Smaller Gears, Slower Riders? Tour de France Gears Explained | Tour de France 2017

Simon takes a look around the Katusha Alpecin mechanics truck to see how cassettes/rear derailleurs have revolutionised to the needs of cyclists.
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What do you think of the SRAM WiFli rear derailleur system? Let us know in the comments below👇 We'd love to know if you have one.
SRAM introduced the WiFLi rear derailleur as a solution to allow a rider to use upto a 32t cassette with ease. Previously it meant having to put a long cage derailleur on a bike, you'd need to put a longer chain on too.
Simon is joined by Jason from SRAM who is the team liaison and finds out how products can be bettered for the professionals, this technology, when implemented, is available for consumer use too. Meaning that everyone can take advantage of advances in technology.
Tony Martin is a classic example of a rider who wants to stay in the big chainring for as long as possible and with a 58t chainring paired up with a 32t sprocket on the cassette means that he can do so by using the WiFLi medium cage rear derailleur.
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Watch more on GCN...
Tony Martin's Kraftwerk Inspired Canyon Speedmax CF SLX | Tour De France 2017 📹 gcn.eu/martinbike
Is A Compact Faster Than A Standard Chainset? GCN Vs. The Mortirolo | Giro D'Italia 2015 📹 gcn.eu/1B
Photos: © Bettiniphoto / www.bettiniphoto.net/ & ©Tim De Waele / www.tdwsport.com
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Leave us a comment below!

[@djlowes]

I'm relatively new road cycling and I found this video to be pretty darn interesting. Sheds light on the current trend and "evolution" of the sport.

[@leftymadrid]

52/36 and a 11/32 cassette makes for the perfect combination, especially when you live in a hilly area! AND doesn't drain your gas tank/energy as much at the end of a long day of cycling...

[@diegog.2899]

I agree with that relationship, but for 11 or 12 speeds. For 10 speeds you already need 11-34 in 52/36

[@bjpigott1900]

11-34 and 50-34 at the front. Gravel bikes are changing this (1x) too, perhaps for the better. There is a lot of duplication in the standard 11-32/ 52/36 setups, IMHO.

[@TheGazavman]

34X30 ;)

[@markclemence9429]

my first ten speed (1970) had a Campy 13,14,15,18,21x 46 and52, pretty tough on the climbs

[@scottcrawford3745]

Same here. My Front was 52/42 and rear was 13-18... all long ratios, and slower cadences pushing more strength than spin. Oohh, my poor knees.

[@Karollenart]

Got 11-32 and 50-34, really great for climbing when your ftp is 220 :) Can beat 15% without burning.

[@georgejgilles.3999]

👍" a lot of this stuff"? 11/32 sounds like a great friend when going up hill. 58 tooth is massive.

[@darrengreen7906]

52/36&11/32 what i ride. Wider range of gears allows for a higher cadence and less stress on the knees going up climbs.

[@YuriDontPlay]

lol I ride fixed 48/15 spinning once I get on a break or attack usually can't attack alone but I can stay on a break during a climb and drop em once it gets less steep since I'll just have the momentum for a steeper climb but since it's not steep it changes it into a sprint kinda

[@patthewoodboy]

you cant ride Fixed gear in road races , its not allowed.

[@JS-tb9hu]

Problem with having low guys is needing high guys as well. Maybe cranksets will eventually have bigger jumps in rings

[@Mububban23]

I find that most bikes shipping with 52/36 also come with 11/28. I've got a compact 50/34 and 11-32 on my endurance bike, I reckon I could cope with either 52/36 or an 11-28, but not changing the front and rear ratios at the same time. My skinny legs need gears!

[@jamegumb7298]

Darren Green 58&11-32. Gotta go fast.

[@carlmons]

Watts is watts, and you can push more watts with slower cadence - but for a shorter time with more lactic acid and soreness the next day. Guys in the TDF need to be fresh every day over a weeks long race, so they're spinning higher cadence with the longer term goal in mind. Just like they said in the video, they'r actually going slower up the hills than they used to, and this is the reason. If you race in a one-day, or even two or three day stage races, you'll be more competitive pushing higher gears and suffering through it. Bottom line, unless and until you're doing races like the TDF, don't emulate what they do - train and gear for the types of races or rides you do.

