40t, 42t, 46t, 50t... Where's the sweet spot...

[RidingAgain]

13 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

Right between RA cheeks 

And now we know what ATXZJ looks at when participating in group rides.

 

[RidingAgain]

I'm thinking that the G-string rider must have thrown ATXZJ into a tizzy.

[throet]

11 hours ago, RidingAgain said:

Regarding what you ride... So are you saying that riding a bike with a 36t cog or a 50t cog (if your bike came with one) makes no difference to your riding experience? If so, you'd be the first person I've come across with that feedback.

Exactly. You just use a ratio calculator as others have suggested and find a range of gears that works for you. In the case of an 11-36 that meant putting a single 28t chainring in front - for me on local trails!  Would I want to ride that bike in Colorado - no. Will this work for everybody - no. Does it matter that it's a 29er - yes. Does the weight of the bike matter - yes. Does the weight of the wheels matter - yes. Does my conditioning matter - yes. Do I use my 42t on a much lighter 29er with lighter wheels and a 30t chainring - not around here. Do I use my 50t on a lightweight 27.5 with 32t chaining - only once to make sure it worked. Hope this helps.  

Edited September 6, 2019 by throet

[jcarneytx]

On 9/1/2019 at 12:27 PM, Trailrider said:

It's so flat around here you can put a 30t on the front and run a 10-40 or 11-40 and very rarely run out of gear. oh and just so you know, 40t is a bigger gear than 50t.

I used a 32T/22T front (triple w/bashguard on outer ring), 12-28 cassette (9spd SRAM road cassette) on my 575 for years, until I upgraded to a new 1x11 setup (put a narrow wide in place of the 32T on same cranks, removed the 22T; kept the bashguard.)

Edited September 6, 2019 by jcarneytx

[RidingAgain]

11 hours ago, throet said:

Exactly. You just use a ratio calculator as others have suggested and find a range of gears that works for you. In the case of an 11-36 that meant putting a single 28t chainring in front - for me on local trails!  Would I want to ride that bike in Colorado - no. Will this work for everybody - no. Does it matter that it's a 29er - yes. Does the weight of the bike matter - yes. Does the weight of the wheels matter - yes. Does my conditioning matter - yes. Do I use my 42t on a much lighter 29er with lighter wheels and a 30t chainring - not around here. Do I use my 50t on a lightweight 27.5 with 32t chaining - only once to make sure it worked. Hope this helps.  

It's not about me using a calculator, but about people giving their actual experience feedback... And a calculator can't do that. And as you went on in your above quoted comment, your own words supported this.

All the variations you referenced are personal and impact a rider's experience.

You just told me that when you ride in Colorado you use a different set up to what you use in Austin. And when you ride a lighter bike you might change things. And the same goes for riding different size tires. Which are all kind of understandable... But not as specific as this... "...In the case of an 11-36 that meant putting a single 28t chainring in front - for me on local trails!...".

That's very specific. You went all the way down to a 28t chainring using an 11-36 cassette — 36t being what I'm interested in hearing about, as per my original comment. 

And this "...Do I use my 42t on a much lighter 29er with lighter wheels and a 30t chainring - not around here. Do I use my 50t on a lightweight 27.5 with 32t chaining - only once to make sure it worked..." tells me that you don't feel the need for a larger cog (under normal local riding circumstances I'm guessing) while riding the local trails that you do, and that a 50t is certainly not an option either and may just be something you'd consider riding in big mountains.

And having ridden with you, I know a little about your size and riding capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback.

[throet]

1 hour ago, RidingAgain said:

It's not about me using a calculator, but about people giving their actual experience feedback... And a calculator can't do that. And as you went on in your above quoted comment, your own words supported this.

All the variations you referenced are personal and impact a rider's experience.

You just told me that when you ride in Colorado you use a different set up to what you use in Austin. And when you ride a lighter bike you might change things. And the same goes for riding different size tires. Which are all kind of understandable... But not as specific as this... "...In the case of an 11-36 that meant putting a single 28t chainring in front - for me on local trails!...".

That's very specific. You went all the way down to a 28t chainring using an 11-36 cassette — 36t being what I'm interested in hearing about, as per my original comment. 

And this "...Do I use my 42t on a much lighter 29er with lighter wheels and a 30t chainring - not around here. Do I use my 50t on a lightweight 27.5 with 32t chaining - only once to make sure it worked..." tells me that you don't feel the need for a larger cog (under normal local riding circumstances I'm guessing) while riding the local trails that you do, and that a 50t is certainly not an option either and may just be something you'd consider riding in big mountains.

And having ridden with you, I know a little about your size and riding capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback.

Where the calculator comes in is being able to relate an unknown experience to one that is familiar. If you already know how your 11-36 works with a 3X in front, and know which combination of front-rear cogs give you the gear selection you need, then you just find the right combination to match. This goes for any change to cassette or chainring, and you really shouldn't consider one without the other.  

[notyal]

Calculators are for nerds.