I'm struggling with gearing on my Principia Gravel 40. I ride on both road and gravel. Because of where I live it tends to be more rides on road surfaces and mostly it's very flat compared to other parts of the country.
What I've started to notice is that I'm having trouble reaching good speeds. It's a 40T ring with 11-42 cassette. My average tops out at 22-24 km/h, which feels slow, and gearing seems to be really bad for the flats.
It's challenging to find good cadence and level of resistance that brings me up towards 26/28 km/h.
Any help is appreciated!
by fyagos
7 Comments
Put the cues 2x there and a road cassette to make it really fast
On my 1×11 grx I ride 42t chainring and sram 10-42 cassette. Can go 40kmh on flats
Go larger up front https://stonechainrings.com/product/110g-110bcd-round-chainring-for-shimano-grx-rx810-rx600/
What do you mean by “average speed”? That’s going to depend on how many times you have to slow down for lights or stop signs and so on. Then average speed of a ride is a pretty poor indication of how fast you can go. A moderate cadence of 80 in your 40:11 would give you a speed of 38kph.
Mark out a straight flat section of your ride where you don’t have to stop that is 2-3km long and record your average speed.
Your frame probably came with some kind of a specification for the largest chain ring it can fit. Go for it.
On the other hand: 40:11 at 60rpm is 28km/h. With a more healthy cadence, you should be able to go over 40km/h with your current gearing. Think for a moment if there are other things that could help you more than the gears. Usually worth starting with the tyres.
A 42t chainring will help a bit on the flat, but your power output at a higher cadence determines your speed. What tire width do you use? (I love the performance of my 45mms on flat gravel stretches)
40T 11-42 should top out at 42.8 km/h at a cadence of 90RPM.
‘Pedal faster’ might be good advice here.