[@johneric3886]

Nice work young man. Great communication skills as always.

[@humbertoleandro896]

I think this video missed an important aspect. 20 year ago the cassettes were 9 or 8 speed so if you wanted to have a wider range, you would have big gaps between gears. Now with 11 speed not that much. So if you take a 8 speed cassette that was 11-23, you just add two more cogs and you have an 11-28. If technology allows for cassettes to have even more cogs (12 speed is available for MTB already), in 10 years from now we may be talking about the disappearing of the double chainring system.

[@paulflory3532]

@Humberto Leandro: Agreed. And when they were talking about the 1970's, they neglected to mention that back then we had only 5 speeds in the back. If you wanted a 23 or 25 as your lowest gear, you'd have a big jump somewhere else in the gearing. According to my logs, I was using 13/15/17/19/21 for hills and 14/15/16/17/18 for flat races. The other problem then was that the smallest Campy inner chainring available was a 42 (due to the dimensions of the crank spider arms), which I used. So my lowest gear was a 42/21. My big ring varied between 52 and 55 I think. So the increase to 8,9,10, and now 11 speeds at the back has been a huge factor in making spinning feasible.

[@idealperson30]

Yes Sram has made 1x11 groupset now

[@thehandleiwantedwasntavailable]

We are seeing this already. Wilier make a road bike designed for all day riding with a single chain ring. It’s a good direction IMO.

[@larstomasson9244]

exactly, there now 6 to 3 extra cogs available now that didn't exist in the 1970 to 1990's so of course they got bigger, they can't get smaller with the current chain pitch. So it used to be a trade off, tight gearing was more important than having low gearing, now they can have tight gearing and low gearing.

[@fabianwylie8707]

Thanks for the information GCN . I just got the Dura Ace crank 54/40 , cassette 11/34 . Thanks 🎉🎉🎉

[@maxgraman5519]

Finally GCN acknowledges the obvious advantage of large cassettes!

[@Juan1985g]

50/34 with 11/30 cassette is what I ride on. I try to avoid using the 30 cog but when cimbs get super tough I am glad I got that 30 cog.

[@davidturpin9135]

The answer here is not complex. It is an engineering problem. Even as cyclists get stronger, you simply cannot put smaller than an 11T on the back. To compensate, they are riding larger chain rings. To compensate for that, they need larger cassettes. Simple engineering. Tony Martin is running a FIFTY EIGHT tooth chainring. That's massive. So he has to run a 11-32 rear to be able to climb, and when descending he can hit 75kph without spinning out.

[@keyboardwarrior327]

Out of curiosity, why can't you put smaller than an 11T on the back? Is it a UCI regulation or something else?

[@russellmoore1533]

The additional extra cogs that 11 speeds give you is one of the reasons that wide range gearing is now used for racing. In the 70s 6 speed clusters were the go, so if you went for wide range you had large gaps in the gears. As the number of cogs increased the chance to have evenly spaced wide range gearing has became a reality. It does seem strange though to see racers using clusters that not that long ago were the choice of touring cyclists.

[@chriscolabella880]

I came to road from competitive MTB so could already put out decent power. Even then I was astonished at how high geared road bikes were. One of the first modifications I made was sticking a MTB mech and 11-36t cassette out back. Done a few Sportives since, nothing serious, and still get comments about my silly gears while loads of riders push up the climbs.

[@OsellaSquadraCorse]

Yup, it's amazing how there's such a strong emphasis on tradition in Road racing, that even things which are scientifically better, or can give a rider a better feel are turned away because they're not traditions. I think this explains how a team like Sky has succeeded; not just marginal gains, but by doing what's sensible to win - instead of treating professional grand-tour riding like an extended club ride. The utter nonsense that some clubbies come up with having listened to and stuck with so many 'traditions' makes me laugh sometimes. Short-cage mechs should be in the dustbin; only good place for them.

[@nicklaz6986]

What groupset were you running to accommodate 11-36t ??

[@jbean530]

It's like a secret edge you have. Most people just don't know.

[@jason200912]

In the gun community we call them fudds. A lot in common with cycling. Fudds want to ban everything new because it's scary, expensive, and dangerous. They want to force everyone to use the old antiques they grew up with and ban everything else as a mandate.

