# Pros's like Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, what rear gearing are they using?



## LinoD

Awesome to watch these guys climb... Seems like no matter how steep the grade gets they are always spinning. Anyone have any in-site to what rear cassette they use. 12-29?

I currently run a compact up front and 12-27 in the rear. My cadence really slows down for the really steep stuff, above 12% grade. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## nOOky

53/39 and probably an 11-27 but it varies with the rider. I saw a post from another forum where a guy at the tour counted the teeth on Cadel's bike and that's what he was using. Keep in mind they are ascending almost twice as fast as most of us, so a gear we feel is too high they are spinning with.


----------



## Wookiebiker

It depends on the stage/race. For flat stages pretty much all of them use a 53x39 front and 11x23 rear.

When it comes to climbing it can vary wildly:

Most of the climbers will use a 53x39 front and 11x25/26 rear, but on some climbing stages they will use an 11x27.

In races like the Giro where they are racing up some climbs that have 22%+ grades the top climbers drop down to a 52x34 front with an 11x27/29 cassette. Some have also been known to run a 53x39 front with a MTB 11x32 rear cassette on these stages.

It's really rider preference, style and strength that decide what gearing they use. Unlike most of us they have access to multiple gearing possibilities and have mechanics to change the gearing for them overnight before the race the next day...so they choose what will get them to the finish line the fastest on that day.


----------



## qatarbhoy

Plus they can change bikes mid-stage.


----------



## askmass

qatarbhoy said:


> Plus they can change bikes mid-stage.


That's one thing I'm really not a fan of at all.

And, I suppose many worked (faked) mechanical switches were perhaps made in prior eras to accomplish the same thing, but it takes away from the pure sport aspect in my opinion.

I think you should start and finish the race on the same bike. If you have a mechanical failure, either the wrench guys fix it or you are out of the race.

Not a fan of the in helmet radio communication, either.

Yeah, make them wear the spare tire and the whole bit...Merckx was not nearly so pampered and propped up!


----------



## spookyload

Riders like Cavendish and Farrar will use larger cassettes than guys like Contador also. He was running a noticably larger cassette than the leaders through the alps.


----------



## High Gear

Alberto got a little push-off from this guy.


----------



## Aushiker

Hi










According to Road.cc Contador rode with an Apex 11-32T cassette in the mountains of the Giro this year.



> Giro d’Italia leader Alberto Contador sidelined SRAM Red components and opted instead for much more lowly Apex in the mountains of this year’s race for the option of a wider spread of gears. The other members of Saxo-Bank Sungard, Astana and Garmin-Cervélo did the same.
> 
> Apex comes with a SRAM WiFLi cassette – wider, faster, lighter. The ‘wider’ bit refers to the fact that you get an 11-32T, and that’s what appears to be fitted here. That’s a big old spread of gear ratios open to you with a double chainset.


Andrew


----------



## xjbaylor

LinoD said:


> Awesome to watch these guys climb... Seems like no matter how steep the grade gets they are always spinning.


The main reason for this isn't their gearing, it is the fact that they are climbing those same grades 2+ times as fast as you and I would. They are moving.


----------



## atpjunkie

standard 53 / 39 with an 11-21 for flat stages, 11-23 for most mountain stages, 11-25 on a rare occasion, 11-27 rarer yet and pie plates on the rarest of roads


----------



## heathb

The Giro is where they break out the pie plates. Most of the TDF is 6-12%.

I can assure you wouldn't want to use an 11-23 on a stage with 20% incline for any length of time as you'd bog down in a hurry.


----------



## eekase

*TdF rear cassettes info..*

During this year's Tdf on Versus, Bob Roll was taking email questions (I think last week, or the end of week #2) and the question asked was "are the pros riding on triples (???!!) to climb the Pyrenees/Alps".....Roll said "no, they use standard 53/39 rings with a 11/23 cassette, maybe a 11/25, for the more mountainous stages"....

In Cav's book "Boy Racer", in 2008 Cav crashed and his team car gave him a different bike. Cav said he was having troubles and then realized he was climbing in a 11/23 not has normal 11/25.

I did hear Alberto C. rode a 11/32 rear cassette at this years Giro....but the Giro is all ups no downs


----------



## LinoD

If guys like Contador are using an 11-32T... Then what the hell do us mear mortals use ?

I recently did the Death Ride, 130miles w/ 15K ft climbing using my 12-27... Felt great. but man, would i have felt better/faster if i had been using a 29 or 32 ?!


----------



## Ventruck

Andy ran an 11-25. 
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features...opard-trek-trek-madone-6-9-ssl-tour-de-france

Contador ran an 11-26 on last year's bike, which is virtually identical to this one. Has been using this range since he rode a Madone. His Shiv also runs an 11-26. Only time his gearing changes is for the Giro mountain stages.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pro-bike-alberto-contadors-astana-specialized-s-works-tarmac-sl3

I think for these two, cassette changes aren't so common or necessary as the lack of an 18 or 20t cog in an 11-23 cassette wouldn't be a life-or-death thing as they don't focus on flat stages all that much.


