# What rings are the Tour de France mountain stage riders using



## osteomark (Jun 15, 2011)

How many tooth front rings are the riders using in the Great Pyrennes rides? Do they have 3 rings or just 2? I hav 42/52 and 7 gear free wheel.
Mark.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

The use two up front. Some may have a compact. Probably have a 25 or 27 in the back.


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## osteomark (Jun 15, 2011)

thanks. Is the compact the 50/32? If so How do I convert mine to this? Do I need a new chain? My freewheel is 28/14.
Mark


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Just find a smaller inner ring to replace your 42, like a 39. That would be the more economical route.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Are you going to ride the Tour soon?

If you are no worries, the sponsor will set you up. :thumbsup:


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## arkitect (Apr 25, 2011)

brianmcg said:


> Just find a smaller inner ring to replace your 42, like a 39. That would be the more economical route.


+1 you will need to adjust your chain length too if you go this route


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## mopartodd (Dec 1, 2010)

This actually came up last night on "Ask Bobke" and he said they run 53/39, 11/27 for the mountains and 11/25 on the flats.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

tour or pro riders usually are on a 53/39 with a 12-25 for mountain stages, 11-23 for flat stages.

on extreme mountain climbs they are know to use 52/36 for contenders or even 50/34 for domestiques


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## Wood Devil (Apr 30, 2011)

I heard "Bobke" mention during that stage that they use 53/39 and often an 11-27 cassette. As to what specific gear they're in during a brutal ascent ... well ... I guess you'd have to ask the rider.


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

Good to know... think I'll sign up for the tour next year. ; )


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Salsa_Lover said:


> tour or pro riders usually are on a 53/39 with a 12-25 for mountain stages, 11-23 for flat stages.
> 
> on extreme mountain climbs they are know to use 52/36 for contenders or even 50/34 for domestiques


not 12-25, but 11-whatever. no pro rider would allow a cassette to installed that didn't have an 11 on it. ask me how i know...


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## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

Vinokourov ran a 11-23 in the mountains a few years ago. The year he had the T-Mobile jersey in Astana colors. Sherwin was commenting on how people would like to know.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

osteomark said:


> How many tooth front rings are the riders using in the Great Pyrennes rides? Do they have 3 rings or just 2? I hav 42/52 and 7 gear free wheel.
> Mark.


Mostly standard 2 rings, 53/39 in the front, something like 11-25 on the back.
For super steep mountains like the one in the Giro most riders including ran compacts, with 50/34 and 11-28.

see this article:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...rd-zinn-rides-the-giros-monte-zoncolon_118438


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Didn't SRAM's Apex group allegedly come out of a desire of Contador to be able to maintain his cadence while climbing?


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## dcl10 (Jul 2, 2010)

Don4 said:


> Didn't SRAM's Apex group allegedly come out of a desire of Contador to be able to maintain his cadence while climbing?


That was for the Giro, which generally involves some steeper grades (20%+) that are not as common in the Tour. It wasn't really about maintaining cadence either. On those steep climbs at low speeds maintaining traction is a problem if your over geared. For the Tour most guys run pretty standard setups. A 38 up front and 11-25 or 11-27 in back are your most common modifications. Compacts are rare and I've never seen a 12-xx cassette. The 11 is necessary for descending, but I've seen some hybrid's, for instance a campy 12-29 with an 11 swapped for the 12.


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## osteomark (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks everyone. Nope not going for the Tour de France. Maybe the Tour de Loop in Oswego,NY someday though. Some good hills in it. Short but steep. I was floored at the altitude these guys were going up and down. 4500feet! I suppose thats like racing in the Rockies, But I been in the Rockies, and unless you are going up Pike's Peak, there are no twisties on pavement like that!
I wonder how the guy faired who went into the barb wire fence after the car took out 3 bikers. Do these cyclers sign waivers that you can not sue the cars or bikers or people running you off the road and get injured?


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## Eldnur (May 28, 2010)

To the OP, what are your cranks? If they are Campagnolo and of the vintage to be paired with a 7 speed freewheel you have the option of going as low as a 40 tooth ring in front, a 39 will not fit the spider.

Better and cheaper to put a wider ratio freewheel on the bike.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Last year when Andy Schlecked his chain, it was reported he was riding 38/52 and 11-27 out back.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

cxwrench said:


> not 12-25, but 11-whatever. no pro rider would allow a cassette to installed that didn't have an 11 on it. ask me how i know...


How do you know? LOL Just kidding, but seriously. I think I remember you saying something about having been a pro mechanic.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Salsa_Lover said:


> tour or pro riders usually are on a 53/39 with a 12-25 for mountain stages, 11-23 for flat stages.
> 
> on extreme mountain climbs they are know to use 52/36 for contenders or even 50/34 for domestiques


Flats - 11-21 or 11-23

Mountains - 11-25 or 11-27


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

osteomark said:


> Thanks everyone. Nope not going for the Tour de France. Maybe the Tour de Loop in Oswego,NY someday though. Some good hills in it. Short but steep. I was floored at the altitude these guys were going up and down. 4500feet! I suppose thats like racing in the Rockies, But I been in the Rockies, and unless you are going up Pike's Peak, there are no twisties on pavement like that!
> I wonder how the guy faired who went into the barb wire fence after the car took out 3 bikers. Do these cyclers sign waivers that you can not sue the cars or bikers or people running you off the road and get injured?


Hoogerland completed the stage and then went to the hospital and received 33 stitches. One tough dude. Here is a link to the picture of the injuries:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=255156


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

Many (if not most) of the pros' bikes I've seen up close have elliptical chainrings, which surprised me, as you hardly ever see them anymore on mere mortals' bikes.


