Gearing down is easy–changing a rear cassette

The more observant girls at the bus stop may have noticed my new to me bike.  I’ve been thinking about a road bike for training and summer sportives for a while but didn’t want to spend the best part of a grand – which seems to be the going price for anything.  Also, I don’t really like aluminium.  The frames have to be fat (for strength) and so IMO ugly and harsh.

So, I picked this Raliegh Volant up on eBay for a bit shy of £140.  Two things attracted me – Raleigh and legendry Reynolds 531 tubing (which was also used in the E type Jag).

It’s been a long time since I rode a racer (which now seems to be called a road bike) but I found it nice and pretty comfortable.  However, I struggled up my hill – which is very steep.  So I counted the cogs on the gears and found the rear has 13/23 (13 on the smallest and 23 on the biggest) and 42/52 on the front. 

A bit of internet research suggested that this was a professional cyclist setup.  A fellow cyclist advised me to man up.

I don’t do many hill climbs – but the first sportive I have in mind for 2012 is the NDCC Bangor coastal challenge – and the climb out of Newtownards towards Bangor after 90km or so would not be too pleasant.  So I studied Sheldon Brown’s gearing guide and decided to change my gearing.

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