Vargas
Well-Known Member
This weekend I didn't have a very nice experience with my conversion bike (very much like a SofRider).
Some friends invited me for a ride to a waterfall at a city not far from Rio de Janeiro.
They are mountain bikers and when I asked how hard it was going to be, since all the ride was going to be on unpaved roads (Brazilian unpaved roads). They said it was going to be very light, most descents to the waterfall, and after reaching the waterfall we would return to the city following an abandoned railway path - much longer but a small gradient. Of course I accepted.
The way to the waterfall was most descents but there were also some steepy ascents. The road had sand on it and lots of irreguraties. I couldn't keep a constant cadence in the ascents and lost traction all the time, even using the smallest gear, having to push the bike uphills.
The first "What can I do?":
I have a Shimano Alivio group with a triple chainring 44-32-22 and 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34 teeth - my shortest relation is 22-34.
Is it possible to get a tripple chainring for Shimano group with less teeth? Would it improve my climbing ability being able to keep a faster cadence? Btw, I don't have any problem on asphalt and very seldom use the 44 teeth on the triple.
After a couple of hours we reached the waterfall and I thought the worst part was over. But it wasn't.
The abandoned railway path had many stretches covered with gravel and some rubbles. In spite of the small gradient I couldn't keep pedaling. With every little jump of the front wheel on the gravel/rubbles I'd loose traction and control and sometimes even my feet would jump out of the pedals.
The second "What can I do?":
I think there are a couple of things I could have done to improve the ride.
1 - reduce front tire pressure (I am running a Kenda Small Block Eight 26x1.95 with 65 psi). Would reducing tire pressure for example to 45 psi help anything?
2 - my front fork doesn't have suspension. Would a front suspension help or make things worse?
3 - I am afraid to clip my feet. But I believe a toe clip would have helped. Does it make sense?
When it was over I told the guys I really had a hard time on the gravel on the railway path. Then they said they also had, even with their MTB bikes. But I din't see anyone loosing control like me
This isn't a critic to the SR - I love the bike. And I also like riding offroad, so I just wonder what I can do to improve my SR offroad riding ability.
Some friends invited me for a ride to a waterfall at a city not far from Rio de Janeiro.
They are mountain bikers and when I asked how hard it was going to be, since all the ride was going to be on unpaved roads (Brazilian unpaved roads). They said it was going to be very light, most descents to the waterfall, and after reaching the waterfall we would return to the city following an abandoned railway path - much longer but a small gradient. Of course I accepted.
The way to the waterfall was most descents but there were also some steepy ascents. The road had sand on it and lots of irreguraties. I couldn't keep a constant cadence in the ascents and lost traction all the time, even using the smallest gear, having to push the bike uphills.
The first "What can I do?":
I have a Shimano Alivio group with a triple chainring 44-32-22 and 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34 teeth - my shortest relation is 22-34.
Is it possible to get a tripple chainring for Shimano group with less teeth? Would it improve my climbing ability being able to keep a faster cadence? Btw, I don't have any problem on asphalt and very seldom use the 44 teeth on the triple.
After a couple of hours we reached the waterfall and I thought the worst part was over. But it wasn't.
The abandoned railway path had many stretches covered with gravel and some rubbles. In spite of the small gradient I couldn't keep pedaling. With every little jump of the front wheel on the gravel/rubbles I'd loose traction and control and sometimes even my feet would jump out of the pedals.
The second "What can I do?":
I think there are a couple of things I could have done to improve the ride.
1 - reduce front tire pressure (I am running a Kenda Small Block Eight 26x1.95 with 65 psi). Would reducing tire pressure for example to 45 psi help anything?
2 - my front fork doesn't have suspension. Would a front suspension help or make things worse?
3 - I am afraid to clip my feet. But I believe a toe clip would have helped. Does it make sense?
When it was over I told the guys I really had a hard time on the gravel on the railway path. Then they said they also had, even with their MTB bikes. But I din't see anyone loosing control like me
This isn't a critic to the SR - I love the bike. And I also like riding offroad, so I just wonder what I can do to improve my SR offroad riding ability.