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## AZPOWERHOUSE (Dec 16, 2008)

OP, a compact is a 50-34, you would need to get a new crankset. You can also get an 11-28 for the back (10 speed. As far as pros bikes, I am sure you would see a good mix of all of the above depending on the riders capabilities.


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## atctimmy (Jul 16, 2011)

qatarbhoy said:


> Many (if not most) of the pros' bikes I've seen up close have elliptical chainrings, which surprised me, as you hardly ever see them anymore on mere mortals' bikes.


Is that like the old "biopace" rings?


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## bradXism (May 10, 2011)

atctimmy said:


> Is that like the old "biopace" rings?


 I am old and probably 'out of it' race wise but are 'Biopace' type chainrings back? I started racing on a track first and absolutely hated those things. They seemed to me to be one of the technical fads that came and went along with Campy's Delta(?) brake and shimano's dura ace pedal with the huge axle that put your foot at the rotation point. Is there some tech advance I missed?


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

bradXism said:


> I am old and probably 'out of it' race wise but are 'Biopace' type chainrings back? I started racing on a track first and absolutely hated those things. They seemed to me to be one of the technical fads that came and went along with Campy's Delta(?) brake and shimano's dura ace pedal with the huge axle that put your foot at the rotation point. Is there some tech advance I missed?


Yeah, there are a fair number of ovalized chainrings out there right now.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*I don't think so*



Eldnur said:


> To the OP, what are your cranks? If they are Campagnolo and of the vintage to be paired with a 7 speed freewheel you have the option of going as low as a 40 tooth ring in front, a 39 will not fit the spider.


Are you sure about the 40t? I don't ever remember that being possible. I think there might have been 41t rings that fit Shimano, but I don't know if they fit Campy. The chain ring bolts were right up to the base of the teeth on a 42 ring. Even if such rings were once available, it's hard to imagine you could find one now.


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## Eldnur (May 28, 2010)

Kerry Irons said:


> Are you sure about the 40t? I don't ever remember that being possible. I think there might have been 41t rings that fit Shimano, but I don't know if they fit Campy. The chain ring bolts were right up to the base of the teeth on a 42 ring. Even if such rings were once available, it's hard to imagine you could find one now.


Well, I know they were available for Campagnolo as I have some of them hanging on a ring peg in the basement.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*50/34*



osteomark said:


> thanks. Is the compact the 50/32? If so How do I convert mine to this? Do I need a new chain? My freewheel is 28/14.


The smallest a compact crank will take is a 34t, which is a 110 mm BCD (bolt circle diameter). You cannot fit anything anywhere near that small on your current cranks. You probably can't put anything smaller than the 42 you have now, but it is easy to check. Look at where the chain ring bolts are on the small chainring. Their outer edges are probably just at the little shoulder where the chain ring narrows and the bases of the teeth are. If there is a gap there, then you can go with smaller rings.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

robdamanii said:


> Yeah, there are a fair number of ovalized chainrings out there right now.


Exactly, the ones I remember seeing were Rotor Q-Rings.










From Wiki's article on Cranksets (further on in the article it says Cervelo Test Team used Rotor Q-Rings):

_



Several manufacturers have tried non-round chainrings, such as Shimano's Biopace, Rotor's Q-Rings and Osymetric's Harmonic ring. These are designed to provide varying mechanical advantage at different points in the pedal stroke, effectively changing the gear ratio at different angles of rotation with the intention to be more ergonomic. Non-round chainrings can sometimes cause problems in front shifting.[14]

Their significant popularity in the late eighties to early nineties is best reflected in their widespread use by professional cyclists of that time. However, one hold-out has been Team CSC Saxo Bank veteran Bobby Julich, and there are still a couple of pro riders that use them as late as 2011. Notably Bradley Wiggins of Team SKY, David Millar of Team Garmin Transitions and Agritubel's Geoffrey Lequatreall riding the Osymetric brand and Team CSC Saxo Bank's Carlos Sastre with Rotor's Q-Rings from his native Spain. Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France with Q-rings.[15][16] Bradley Wiggins of the Garmin Slipstream team used an oval chainring from Osymetric in his TT bike (Felt DA) in the 2009 Tour de France.[17] In the 2010 [[Giro D'Italia], and David Millar used them in his 2011 victory in the final TT of the 2011 Giro. Several Pro-Tour teams were using Osymetric and Q-Rings ovoid chainrings for road racing and time trialing.

Click to expand...

_


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## RUFUSPHOTO (Oct 14, 2010)

osteomark said:


> Thanks everyone. Nope not going for the Tour de France. Maybe the Tour de Loop in Oswego,NY someday though. Some good hills in it. Short but steep. I was floored at the altitude these guys were going up and down. 4500feet! I suppose thats like racing in the Rockies,* But I been in the Rockies, and unless you are going up Pike's Peak, there are no twisties on pavement like that!*
> I wonder how the guy faired who went into the barb wire fence after the car took out 3 bikers. Do these cyclers sign waivers that you can not sue the cars or bikers or people running you off the road and get injured?


You obviously didn't look around did you? I walk out of my front door at 5800ft. The US Pro Challenge starts in Crested Butte this year at a altitude, in the town, of 8924ft.


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## osteomark (Jun 15, 2011)

Rufusphoto,
I don't remember the roads being so narrow and switchbacks like the Pyrennes. I respect the altitude change. When I traveled around Colorado 15-20 years ago the paved roads were nice and wide with shoulders. My memory could be failing though. I remember a dozy of a road in Ouray, CO in the San Juan mountain range that was steep.


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