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Welcome to Battenkill Sports Equinox Hill
Climb information page. |
| It is our hope to give information on gearing
that everyone can use. If you live in our area we will be glad to help
you modify your bike. Otherwise you can use this information to advise
your regular bike shop to do the work. Be sure to get started early
enough to avoid a last minute emergency. Be aware that some
modifications make a bike unsuitable for everyday road riding and may
need to be undone later. |
| For the Mt Equinox Hill Climb we have found that a 26 inch gear is desirable.
i.e. the same number of teeth on the front and rear sprockets for your
lowest gear. (assuming a 700C wheel) Bicycle gearing is determined by dividing the number of teeth on a rear sprocket into the number of teeth on the front sprocket. This gives a ratio which you can use as is for comparisons to other gears on your bike. A one to one ratio (1/1) is desirable for your low gear on Mt Equinox. However, it is customary to multiply this ratio times wheel diameter to yield a number called "Gear Inches". 26 gear inch for Mt.Equinox. Go to http://www.panix.com/~jbarrm/cycal/cycal.30f.html to find a gear calculator. Start by counting the teeth on each of your sprockets, plug them into the calculator. You will need to know your wheel diameter. You can estimate it at 26.5 inches for a road bike, or measure it. How you achieve this depends on your bike. On road bikes if you have a triple front crank , you can usually to put on a smaller chain ring. If you only have a double you may have to install a crank from a Mt bike for the event. If your rear sprocket's lowest gear is less than 27 teeth, you may have to change the cassette which usually means changing your derailleur and chain. Having fun yet? |
| Our telephone number is 802-362-2734. |