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How much does size matter??
katozdad
Posts: 296 Member
Ok, the obvious answer is 'it depends how you use it', but bare with me please.
I did a big climb today and bailed 2/3rd up the climb. Another cyclist had already passed me on his roadie (mine is a cyclocross). He didn't look much fitter than me, so it got me thinking whether he had an easier climb on his 26" wheels, compared to my 700cc wheels. Driving a bigger wheel is going to require more effort, but I'm am curious how much more effort is required for a given climb.
I did a big climb today and bailed 2/3rd up the climb. Another cyclist had already passed me on his roadie (mine is a cyclocross). He didn't look much fitter than me, so it got me thinking whether he had an easier climb on his 26" wheels, compared to my 700cc wheels. Driving a bigger wheel is going to require more effort, but I'm am curious how much more effort is required for a given climb.
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er... road bikes are pretty much all 700c wheels mate... now if you'd said that you're running cross tyres, and he was on a pair of schwalbe ultremo zx's then i'd have said "yep, far better rolling on the road tyres"...0
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He didn't look much fitter than me
Never make an assumption like that...0 -
To make another point. What is your granny gear? Do you have the typical cyclocross 46/36 crank combo w/ 11-28 cassette while the roadie may have had the 50/34 compact with a 12-30 or 11-32 cassette? It is hard to see the details while someone is cranking past you while your gasping for breath (please don't ask me how I know this :grumble: ) .
.... and +1 to matsprt1984's response..... don't judge the fitness by the visible package... I've been dropped far too many times by soft-in-the-middle, gray haired older gents who can ride like they're diesel powered.0 -
From what I've heard and experienced, the rotational weight of the tire (wheel+rim) is where you feel the acceleration with tires not the diameter.
When I hear, "roadie" then I am thinking that you mean a road bike and almost all road bikes except for maybe specialty French Brevet style bikes have 700c tires nowadays. Of course a lightweight 700x25 on a road rim with ~24 spokes is going to weight much less than say a 700x35 on a double-wall 36-spoke rim (That is the difference between my two road bikes, one is endurance style frame and the other is a F-250 style touring bike). I can really feel the difference in acceleration between the two bikes but frame weight does start coming into play as well when climbing. The lighter (20lb) road bike really transmits felt acceleration up-hill whereas the touring bike (40lbs) transfers the power well but doesn't transmit the feel of up-hill acceleration.
I practice climbing on the touring bike so that I enjoy the climbs more on the road bike :-)0 -
Has more to do with your power to mass ratio and aerobic endurance than the size of your wheels.0
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Thanks all. I'm embarrassed to say that I have 34-50 on the front, with the cassette offering a range of 12-30, so I do get some good ratios. Having said all that, there is some interesting comments regarding the weight of the wheel. The bike is Aluminium, with the original cross tyres mounted on thick rims. It goes much faster than anything I've ever ridden, which is good, but it sounds like next year I may want to pay more attention to the weight of the bike, when hopefully I will be on the market for my first proper roadie.
In the meantime, in the spirit of Dahamac's words, I have a challenge on my hands to drag my sorry *kitten* all the way up that hill on the cross and treat it as a training run to enjoy the climbs better next year. Whenever anyone passes me on a hill now, I will relish in the fact that I am getting a much better workout than them. :laugh:0 -
If it makes you feel better Carl - I've a bike that's just over 7kg, running 700c/23's on a pair of wheels that weigh under 1650g - a 50/34 and 11-28 cassette, and I still can't climb for ****e... then again, I coudn't when I was riding on 22m section sprints and tubs and weighed less than 13stone - I just don't think gravity likes me :laugh:0
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I have to chime in here
My setup is exactly like yours, Carl - 50/34 & 12/30. I used to run 11/27 but it was just not enough for some really steep (for me) sections here so changed to a bigger cassette recently.
My bike is around 22/23lbs (:sad: ), 700x23 on 1700g wheels but I still can't climb0 -
With the right gear you can climb anything that has pavement on it :happy:0
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With the right gear you can climb anything that has pavement on it :happy:
true - with the gearing from my MTB and enough patience, I can pretty much grind my way up anything, but it's not pretty and it's certainly not fast :laugh:0
This discussion has been closed.