[@bschauz]

Great vid Si!

[@ShinobiDiabolik]

It is true. I see proof of this all over the place. i live in a hilly city, right next to mountains, so low gear ratios are the proper choice. being less fit, then most riders relying on lower gears, allow me higher cadence and lower effort, but higher average speed because of cadence. i actually overtake on hill climbs, most power riders, because they struggle on their way up. the truth is that the proper gear ratio choice is real critical, for your performance, for the given terrain.

[@listofromantics]

Now this is much more interesting TDF / UCI content.

[@AngelGonzalez-hc4zw]

I believe the 12-23 was the standard. Oh and let’s not forget that good ole front 42 tooth chainring.

[@TimothyFish]

Fewer drugs changes what people are able to push.

[@Malandirix]

Timothy Fish Let's hope so.

[@Ob1sdarkside]

Timothy Fish fewer drugs? Ha ha, who needs drugs when steroids are available as a Tue. You can always head to Tenerife or south Africa for some slack testing areas

[@relikvija]

Timothy Fish keep dreaming... they are all high as 3 fucks

[@TheJno86]

Same thoughts

[@erikrossen4268]

Indeed, the end of the EPO era is sort of the elephant in the room here. Just at look at how the top riders are built now vs the 90s. Miguel Indurain and Lance Armstrong were waaaay more muscular than Wiggins, Froome and Quitana. They were only able to have that kind of strength without a penalty in terms of VO2max/kg because their blood was so full of red blood cells they could get enough oxygen to all those muscles.

[@KatieKookaburra]

Spin spin spin! Power is power at the end of the day regardless of what cassette you have. I've got a 40 and I push more watts than when I had a 32. Watts is watts 🚴🏼‍♀️

[@bernardhinault9377]

That is actually a misconception. If you are doing 400 watts on an E-bike without pedaling you would be going much faster than a 40 cassette doing 130 cadence and 400W. The reason is that a higher cadence is less aerodynamic and in fact creates quite a large% of the overall drag.

[@death2pc]

Spinning is a joke.

[@bigring6424]

Bernard Hinault, Specialized has a "Win Tunnel" test on exactly this and they conclude that your statement is bunk, based both on their measurements and on a simple understanding of the physics. There is no aero difference in cadence. I'm sure there's a sensitivity limit on their measurements. Maybe low cadence saves you 0.1 watts of air resistance.

[@buddyholland1427]

AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS ME CYCLING MY BUTT OF AND GOING THROUGH PAIN BARRIERS..

[@the_joe_reynolds_foundation]

Gus, you can certainly have your opinion on what gear works for you, but why are you attacking her?

[@diogosimoes29]

TRIPLE UPLOAD 🙌🙌

[@silmarillion3]

I think there is an important point not made during the video which has contributed to the change towards 11-32 etc - Race organisers in their zeal for creating an ever more exciting spectacle for fans and hence tv ratings (i.e. advertising) - are seeking out ever steeper and steeper gradients to try and cause the riders to crack - especially true in the Vuelta and Giro - less so in the TdF - this logically drives the riders to use smaller and smaller gears to help maintain cadence.

[@obriaind]

silmarillion3 yup, adding climbs like the Angliru and Zoncolan was the impetus for pro road riders to star using gears that only existed on mountain bikes before.

[@aaron___6014]

silmarillion3 Lance rode steep grades.

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Another reason the grand tours have had a higher average speeds is the tours have also got shorter. In the 60's 70's 80s the tours were aprox 600km longer than they have been in the last two decades.

[@jeffrey2839]

I do have both 11-32 and 12-27 cassettes and having 42-52 chainrings, I use dependently on how I want my ride will be...

