Categories: Accessories and GearNostalgiaTechniqueTechnologyTradition

And the 39 Was Clean as a Whistle

What has four thumbs and loves climbing in big gears? Those guys!

I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!

— Henri Desgrange

I like to think that any time a rider running a compact punctures, Henri’s spirit is brought just that little bit closer to finding peace; I can only imagine what he might have said about the advent of these sorts of chainsets, let alone the wide-range cassettes we see in wide use today.

The thing that bothers me most about wide-range cassettes is the gaps between the gears. Growing up riding in Minnesota, I trained on a 12-23 and raced on an 12-21 because they were basically a straight block until you got to the lowest gears. Going to the mountains I would reluctantly use a 12-27 but I had to stop myself looking at the back wheel too much because I hated the sight of that 27t dinner plate. I’ve gotten used to what my bikes look like with the 12-25 I’m training on these days, but there are definitely times when I simply can’t find the right gear ratio for the terrain.

Growing up, I was considered a spinner for riding at 80-90 rpm; the thinking at the time was that mashing big gears at low cadences was more efficient. We are greatly influenced by what the Pros are doing, and the famous Cyclists at the time like Hinault and LeMond rode at 60 rpm, so that’s what we punters did, too. Today, I’m still riding at the same cadence, but now people consider me to be a bit of a gear pusher in our modern 100+ rpm climate. I like to flatter myself that the size of my climbing gear intimidates the spinners I ride with; my favorite question to ask them is why they are riding in the little ring already. I usually already know the answer (they are sissies) but I like to ask anyway because I enjoy their slightly bewildered expression before looking at my chainset and realizing that I’m still in the 53. I always give them that special look that makes them wonder whether or not I have noticed that the climb is steep already.

Before spinning high cadences became popular and, shortly after, the abominable 11-28 block became the mainstream choice in gearing, climbers would seek to intimidate one another by how tight they could keep their gearing and how few teeth they needed to use to get over a climb. Climbers like Manuel Fuentes would make sure to always ride in a slightly bigger gear than the rest of the group as a show of defiance to the ferocity of the gradient. In The Rider, Tim Krabbé recounts his suffering on the climbs of the Tour de Mont Aigoual in the South of France. His lowest gear was a 19, one which he considered his “bail out” gear. He was confident he could win the race, and throughout he imagines the onlookers admiring the fact that his 19 never saw the chain, “And his 19 was clean as a whistle,” he imagined them saying.

I personally can’t imagine climbing anything steeper than an overpass in a 19, but I do like to challenge myself to stay off my 39 and ride an entire training route in the 53. And his 39 was clean as a whistle.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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LawnCzar says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:10 am

@LawnCzar

@chuckp

@frank

I’m surprised you like the 50T. I run 50/38 on my graveur but I find it very hard to find suitable ratios at medium speeds, especially closer to the low side of the cassette and I find myself crossing constantly.

For whatever reason, 50/36 up front and 11-28 in the back seems to work well for me. My “logic” in choosing such a “weird” set up is that (having come from 53/39 in front) I could still push bigger gears in the small ring but have enough small gears for climbing and I could stay in the big ring longer on climbs (I’m not worried about spinning out a 50×11). I have a smaller small gear than my 39×23 and my biggest big gear is pretty close (enough) to 53×12. I don’t find myself having to crossover from big ring to small ring or vice-versa that often. Maybe that’s more a function of the speeds and terrain I’m riding. Dunno. And I very rarely cross-chain (usually only under dire circumstances).

The other night, a few guys on our team ride were talking and some of them are running bodges with 52/36 in front for best of both worlds. (“Yeah, Shimano says it doesn’t work, but I’ve never had trouble… “)

When I first visited Boulder last year I rented a Cervelo R2 for the week and it came with that exact gearing you have, Chuck — it worked well up in the mountains. That trip got me to buy an R3, which came with a more standard 52/38 in front and 11-28 in back. That’s been working fine for me; on easier climbs I tend to sit on the 38 and well down on the block, like my 13 or 14, so I have more room to maneuver. That also somehow feels better than being on my big ring and further up the block even if the actual gear inches are more or less equivalent.

Pardon me -- that should have been, "bodges with 52/34 in front."
RobSandy says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:13 am

@fignons barber

You guys who are poo-pooing the 52/36 realize that in a 52/39 set up you have about 60% duplicate gears between the big and small ring, right? And that by switching to a 52/36, it’s like basically being able to add 3 extra climbing gears without changing the cassette.

I just ordered a new 52/36 for the Bixxis. It’s a first time for me, I’ll have to travel to some mountains to test it out. I live in florida, where the chain never leaves the big ring.

This.

I'm a bit of a mid-compact evangelist. You only lose 1t on the big ring off a standard but gain 3t on the little ring. I can't really imagine using anything else.

