Milestone Today

[floridabike]

After a 25 mile ride today gets me over the 1000 miles on the Cruzbike in 2 1/2 months. I know it's not much compared with some riders but considering I'm 72 and 20 lbs. over weight it's a lot for me.

I'm looking for recommendations on gearing. I'm running a front sprocket 28, 38, 48 and a 7 speed 14 to 28 on the crank. I'm thinking 3 speed internal hub with 8 or 9 cassette, maybe getting some closer shifting range. Maybe leave the front alone and go to a 8 or 9 or even a 10 gear cassette, not sure. Articles that I have read seem to indicate that internal hubs are not as efficient and can be noisy. Here in Florida, no hills but always a wind here near the Gulf and sometimes the head wind seems worst than hills. It would be nice to have closer gears at time.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Phil,
I think 1000 miles

Hi Phil,

I think 1000 miles in 2 1/2 months is fantastic. Congratulations!

Internal gear hubs (IGH) are lower efficiency, but probably not enough that you'd really notice. They are expensive (that you'd probably notice) and I can't really comment on noise.

Particularly on recumbents because you can't stand, I very strongly agree that you want to have gearing that is low enough. And not everybody agrees with me here either, but I also like having close gear spacing (I don't really have it, but I want it ).

Some random thoughts:

* Yes, upgrading to more gears on the cassette may get you closer spacing. 8 and 9 speed use the same chain and derailleur (and maybe 7 speed). 10 speed will require thinner chain, and possibly a different crank. 10 speed is also a fair bit more expensive.

* One option: Upgrade to a 9 speed road cassette (say 12-25T), and change the 28T granny to 24T or 22T (I run a 48/38/22 crank). You'll get tighter spacing and you'll still have your lower end. I really like having a granny that is quite a bit lower than my middle. It does require me to shift the front derailleur and rear derailleur at the same time, but it's very nice having the extended gear range.

* When looking at different gearing options, it's useful to use a gearing calculator (I really like this one - here's my Sofrider setup). You can change the RPM range and get a very nice idea of how close your gears are to each other.

Cheers,

Charles

p.s. the 'SCAYT' spell checker is quite annoying. It isn't on by default, it doesn't remember the words added (like Cruzbike, for example) and actively disables the spell checker that my browser has. Is there a way to turn that off and just let my browser do it?

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Phil,
I think 1000 miles

Hi Phil,

I think 1000 miles in 2 1/2 months is fantastic. Congratulations!

Internal gear hubs (IGH) are lower efficiency, but probably not enough that you'd really notice. They are expensive (that you'd probably notice) and I can't really comment on noise.

Particularly on recumbents because you can't stand, I very strongly agree that you want to have gearing that is low enough. And not everybody agrees with me here either, but I also like having close gear spacing (I don't really have it, but I want it ).

Some random thoughts:

* Yes, upgrading to more gears on the cassette may get you closer spacing. 8 and 9 speed use the same chain and derailleur (and maybe 7 speed). 10 speed will require thinner chain, and possibly a different crank. 10 speed is also a fair bit more expensive.

* One option: Upgrade to a 9 speed road cassette (say 12-25T), and change the 28T granny to 24T or 22T (I run a 48/38/22 crank). You'll get tighter spacing and you'll still have your lower end. I really like having a granny that is quite a bit lower than my middle. It does require me to shift the front derailleur and rear derailleur at the same time, but it's very nice having the extended gear range.

* When looking at different gearing options, it's useful to use a gearing calculator (I really like this one - here's my Sofrider setup). You can change the RPM range and get a very nice idea of how close your gears are to each other.

Cheers,

Charles

p.s. To the forum admins: the 'SCAYT' spell checker is quite annoying. It isn't on by default, it doesn't remember the words added (like Cruzbike, for example) and actively disables the spell checker that my browser has. Is there a way to turn that off and just let my browser do it?

 

[currystomper]

Hub Gears

Hi

Apart from riding a 'cruz I also ride folding bikes, here hub gears are much more normal. If you have a perfectly set up derailer and the chain is well oiled and the gears are in line then it is slightly more efficienct but in the real world there isn't much of a diffirence.

Hubs can wiegh a bit more the derailers. Normally they are very quiet some old 3 speed hubs make a nice little tick, tick tick, I've not noticed this on new hubs.

You can change hub gears when you are stopped (which can be useful on a cruz') but you should reduce power when changing gears when on he go. (which is diffirent to derailers)

I would go for a x3 hub and a x7 way derailer (like a Q) if I had the chance.

I hope this helps

CS

 

[Romagjack]

Since owning my Quest2 with

Since owning my Quest2 with SRAM Hub, I will never go back to an all derailer bike. No more being in the wrong gear at a stop sign!

 

[floridabike]

Thanks for comments and

Thanks for comments and recommendations, it's really appreciated. I like the Dual Drive SRAM Hub but it's expensive. It was on EBay for $168 but it's been sold out and not available now for that price. Someone is selling theSturmey Archer CS-RF3 for under $100 with shipping but haven't found much information about it.

The two modification that I have made are the 2 legged kick stand and the spring, that someone recommended, and keeps the front wheel from swinging to the side. It's nice to have a seat to put things on when you stop and not worry about it falling over.

Phil