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Set up for a climbing bike

by reuvenfg
Tue, Jul 14, 2020 10:47
6

I am planning on doing a 100km ride in the Lake District with over 2500m of elevation and some of the the toughest climbs in the UK including Hardnott Pass- which maxes out at 33% gradient- and I was wondering what modifications I could make to my out-the-box Cannondale CAAD Optimo 105 with a 50-34 crankset and 11-30 cassette. What should I upgrade without costing too much or in terms of gears without compromising my performance on the flats?

Any ideas? 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

What goes up must come down. So as others have advised, check your brakes. All those watts you put through the pedals on the way up, many of them have to heat up your brakes on the way down.
https://road.cc/content/news/263068-cyclist-dies-after-crashing-wrynose-...
https://www.lamrt.org.uk/index.php/incidents/advanced?tid%5B%5D=999&tid%...

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reuvenfg replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

thanks for a bit of a scare, but I will upgrade my tyre (conti gp5000s?) and replace my brake pads

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Welsh boy | 3 years ago
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Change your cassette, no one needs 50x11, at a reasonable pedalling speed that gives you over 40mph after which you can probably freewheel for a minute or so before having to hit the brakes.  Look for a 12 or 13 to 32 cassette (you dont say if you are on a 10 or 11 speed setup), it will give you a lower bottom gear without making the jump between gears too big, you will spend more time in the right gear rather than being over or under geared.

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reuvenfg replied to Welsh boy | 3 years ago
0 likes

i do find the setup great for going fast downhill and I don't really want to lose out on that. Do bigger jumps between gears make such a difference. I have an 11 spd btw

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Welsh boy replied to reuvenfg | 3 years ago
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Personally I would (and have) sacrificed the range of gears to reduce the jumps between each gear, i find you spend more time in the right gear rather than being slightly overgeared, changing down and then being undergeared.  I live in hilly south Wales and ride 50/34 with an 11 speed 13-27 cassette (Miche, pick your own sprocket combinations).  There are very few descents where i am undergeared and then I dont mind freewheeling for a few seconds, last time that happened was the day before yesterday, doing 46mph, had to freewheel for about 15 seconds before braking for the corner.  Small jumps between gears every time as far as i am concerned.

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TheBillder replied to Welsh boy | 3 years ago
1 like

Going fast downhill from Hardknott isn't that much fun unless you have nerves of steel - preferably Reynolds 531. And very good brakes and tyres - the roads are steep and narrow, and the run offs are not attractive.

Cassette change is the best thing you can do. I switched to an 11-34 on a CAAD Optimo Tiagra for my go at Hardknott (so 34-34 ratio) and still stopped - I just couldn't wind my lard up the 30% bit. I think on 105 you can go pretty big if you have the medium length derailleur - even up to 40t.

But my son at half the weight powered away on 34-27 (Campag). So weight loss is also good (if you have any to lose).

Enjoy it (perhaps in hindsight) and try some of the other roads in the Lakes - there's a huge playground and some surprisingly remote places. Lovely.

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