[@deezynar]

I was riding when the first 6 sprocket freewheels were introduced in the late '70's. Five sprocket freewheels had been standard for 30 years or so, before that. And the smallest sprocket we had available was a 13 back then. Most riders ran a "straight block" with 13,14,15,16,17, on flatter courses. You'd jump two teeth on the bigger two, or three, if you rode a mountain course, so it might be 13,14,16,18,20, or 21. It wasn't long after the 6 sprocket freewheels came out that cassettes were introduced, and then sprocket counts gradually increased in time, with 7s, 8s, 9s, and much later, 10s. Having those extra ratios available is wonderful. They give you the ability to keep your cadence in your preferred zone. As for those really big sprockets, it's nice to be able to stay in the saddle and spin up a steep climb. It used to be that you had no choice but to get out of the saddle and jump on the peddles to get up a serious slope. If you had only 5 sprockets, they could not go from the smallest of 13, up to 32, without having big jumps between the ratios, meaning big jumps in your cadence. Imagine the large ratio gaps in a 13,16, 20, 25, 32. It would rarely provide you with the right ratio.

[@rodriguezahr]

Amazing video. Watching the tour I always feel like starving for video shots showing the gears riders are using. The rarely give is those closeups which is a potty really.

[@TheRhodes76]

Great video thanks guys 👍

[@Gkuljian]

The "professional" road bike I bought in 1970 came with a five speed cassette going from 13 to 26 with a 42/53 up front. I rode some very difficult climbs through the years on that bike. Now I'm laughing. But at the time, I didn't think anything of it.

[@JenkemSuperfan]

gonna need a video explaining gearing after this one guys

[@swites]

Anything 12% and over I'm doing 300W to keep my cadence over 80rpm's with a compact and 11-28. That's why I went up to an 11-32. Just means when I'm tired/fatigued or on a recovery ride, I can get up the many climbs like that around here a lot easier, and in a comfortable cadence.

[@swites]

@@ytfeelslikenorthkorea Yes when I first bought my bike it came with a standard crank and an 11-25 on the back. On my usual hilly route the gears were much too hard for me. Strained my lower back, was over 10mins slower than usual and didn't enjoy the ride one bit! And that was with gradients mainly in the 8 to 10% range. Having gears that you can more easily spin makes the ride so much more enjoyable :)

[@cpk313]

There is a low level "ding" going on in the background that sounds like someones left a car door open that is driving me nuts!

[@johntechwriter]

Actually a useful episode of this show, which isn't always the case. They explain how drivetrains have evolved over the years and show how cluster range is much wider, and how they use a compact crank to keep their cadence high, compared with the low-cadence "lugging" style when climbing as was done in the '70s.

[@Sills71]

The use of smaller gears is down to a move to spinning higher cadences... which is a direct result of increased O2 uptake.... which is a result of EPO/blood doping in the sport. Lance started the high cadence movement and we all know he doped to the gills. Froome is the same....

[@endemiceden722]

Thank You! I need WiFLi, that is really killer!

[@clarencelaboranti4835]

endemic eden either you've fallen victim of elaborate advertising or I should really replace my sarcasm-o-meter

[@milesmoore5422]

No mention of individual gear ratios per given front ring size, and no mention of tire circumferences which also effect the gear ratios. How about having a video on how to accurately calculate a given ratios per tire circumference ?

[@lucianmunteanu7660]

they ride all 700/25c or 700/28c

[@l34052]

I wonder how the Aqua Blue riders are really getting on with their 1x setup when it comes to any kind of mountain stage? On record I'm sure they'll sing it's praises but behind closed doors I wonder if opinions are slightly different?

[@GunganWorks]

Personally, I've got a recumbent TT bike with an 11-32 matched to a massive 60T chainring. Even on a lowracer, I have yet to encounter a hill where I was pedaled out.

[@boatman222345]

Wasn't it Lance who started the whole faster cadence trend?

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

Important information here Martin uses a bigger ring (I use to 56 tooth ring) to have more speed during the straightest cog combo with the big ring. This way you are not cross chained on the 11 and 14 or 15 th sprocket. By using a bigger ring you can stay at the lower sections of the cassette. In heavy Winds for example this a massive advantage.

