# taller gears?



## flynngabriel (Sep 12, 2009)

ive got a centurian sport DLX . 10 speed(stock). i find myself in the highest gearing and its too easy to ride. what can i do to change that? i know change the gears, but can i get stock parts off of other bikes to do that? im a MTBR so i have MTB parts for days, would that make a diffrence?


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2009)

yes, you should be able to, though it may be easiest to just buy the parts themselves, start by stopping by your local bike shop, they can help you out


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## andulong (Nov 23, 2006)

Options are... Larger chain ring, smaller cog, spin like hell.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*tell us more*

How many teeth on your big chainring?

How many on your smallest freewheel cog?

What is your terrain like, and when do you find the gearing "too easy"? long flats, downhills, etc.?

How fast are you going, and what cadence are you spinning, when you find yourself wanting a taller gear?

It's possible that you just have masher habits from mtb, and your best bet is to learn to spin faster. It's a roadie thing, and it's worth working on.

You may not be able to do much to change the gearing, depending on what you have. If you have a 52 ring, you probably can't get anything big enough to make a difference. Your 5-speed freewheel has either a 13 or 14 small cog. If it's a 14, you could get a new freewheel with a 13, which would make your biggest gear about 8% higher. That's not a huge change, but it's noticeable.

Your mtb parts are no help. They use cassettes on freehubs, rather than a thread-on freewheel like your old sport bike.


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## flynngabriel (Sep 12, 2009)

my bike is at my GFs so i cant count the teeth at this moment. but the terrain is mostly flat with slight uphills. on the flats is where i feel like i want to gear up. and your right, i find myself mashing the pedals. im just a fast rider, the faster the better. IMO


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I recommend counting your pedaling cadence - if your right foot is turning the pedal faster than 120 rpm, then yeah, time for new gears.

and a pro contract.

If you're spinning 60 rpm or less, I recommend you downshift and spin faster.


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## flynngabriel (Sep 12, 2009)

ok just counted. its 52/14.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Speed*



flynngabriel said:


> ok just counted. its 52/14.


100 rpm in that gear is pushing 30 mph. In many cases, you would be about as fast to coast downhill in a tight tuck as to pedal at that speed. If you can do that kind of speed on the flats and still have some juice left, then by all means the bike should be re-geared.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

flynngabriel said:


> ok just counted. its 52/14.


The cassette is the place to look for better gearing. I would say a 12 is the most common small cog on a road cassette. 11 is available as well.

Changing the crankset from a 52 to 53 will not buy you much.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Nope*



Blue CheeseHead said:


> The cassette is the place to look for better gearing. I would say a 12 is the most common small cog on a road cassette. 11 is available as well.


Old bike. 5-speed freewheel. 13 is the smallest you can get, pretty sure.

I think gabe just needs to work on spinning.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Cadence*



flynngabriel said:


> ok just counted. its 52/14.


This is what I ride all winter and never run out of gears. That is also the "tallest" gear that juniors are allowed to race with and many racers I know would be hard pressed to hang in an elite junior field. 

You need to work on your cadence not your bike.


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