Even when I'm old and knackered I could just put a 12-30 cassette on...uh oh...think I just lost the room...
wiscot says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:15 am

@Buck Rogers

@wiscot

Back in the day, 52-42 and a 12 straight through were about the norm. TA did crazy stuff for cyclotouristes. Now, for me being on the wrong side of 50 and cherishing my healthy knees, it’s 50-36 and 11-23. I can get up anything in my neighborhood on that combo. Aesthetically, I’ll take the smaller chainring for a smaller cassette.

Yup, grew up racing with 52/42 and 12-25 all over New England in the mid-to-late ’80’s. It’s all we had (or at least all I knew of). Now I ride the Flemish Compact 53/39 (didn’t realize that was a lexicon word until this thread came about) with a 12-27 cassette. Seriously too many 13-18% climbs around here even on my normal route to be running anything less on the rear (Museeuw be fucked!). My knees thank me for it.

And any thread that has a Krabbe’ reference is an automatic win for me. It’s like posting any photo of Tommeke in a thread; you just cannot go wrong with it! Might be time to reread The Rider, it’s been a few years.

I'm on a bit of a bike-book binge right now. Just finished Slaying the Badger and Hunger - the Kelly autobiography. Both great. Krabbe's book and Rough Ride by Kimmage are on the bedside table. The first two lay out quite explicitly the behind-the-scenes politics and deals that go on in cycling. I'm not naive enough to fail to know that deals are made, crits rigged, dopers exist etc, but to see such activities laid bare is both fun and hard to read. In a way, I'm scared to read the Kimmage book. I just know it's going to be car crash ugly but fascinating.

Do other sports have such a rich library of books that lift the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes?
Buck Rogers says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:25 am

@wiscot

Oh Mate! If you have not read The Rider, just fucking drop everything, call in sick, go home and read it. Fucking fantastic. Seriously, the best book on sport I have ever read, esp if you were a road racer in the past (or still are--and I mean real racing, not comparing fucking strava segments).
RobSandy says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:30 am

@Buck Rogers

@wiscot

I mean real racing, not comparing fucking strava segments).

Fuck off! (smiley)

The anti-V is strong with me today it seems.
LawnCzar says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:37 am

@Buck Rogers

@wiscot

Oh Mate! If you have not read The Rider, just fucking drop everything, call in sick, go home and read it. Fucking fantastic. Seriously, the best book on sport I have ever read, esp if you were a road racer in the past (or still are–and I mean real racing, not comparing fucking strava segments).

So good. Worth the day off from work. (But set aside some time to ride after you're done.)

-----

"Jacques Anquetil, five-time winner of the Tour de France, used to take his water bottle out of its holder before every climb and stick it in the back pocket of his jersey. Ab Geldermans, his Dutch lieutenant, watched him do that for years, until finally he couldn't stand it any more and asked him why. And Anquetil explained.

A rider, said Anquetil, is made up of two parts, a person and a bike. The bike, of course, is the instrument the person uses to go faster, but it's weight also slows him down. That really counts when the going gets tough, and in climbing the thing is to make sure the bike is as light as possible. A good way to do that is: take the bidon out of its holder.

So, at the start of every climb, Anquetil moved his water bottle from its holder to his back pocket. Clear enough."

---

It may not be accurate, but it's True.
chuckp says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:40 am

OK ... All this talk of gearing, what we ride, and what we used to ride has me motivated to take my steel steed out to ride either today or tomorrow so I can remember riding 53/39 with 12x23. It'll probably hurt going up some climbs (nothing long, but some 10+% steep stuff).
Teocalli says:

Apr 29 2016 at 7:55 am

I have said it elsewhere that, gear spacing aside, but 50/x with 11-y is a higher gear than 53/x and 12-y. Of course if you ride 53/x and 11-y they you are a) very young b) beasting it.

The thing is that no one can tell you are riding 11-y vs 12-y but having 52/36 is visibly more V than 50/34.
wiscot says:

Apr 29 2016 at 9:08 am

@Teocalli

I have said it elsewhere that, gear spacing aside, but 50/x with 11-y is a higher gear than 53/x and 12-y. Of course if you ride 53/x and 11-y they you are a) very young b) beasting it.

The thing is that no one can tell you are riding 11-y vs 12-y but having 52/36 is visibly more V than 50/34.

"Beasting it" Man, that's a UK phrase I haven't heard in yonks.

"How fast were you guys riding?"

"We were beasting it."

I used to do a group ride west of Glasgow (Renfrew, Bishopton, Langbank, Kilmacolm, Bridge of Weir, Inchinnan, Renfrew.) All was calm and collected until around Kilmacolm. Then it was every man for himself after that. Beasting it would be a good way to describe the ride home!
BacklashJack says:

Apr 29 2016 at 9:29 am

This further convinces me to head down to the LBS and get the 52/36. My first step is to get the 11-27 on my new wheels next week and get off the dreaded 12-30 that came with the bike and has coddled me for some time.