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

@@gilr4024 Yes in heavier winds a big ring big sprocket is an advantage, if you use a 40 tooth inner ring ( if the bike frame allows it) you now cut the cadence severely vs if you were stuck on a 34 tooth ring, but now you will not be tired over spinning fighting the wind. If you look at any bike both the big and small chainring have only a few direct lines of sights with the back sprockets as the rest is all cross chain. A bigger chainring lifts the chain in the back cassette much higher than a smaller chainring, this difference allows for more cross chaining as the chain is now higher and won’t rub on the next smaller cog. Of course there is a limit to how far you can take this before losing advantages. I use a 52/40 chainring crankset this gives me the inner bigger chainring which is crucial for really heavy winds in my area. Using the 52x 19 sprocket is my favourite line as it gives me less spinning and more getting out of the wind. Psychologically when you use a smaller ring with a bigger sprocket on the flats you are basically spinning going nowhere and this is why we can use cross chaining to our advantage so that we move faster but rotating less on the legs. In cold windy areas using a 34 x 21 is brutal on your legs, but using a 40 or a 52 crosschained with that 21 sprocket of course will be much faster and also less spinning on your legs thus less energy used.

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

@@gilr4024 Most modern carbon frame bikes are almost all similar in geometry for road ( and the higher front for the cyclocross crap). Basically the back area should have a rounded side so you can use 28c tires or 32c. The front of the bike just some aero tube shapes. A 50-40 is okay but the 40 will be a challenge on steeper climbs, if you don’t use a 12-32 or 12-36 cassette. The advantage of a bigger smaller inner ring is to take advantage of bigger cassette sprockets so that you climb easier on less spinning. However you need to use a bigger cassette to take advantage of this. 50/40 is fine to use on older bikes, I actually ( don’t laugh here) use a 14-29 cassette as my normal rides as that junior cassette gives me a massive advantage on that chainline I mentioned. Basically my 11 is a 14 tooth sprocket so this means if I go to the 16th ( in-line with big chain ring) someone else will be off set as they have a 11,12,13,14, 16 gap to cross over. A junior cassette is very helpful with climbing hills and also riding in heavier winds ( if you live on the flats, no mountains). There are many places to order older parts but they are mostly used ( eBay and others). You can also buy other brands if cranksets, I get all my bike stuff from Aliexpress these days, tons of different parts you can order. New bikes are much lighter and also have access to more modern hardware but that does not mean you can not mix old and new hardware. My old 15kg road bike is alloy and has new cranksets, it’s the older 7 speed freewheels, so mix and mash nothing wrong with that. This old bike had a square bb now shimano threaded to fit the new cranks. Many deals out right now soon as the bike shops are full of unsold bicycles. Winter is the best time to buy a carbon road bike as they want to dump them.

[@denniss8644]

Could this have to do with meeting minimum weight requirements? If you're bike/equipment is getting lighter and you need to up the weight in other ways, why not go ahead and add it in a functional way with changes to the cassette? Seems like a perfectly reasonable trade-off and still be able to stay within the rules.

[@MusiCaninesTheMusicalDogs]

Less EPO after all the doping scandals demands lighter gears. Simple.

[@sethdolcourt]

Sports science, baby! Suffering needlessly is needless suffering, and 11-21 corncobs are from an era when cycling science just didn't know any better. My road rig is outfitted with 11x 36 10 speed compact...because I can.

[@alandougan3600]

32 - 42 spin to win!!!!! Oooops, this is gcn.😯

[@TimpBizkit]

Even my electric bike has a top gear of 52 12 but a bottom gear of 52 32 so if the battery runs out you are screwed on the steeps My giant Yukon had a bottom gear of 22/32 and top of 42/11. I modded it to 22/34 and 44/11 Saracen helix had top end of 52/12 and 30/25 but I modded it to 52/11 and 30/32. The middle ring had 42 teeth. I think a 30 cassette was practically the largest without the derailleur making that sound giving unity gearing not too bad on a 25 lb bike

[@SgtFinaldo]

I run a 50/34 and an 11/25. Ultegra 6700 ten speed. Does the job on flats and climbs. However, i would agree that a 52/39 with a 12/28 is also good.Dont forget that as of 2017, rear cassettes are on average 11 speeds. Back in the day it was 6 or 7. Times have changed.I can see automatic gearing and geared hubs becoming a thing in the future.

[@jason200912]

28t is not good enough for any hill more than 20 degrees steep 32 can tackle most hills but 34-50 is needed for mountain hill walls of 45 degrees that you get in the big west coast u.s. cities.

