question

arch staunton

am recently a new convert to cycling and need to ask a question please.
does a bike with 3 chain rings make easier to cycle up hills as oppose to a double ring.Also do these rings come in different sizes ,if so which one is best to get Thank you in advance

Icyseanfitz

its all about the number of teeth on the rings, smaller up front means it will be easier to pedal while bigger means harder (its the opposite on the rear), a two ring setup might weigh less (not much) but how easy it is to cycle up a hill depends on your fitness and the number of teeth on your chainrings

Mr. Grieves

Yes, generally a triple will have a much lower lowest gear, which will make it easier on the hills.

dev100

arch staunton wrote: »

am recently a new convert to cycling and need to ask a question please.
does a bike with 3 chain rings make easier to cycle up hills as oppose to a double ring.Also do these rings come in different sizes ,if so which one is best to get Thank you in advance

Unless you have a professional racers chain set you should be fine. I have the ordinary jo soaps double ring set on my road bike. To my shame im quite unfit and hitting some harsh dirty hills in wicklow and forgetting when im nearly breaking the gear lever off to find the granny gear does lead to some giving out to myself. Its a matter of getting the fitness up to match the gear ratio

arch staunton

Thank u all ,I done the sean kelly 90 in the time of 3 .47 which i was very happy but i found some of the hills on the way back from tramore very hard,so i think iam reasonably cycling fit.
how do u know the gear ratios or how do know many teeth are on each ring
Thank

dev100

arch staunton wrote: »

Thank u all ,I done the sean kelly 90 in the time of 3 .47 which i was very happy but i found some of the hills on the way back from tramore very hard,so i think iam reasonably cycling fit.
how do u know the gear ratios or how do know many teeth are on each ring
Thank

Count the number of teeth:)

Icyseanfitz

haha yeah just count them, and if you need it to be easier just get a smaller ring

LastGasp

arch staunton wrote: »

how do u know the gear ratios or how do know many teeth are on each ring
Thank

As said above, you can count the teeth, although it is probably stamped on each of the front chainrings somewhere. I ride a Triple which is 34, 39, 53, which I think is pretty standard. Your easiest climbing gear also depends on how big the biggest cog on the back is (i.e. how many teeth it has). Mine is a 25, which is pretty easy, but you could go a bit bigger if necessary. Some people planning very hilly rides go to the extreme of fitting MTB type back sprockets, which would probably also need an MTB typre rear derailleur. Depending on what make/model chainset you have it may be possible to get smaller size chainrings, but they wouldn't all be interchangeable, and there aren't that many sizes available.

kincsem

I have three triples. A common size is 52, 39, 30 teeth for the three front chainrings. The back wheel cassette on my best bike has 12/27 (probably 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,27.)

What you have to think about is what will one turn of the pedals do. One turn of the pedals will turn a front chainring one turn. So if my chain is on the big 52 tooth chainring on the front and on the smallest 12 tooth sprocket on the back the back wheel must move 52 teeth - it will move 52 teeth divided by 12 teeth or 52/12 or 4.33 turns of the back wheel. But it needs a lot of strength to move the back wheel in 52/12, and that combination is only possible on the flat or downhill. Going uphill you will move onto the smallest front ring and the biggest rear sprocket, in my case 30/27, a 1.11 ratio.

If you want an even better (i.e easier to turn) sprocket on the back wheel Sram have an 11/32 cassette.

Icyseanfitz

kincsem wrote: »

I have three triples. A common size is 52, 39, 30 teeth for the three front chainrings. The back wheel cassette on my best bike has 12/27 (probably 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,27.)

What you have to think about is what will one turn of the pedals do. One turn of the pedals will turn a front chainring one turn. So if my chain is on the big 52 tooth chainring on the front and on the smallest 12 tooth sprocket on the back the back wheel must move 52 teeth - it will move 52 teeth divided by 12 teeth or 52/12 or 4.33 turns of the back wheel. But it needs a lot of strength to move the back wheel in 52/12, and that combination is only possible on the flat or downhill. Going uphill you will move onto the smallest front ring and the biggest rear sprocket, in my case 30/27, a 1.11 ratio.

If you want an even better (i.e easier to turn) sprocket on the back wheel Sram have an 11/32 cassette.

your not a real cyclist to op read everything this guys said as bible

C3PO

kincsem wrote: »

What you have to think about is what will one turn of the pedals do. One turn of the pedals will turn a front chainring one turn. So if my chain is on the big 52 tooth chainring on the front and on the smallest 12 tooth sprocket on the back the back wheel must move 52 teeth - it will move 52 teeth divided by 12 teeth or 52/12 or 4.33 turns of the back wheel. But it needs a lot of strength to move the back wheel in 52/12, and that combination is only possible on the flat or downhill. Going uphill you will move onto the smallest front ring and the biggest rear sprocket, in my case 30/27, a 1.11 ratio.

Best explanation I've ever seen - thanks!