Gear Ratio Difference between Racer/Hybrid

Irish_Army01

I am just wondering if there is a big difference between Racer/hybrid gear ratios...

I have a hybrid ( FCR 1) and hopefully upgrading to a racer later this year..

The other day while coming home from a 60km cycle, a (Racer) cyclist came by me and I noticed he was in medium range gear to my high gear.. I was doing about 35 Kph at the time.

kenmc

FCR1 is the same gearing as an SCR1 - basically the only difference is the handlebars, shifters and brake levers.
Of course it depends on the gear ratio the other lad was running, and if your or he were spinning or grinding or vice-versa etc
Short answer to your question - it'd be very close - certainly much closer than a MTB and a racer.

petethedrummer

FCR 1 has a compact on the front. The road bike may have had a standard double.

blorg

More important than any of this is that the gear ratio will make no difference whatsoever, a road bike is faster due to aerodynamics. You are rarely in your top gear on a road bike.

Irish_Army01

blorg wrote: »

More important than any of this is that the gear ratio will make no difference whatsoever, a road bike is faster due to aerodynamics. You are rarely in your top gear on a road bike.

I see. Thanks. I tend to live in my highest gear and always assumed gear ratios would have a bearing on speed.

TinyExplosions

Irish_Army01 wrote: »

I see. Thanks. I tend to live in my highest gear and always assumed gear ratios would have a bearing on speed.

They do, but only up to a point, in that for the same cadence (rpm of cranks) you will go faster in your highest gear compared to your lowest.

The roadie could have been pedaling faster than you in a slightly lower gear, giving the impression that there's a bigger difference than there actually is

blorg

Irish_Army01 wrote: »

I see. Thanks. I tend to live in my highest gear and always assumed gear ratios would have a bearing on speed.

The FCR, as others have said, has the same gearing as a road bike. I am guessing that is 52-12 with a triple, 114.3 gear inches. The exact figure doesn't really matter, it is in the ballpark and uses road bike components for the front chainrings and the rear cassette. I have a max of 50-12 on one of my road bikes, which is a lower gear.

In this gear, 35kph would have you pedalling around 65RPM, which is not a particularly fast cadence. Most roadies would be comfortable spinning at 80-100RPM, which would give them speeds of between 44 and 55kph in this gear. Of course they would not be able to spin in that gear for very long as that would be far too difficult. Hence why yer man was in an easier gear.

It is good technique, and less stress on your knees and legs, to spin the pedals faster in an easier gear- a very good skill to practice. If you think about it, pro cyclists go much faster, and use exactly the same gearing as the rest of us.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

If you think about it, pro cyclists go much faster, and use exactly the same gearing as the rest of us.

Perhaps there is an optimum self-selected torque range for human muscle fibres, and that this explains why slow people pedal more slowly and find higher cadences uncomfortable.

petethedrummer

Irish_Army01 wrote: »

he was in medium range gear to my high gear..

Clarify what you mean by medium and high range gear.

Are you talking about the position his chain was in on the rear casette? i.e. his chain was near the middle. Where as you were on the small cog?

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

Perhaps there is an optimum self-selected torque range for human muscle fibres, and that this explains why slow people pedal more slowly and find higher cadences uncomfortable.

I think it is more a matter of training and just plain practice doing it. I used to have a low cadence myself back in my hybrid days, and I went specifically looking for a high gear ratio on my "good" hybrid (a Specialized Sirrus, 52-11) so I could "go faster." My cadence only got faster when I had moved to a road bike and made a concerted effort to make it faster. Now I can pedal at 100RPM comfortably. Even five years ago that would have felt extremely unnatural.

Irish_Army01

petethedrummer wrote: »

Clarify what you mean by medium and high range gear.

Are you talking about the position his chain was in on the rear casette? i.e. his chain was near the middle. Where as you were on the small cog?

Correct.. My Chain was on the smallest rear casette to his in the middle.. I actually checked when he got in front of me to see ..

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

I think it is more a matter of training and just plain practice doing it. I used to have a low cadence myself back in my hybrid days, and I went specifically looking for a high gear ratio on my "good" hybrid (a Specialized Sirrus, where I got 52-11.) My cadence only got faster when I had moved to a road bike and made a concerted effort to make it faster. Now I can pedal at 100RPM comfortably. Even five years ago that would have felt extremely unnatural.

Right, but do you pedal at 100rpm when going slowly, e.g. through traffic? I don't. I wonder whether spinning away with no resistance just feels plain wrong regardless of how fit you are.