[@Demon09-_-]

it helps that now we have 11 speed so we can have bigger gear range with still small jumps in between the gears

[@2cyclebikeraricstreet195]

What is e-tap and what is wifli? I have red 10sp drop bar brifters to replace broken durace. I used a 10sp 11-36 and a 11-28 cassette with an xt shadow long cage 9sp rear derailleur. What sram derailleur do I need to get? And am I limited then to the 11-32 in 10sp? What cassette to get? (Top of the line)

[@slwsnowman4038]

With such a wide cassette, is there a chance of some riders dropping the small chainring on flat stages?

[@joeyslats31]

Would be interesting to see how modern riders would fare on a vintage 42-21. And visa versa, making someone time travel from 1953 to try and ride a modern bike.

[@RadioSnivins]

I wonder if being able to change gears with the flick of a finger, instead of downtube shifters, has also had an effect on the lower gearing.

[@wazzup105]

Don't forget about changing rear wheels mid-ride. Having different cassettes makes it better to have a standard derailleur that fit s all of them.

[@Basil43D]

Perhaps 1x drivetrains coming to road bikes as well in the future?

[@alecsadewhite6994]

They are doing steeper climbs in the Grand Tours no doubt, also 2-3 extra gears on a cluster makes for lower low ends. Come on GCN.

[@miketenzer123]

in regards to riding a 52-34 front chairing combo, I made the switch years ago and the shifting is fine. If you haven't tried it you shouldn't comment on it. But the shift up and down is not a problem and you get all the benefits of a compact without sacrificing the high-end

[@clarencelaboranti4835]

Michael Tenzer what about the difference? I prefer std precisely because less often you need to compensate the resulting ratio by shifting sprockets in the other direction

[@miketenzer123]

You may be stronger than I. I prefer a 34 in the front with a 30 in the back for significant hill climbing. my riding happens to be at the extremes. I live in South Florida which is completely flat. For fast Group rides and training are all in the big ring 52 and11 - 23 cassette. when I travel to the mountains I prefer to spin a high RPM so that's where the 34 front - 11-30 rear is great. I still have 52 in front so no sacrifice on high end. I tried riding a mid Compact and the 36 in front and 30 in back wasn't enough for me when climbing altitude changes of 4000 ft in 17 miles with 7% Avg gradient.

[@Bav11]

My 11-40 gets me up hills 😂

[@ilanpi]

Here are two important points: 1. Your statement that "roads have not gotten steeper" is incorrect. Starting with the Angliru in 1999 followed by the Zoncolan etc., Grand Tours have increasingly used much steeper long climbs which cannot be dealt with efficiently using previous standard gearing. 2. The move from 9 speed to 11 speed cassettes in the last 20 years means that more gears are available, so the standard 11-23 cassette moved to 11-25 and 11-28 just because there was room for extract sprockets. -ilan

[@wodstalker2819]

Love those cassette trees :D

[@KirbyLouis]

As an etap rider of course I wanted wifli when it was announced but was like fuck that's too much money I'll just go compact and buy a red quarq meter set up and be tough about it. But that ability to jump to a 32 does sound tasty.

[@Sprinklesofjoy]

3:10 "Riders going slower up hill" - nothing can compare to Lance et al flying up the French Alps, braking around the Alp D'Huez corners because they're climbing too fast

[@brauljo]

Lmao they don't even brake going downhill.

[@-First-Last]

"braking around the Alp D'Huez corners because they're climbing too fast" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 BIG B.S. !!!

[@batbawls]

4:44 there's about 200k worth of wheelsets

[@jeremyrademacher1605]

Do you get more effect out of changing the cassette or the chainring?

[@colineustis294]

15 years ago: 9 speed 11-23, 10 years ago: 9 speed 11-23 + 25 (10 speed) 5 years ago: 10 speed 11-25 + 28 (11 speed) You can't add harder gears than an 11, so you go easier.

[@mattski13123]

you can also make the transitions from gear to gear more smooth, so rather than having a few 2/3 cog differences from ring to ring, you can have a smoother 11-25 on an 11 speed than a 9 speed.

[@humbertoleandro896]

20 years ago: 8 speed 11-2115 years ago: 8 speed 11-21 + 23 (9 speed)...:)

[@SardonicBastard]

"You can't add harder gears than an 11, so you go easier." With a bigger range of lower gears, you can go with bigger chainrings, which gives you "harder" gears. It's six of one, half dozen of the other...

