shown in the Doc Martin television series, just concluding its latest season on our Public Broadcasting System stateside. Beautiful part of the world, and the hills shown above the town (nevermind in town!) looked like they'd really give a workout.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the gearing change; always useful to hear what works good, better, and best.

Best,

Dan.

[Cambirder]

With 17 on the back and 44 on the front my gearing of my RST is very similar to yours. Living in East Anglia the bottom 3 gears don't get used on my home turf and I can spin out on fast downhill sections in 14, however I do roam into hilly areas from time to time, and 2 weekends ago I spent the weekend in the Yorkshire Dales where the bottom end gears got their first real outing.

I managed to get up all the 1 in 7, 6 and 5 hills without difficulty and even managed the 2 short sections of 1 in 4 without walking so I guess I've got the set up about right for anything the UK can throw at me.

One thing I did notice on those 1 in 4's is how light the front end becomes when you are on a 25% gradient, and the front wheel is on the point of loosing contact with the road.

[JPH]

Yeah i know what you mean Cambirder i was thinking of getting some front weights fitted  . seriously though i have found it a great improvement .

[il padrone]

I'm surprised you could survive for so long on a 46-16 in Cornwall. I have also watched and enjoyed Doc Martin and the hills around that part of the UK have been impressively challenging. My Rohloff here in Melbourne (not reknowned for being very hilly) began as a 42-16, however after a couple of months I decided to switch to 42-17, for longer chain life, and to make sure that my commonest used flat road gear was 11. With the 42-16 I found that 10 was the better flat road gear.

Now I use the 11 most of the time and only need to go below 8 for the steeper hills, or when touring fully loaded.

With 46-16 in Cornwall you must have bionic knees and be a true grinder  .

[Hobbes]

There is only one True Faith, and that is 38x16!

Andre Jute
from a hill overlooking the estuary of the River Bandon in West Cork, Ireland