A suggestion for those wanting to gear "classic" lightweight bikes down, especially Campy NR/SR bikes--Sugino Mighty Tour cranks. They have a similar spindle hole shape to that era's Campagnolo, have a 110mm bolt circle so they will fit as small as a 34 tooth ring, are light, look the era, and have a narrow tread. Their front derailleur clearance is slightly better than Campagnolo or French cranks--they'll work with a Shimano 105 front derailleur, for instance. They can be had cheaply; I've come into two low-mileage sets for an outlay of less than $30.00. They were such a common OEM crank for a number of years that lots of sets lurk on $25 garage sale bikes!
David Feldman
> Living in the mountains where a typical ride will consist of at least 5-6
> miles of climbing and that isn't including the hills, just the mountain
> climbs I have had to gear down. About a month ago I was on my Rauler with
a
> 42x23 and felt a twinge of pain in my knee so I turned around and headed
> back down the mountain. The next day I took out the Merican with it's
triple
> and a low of 30x23 and did some climbing. The knee was still somewhat
sore,
> but I came through OK. That day I ordered the gearing I needed to make the
> bike climb with less pain to the rider. It now has a 39x26 and it has made
> all the difference in the world. The tighter cog will be saved for the
flat
> lands. Now I don't think I would take it out on a 100 miler with 9
mountain
> climbs or anything like that, but for a couple of climbs it will and my
> knees will do just fine. At times I do have to remind myself that I am no
> longer as young, strong and as fast as I used to be. There was a time when
I
> would do Skyland Drive with a 47x21 and it was all right, but not anymore.
> When I get a little older I will probably have to gear down even farther.
> The main thing is to keep on riding and sometimes that means making
> concessions do to age and the like. Can one use the small cog as a granny
> and the inner chain ring for a big cog? Just a thought.
>
> Did 42 miles yesterday with 9 miles of mountain climbing in preparation
for
> the Mountain Mama Challenge. A friend and I will be doing the last 50
miles
> of this century tomorrow. She did the 50 miler last year and what to see
if
> she is up to the full 100 and the 5 additional mountains it has to offer.
>
> Larry Osborne are you coming?
>
> Mark, the older I get the faster I was, Poore