[@cup_and_cone]

Colin Eustis - Bingo. There are more gears now, so they can add more range without messing up steps between gears.

[@jarnedeprins3617]

technically, you can go lower than 11, but their isn't really a point in doing that, because well, getting a 53x11 around is already pretty hard...At 100 rpm, you would ride around 61kph, at 110rpm 67kph. Although it would be a huge difference to ride a 53x10, because than at 100rpm you go around 67kph, and at 110rpm around 74kph. The real problem would be being able to get the pedals still turned in such a hard gear, because it is a lot of difference, but you can easily make an 8tooth sprocket it you want, but it can get tricky to get the chain good on it.... If you want to know, 53x8, at 100rpm is about 84kph ;)

[@ob1knb3]

Well....in the 70's and 80's they were juicing on testosterone so small gears for big muscles, today they juicing on EPO so big gears high cadence . Simple stuff really.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

They're doing both, taking steroids and blood boosters. They were in the 80s too. Just with less precision. The new gear is also just better.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

@John That's stupid. People were already taking meth, steroids and yes, cocaine can help you

[@antonhelsgaun]

@John I'm not an expert and might be wrong but "Professional athletes began misusing anabolic steroids during the 1954 Olympics, when Russian weightlifters were given testosterone"

[@daltonparker7792]

@@veganpotterthevegan I dunno if you mean this is currently and was being done, or just was being done. But all sports world wide at pro level are related and the athletes are tested thoroughly for performance enhancing drugs to ensure to unfair advantages over other athletes/ teams/ sponsors.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

@@daltonparker7792 Marion Jones never tested positive, and neither did Lance Armstrong. The drug game will always be ahead of the testers

[@c.wagner7482]

Simon, you're a real Punny guy.

[@svenamundsen4879]

Do we know the weight of a complete Canyon TT bike that team Katusha uses?

[@antevukusic3928]

i have road bike from 80's with 53/41 front and freewheel 24/14.Is it good for climbing

[@steve.o33]

I use a 11-42, 11 speed, with a 60t chain ring. Makes going up hill really nice. Even if it's at a 15 to 25% grade climb. Can still do 20mph up.

[@owenpreece4508]

great video

[@sportbikejesus6297]

I was a not-special cat 4 racer in Colorado who climbed everything with a small gear of 42/23. I felt like such a failure for adding the 23 to my 12-21. I can live with the new cassettes these days but I miss 53/42 rings. I’m so sick of having to make a compensation shift when switching rings. SRAM is marketing the “new” xdrive rings that are only 13 teeth apart instead of 16. It’s not new, SRAM.

[@mredben]

Tony Martin uses a 58 in front? 5:42 min What kind of crank did he use?

[@bcccslc]

How much longer until 1x drivetrains are the norm in pro cycling?

[@framedman]

#askgcn if Tony Martin rides in the big chain ring all the time, won't he be cross chaining when he has to go down to 32 at the back, meaning he's really inefficient. As an amateur, I hate cross chaining but in my little ring, I don't feel as efficient almost over pedalling at say, 13 at the back, but the big ring and say, 23 at the back is still no better.

[@jamesward2141]

I have 11-34 with a compact on my winter bike and 11-28 full size on my summer bike. I wouldn’t want to do any hour long climbs on it, but on the usual 10 min hills in the uk I’m actually much faster at lower cadence on my summer bike 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@wrigleyx]

50 X 12 and 34 X 27 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24 and 27 pretty much everything i need :) ok, it's not enough during the downhill part, 50 X 12 gives me max speed around 67 km/h now, in general, it's enough for me :)

[@jasonswift7098]

Quite interesting.

[@LeighWoods]

I think Matt the bikes are put on in a particular order!!!

[@RemiBusseuil]

no one wants to talk about electric motors but that's the why behind this all change...

[@CarlBaravelli]

I think for teams they spend most of the day in the same gears, but now just have a bigger range because the cassettes are bigger. "Back in the day" when 23 was the usual they had 8 or 9 speed cassettes. Now we have 11-speed. So the space remains the same between gears, but you just have moe gears. I remember when 11-speed came in and 28 speed cassettes became the usual. Before then, 25 was the usual. I guess when 12-speed comes in 30 speed will be the standard. and why not!