I know that new cyclists tend to pedal slowly, and experienced cyclists tend to pedal fast, but I'm wondering whether such a development might come naturally as the specific fitness improves.

Irish_Army01

TinyExplosions wrote: »

They do, but only up to a point, in that for the same cadence (rpm of cranks) you will go faster in your highest gear compared to your lowest.

The roadie could have been pedaling faster than you in a slightly lower gear, giving the impression that there's a bigger difference than there actually is

That is quite possible .. I speed up to stay with him..LOL.. But it was only for approx 500m as I turned off the road home..

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

Right, but do you pedal at 100rpm when going slowly, e.g. through traffic? I don't. I wonder whether spinning away with no resistance just feels plain wrong regardless of how fit you are.

Maybe not through traffic, but that is because it is stop-start rather than a constant effort. I would maintain the same 80-100RPM cadence on a long climb, insofar as my gearing allows me. I'll be down into my lowest gear before my range goes below that. It used to feel wrong, it doesn't any more (and my legs thank me for it after.)

petethedrummer

Irish_Army01 wrote: »

Correct.. My Chain was on the smallest rear casette to his in the middle.. I actually checked when he got in front of me to see ..

Ok, its one or all of these things.
1. Different chainrings. His were bigger.
2. He was pedalling faster, if he had the same range of gears.
3. He was more aerodynamic.
4. His cassette was different. He had more cogs with fewer teeth.(probably not this, in your scenario).

Anyways, how do you pedal comfortably in your biggest gear? I can only do that going down hill or drafting a large vehicle. Which chainring do you use?

TinyExplosions

petethedrummer wrote: »

Anyways, how do you pedal comfortably in your biggest gear? I can only do that going down hill or drafting a large vehicle. Which chainring do you use?

It's not hard, I'd be in 50-11 or 50-12 on the flat quite a lot

petethedrummer

TinyExplosions wrote: »

It's not hard,

It is. I can't do it.

TinyExplosions

petethedrummer wrote: »

It is. I can't do it.

That doesn't make it hard, it makes you weak

-on the flat, up a hill you're ok...

Irish_Army01

petethedrummer wrote: »

Ok, its one or all of these things.
1. Different chainrings. His were bigger.
2. He was pedalling faster, if he had the same range of gears.
3. He was more aerodynamic.
4. His cassette was different. He had more cogs with fewer teeth.(probably not this, in your scenario).

Anyways, how do you pedal comfortably in your biggest gear? I can only do that going down hill or drafting a large vehicle. Which chainring do you use?

I have two on the FCR and I use the biggest one.. I've rarely used the smaller of the two.. I average about 32kph on the flat. and that is short routes..Approx 30km.

Edit..After reviewing my training stat's, on my Polar Speedo I average about 32 kph and not 35kph as stated..:o:o

Irish_Army01

TinyExplosions wrote: »

It's not hard, I'd be in 50-11 or 50-12 on the flat quite a lot

Can you explain to me what that means?

Excuse my ignorance:o

petethedrummer

TinyExplosions wrote: »

That doesn't make it hard, it makes you weak

So be it.

blorg

50 is the number of teeth at the front (more teeth=faster)
12 is the number at the back (less teeth=faster)

Irish_Army01

blorg wrote: »

50 is the number of teeth at the front (more teeth=faster)
12 is the number at the back (less teeth=faster)

Thank you. Learn something new every day.


edit..Mine is 50-12

Beasty

Lumen wrote: »

I know that new cyclists tend to pedal slowly, and experienced cyclists tend to pedal fast, but I'm wondering whether such a development might come naturally as the specific fitness improves.

From the Beasty database of useless facts, just on my commutes:

2008 - average speed 27.2kph, cadence 74rpm
to 30/06/09 - speed 28.9kph, cadence 75rpm
to 31/12/09 - speed 29.4kph, cadence 75rpm
to 30/06/10 - speed 28.9kph, cadence 75rpm
to 31/12/10 - speed 29.5kph, cadence 82rpm

I started racing in April 2010, and have basically (I would suggest) upped my cadence as a result by around 10%, while maintaining a broadly similar speed. I guess an alternative explanation could be that the sheer volume I was doing last year (10,000km compared to around 7,000km in 2009) resulted in me increasing cadence to put less intense pressure into the legs.

I would add that my cadence when racing is a bit higher than when commuting