----------



## Salsa_Lover

Wookiebiker said:


> It depends on the stage/race. For flat stages pretty much all of them use a 53x39 front and 11x23 rear.
> 
> When it comes to climbing it can vary wildly:
> 
> Most of the climbers will use a 53x39 front and 11x25/26 rear, but on some climbing stages they will use an 11x27.
> 
> In races like the Giro where they are racing up some climbs that have 22%+ grades the top climbers drop down to a *52x36* front with an 11x27/29 cassette. Some have also been known to run a 53x39 front with a MTB 11x32 rear cassette on these stages.
> 
> It's really rider preference, style and strength that decide what gearing they use. Unlike most of us they have access to multiple gearing possibilities and have mechanics to change the gearing for them overnight before the race the next day...so they choose what will get them to the finish line the fastest on that day.


little correction there.

on extreme climbs the contenders are known to use 52/36 with a 11-28 otherwise they would be undergeared in relation to other contenders, domestiques can use a 50/34.


----------



## Salsa_Lover

LinoD said:


> If guys like Contador are using an 11-32T... Then what the hell do us mear mortals use ?
> 
> I recently did the Death Ride, 130miles w/ 15K ft climbing using my 12-27... Felt great. but man, would i have felt better/faster if i had been using a 29 or 32 ?!


not really, you'd suffer less but you'll go slower.


----------



## RD-Man

Are they all using 10 rings on the back? Any idea what they might using in between the 11 and the 27 or 29? Somewhere in there, there's going to be a pretty wide jump unless they just progress by 2's most of the way down. Just curious...


----------



## Keski

Always in a harder gear than us...


----------



## Ventruck

Keski said:


> Always in a harder gear than us...


Basically, yeah.

If you hunt for pictures, you'll see them in every gear. Just don't think they get soft when they use the biggest cog (whether it be 27 or 29t). With the given conditions, they're probably still going fast, and you'd probably be roasted by then. It'll be a harder relative to what we'd be opting for most likely.


----------



## ultimobici

eekase said:


> During this year's Tdf on Versus, Bob Roll was taking email questions (I think last week, or the end of week #2) and the question asked was "*are the pros riding on triples (???!!)* to climb the Pyrenees/Alps".....Roll said "no, they use standard 53/39 rings with a 11/23 cassette, maybe a 11/25, for the more mountainous stages"....
> 
> In Cav's book "Boy Racer", in 2008 Cav crashed and his team car gave him a different bike. Cav said he was having troubles and then realized he was climbing in a 11/23 not has normal 11/25.
> 
> I did hear Alberto C. rode a 11/32 rear cassette at this years Giro....but the Giro is all ups no downs


Not such a dumb question.

Certain Spaniard used a triple in the Dauphine a few years back, think he won it too. Now what was his name........? 

:idea: That's it, Miguel!

Can't find a pic but remember seeing it in Cycling Weekly and nearly falling off my chair in surprise!


----------



## Cableguy

RD-Man said:


> Are they all using 10 rings on the back? Any idea what they might using in between the 11 and the 27 or 29? Somewhere in there, there's going to be a pretty wide jump unless they just progress by 2's most of the way down. Just curious...


Yep all 10 speed. The spacings between the cassettes are usually very similiar or identical with just the last two or three (the bigger, easier rings) changing. Generally the spacings go like this,


*11-21 *: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 
*11-23* : 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23
*11-25* : 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
*11-27* : 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27 
*11-28* : 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28 
*12-23* : 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23 
*12-25* : 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
*12-27* : 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27


----------



## Wookiebiker

Cableguy said:


> Yep all 10 speed.


Unless they are running Campy components...then they are running 11 speed


----------



## sneakyracer

I just did a Climb that is about Cat 2 TDF rating, a tad over 3 miles long with a 7% average grade but with one mile at 8%. I averaged 6.4mph (210 watts average). I used a 39x28-25 most of the time. Max grade was about 14.5%. It was tough. 

A TDF pro can basically average 10-12mph easy on this climb with accelerations up to 16-17mph even on steep grades. So he most likely be on the 39x21. When watching the tour I watched the pros cassette closely on a few of the shots while they were climbing and looked like they had 11-25~11-27 cassettes but a lot of times they seem to climb on the 19 or 21 cog. I think, IIRC, that I saw a few on the 25-27 cog on the steepest parts but most times I saw that they had a few gears left while climbing.


----------



## davidka

LinoD said:


> If guys like Contador are using an 11-32T... Then what the hell do us mear mortals use ?
> ?!


On the climb that AC required that gear to clear? We would use the ski lift. It would be almost impossible for an enthusiast to accomplish that climb without stopping a lot.

Lance used to have a use a custom cogset at the TdF that had 23, 22, 21, 19 instead of the 23-21 jump. He was a high cadence climber and never needed more than a 23 at the Tour. There are guys out there now that use the 11-25 everywhere because when they're not in the lowest 3 cogs they're almost all the same spread anyway.


----------



## duz10s

damm 11-32 thats nuts


----------