[@jamesinrok]

Isn't the advantage of being on a bigger big ring and larger cassette that the chain doesn't bend as much, reducing friction and saving power (ie very marginal gains)

[@clarencelaboranti4835]

J Sheppard correct. can't remember where i read it, but I remember a blog showing that an 11T or 10T is mechanically less efficient than a 12T, even at 0° chain angle.

[@Hymer300]

I wish I could find a good bike for around 2000€ with just one front big disc do anyone know where to find one?

[@gcn]

Let us know what you think of smaller gears in the comments below 👇

[@lewisfuller2911]

i think they are good for flat and downhill racing. When riding with hills it renders these small gears unusable.

[@OutdoorsJustin]

I practically need a triple chain ring up front for my pathetic climbing.

[@RishabhGKoenigseggRegera]

I know pros don't really care about this, but if you're constantly on the big ring and riding first or second gear at the back, that's wearing out the drivetrain a LOT faster. So it's only really practical when you're not paying for your bike.

[@swordycow]

its all about fucking cadence mate

[@echtogammut]

I'm horrible about riding in the big ring, I blame growing up in the early years of mountain biking and having heroes like Tinker Juarez who would ride around in his big ring. It's also funny seeing the looks on people's faces when they see you haven't moved out of the big ring and they are spinning a 34/28. That said as I get older, the need to use my bailout gear (36/28) has increased and I even spent a year focused on spinning rather than grinding, which did interesting things for my overall fitness. I'm pretty sure you can trace the current trend back to Armstrong's Radioshack team, when a lot of things from diet to high cadence riding was brought to the mainstream. Yes, I know we don't speak of the Lance, but the team sport directors that came over from team Garmin shook up a lot of cycling norms and we use most of that tech today. Everything from ice socks (reducing core temp), balanced nutritional intake to high cadence hill climbing came out of Team Garmin and later Team Radioshack.

[@remotecontrol9874]

Ten years ago the riders were riding 11-25 cassettes cos they were heavily doped up opposed to now.

[@satudandua6081]

I see the bmx got 9t cassete gear , can that gear use to gearset roadbike? 😁

[@levarjackson6292]

46/34 chainring, 11-36 cassette. Hill crusher

[@alexanderstephens9368]

Will Tony Martin be the first pro to rock Force 1 for time trialing? Big ring, only ring.

[@grantjackson3027]

Does anyone know - do the medium or long cage derailleurs somehow make it so you can put on cassettes with significant size differences without changing the chain length?

[@jakegarrett8109]

They should, they have a much greater travel range for chain tension.

[@smokeandsweat9990]

SRAM - custom Eagle 12 speed for Tony Martin please - big ring all day long.

[@pukki34]

And the reason why they dont use 1x12 or 1x11?

[@celerysweat_pro9784]

Why would they crossover their chain though! 58 + 32.

[@JS-tb9hu]

When riders change their usual 11-28 to an 11-32 for the hillier stages do they need to change chains?

[@Hexsense]

not if they already using Wifli/mid cage RD and cut the chain longest that doesn't slack.

[@kewada8566]

so im a new cyclist what is a good casset for me to buy if i prefer to ride in the mountains (south germany and austria). if im not in the mountains there arent that much long flat roads here. i also not own the money to buy like 3 different gear sets. (also what front rings are good to that). thanks for answers

[@robertomalatesta6604]

11-32

[@Urgento22]

more videos like this!

[@tlamby9]

Nothing about fatigue metabolites and faster recovery?

[@Dhdub683]

What's the difference between small and big gears

[@bengreen1262]

I feel old remembering 12 to 18 rear. 42/52 front chainset

[@literoadie3502]

I don’t think derailleur cage length dictated sprocket size, it was that the cassettes they used didn’t require long cages and therefore they didn’t make them.

[@FlakyScalp]

Why is everyone saying durianrider will be pissed lol they basically agree with him, the pros are using easier gears to allow for faster climbing cadences

[@pordiosero80]

If I got it right, they came to say that climbs now are slower so that they are less tired for the rest of the race

[@ThePonycat]

Durianrider was ahead of the game...

[@Ma_Ba]

I liked the pun!