Quote:
Originally Posted by herr_oberst
Rock Shox Judy's. Sweet.
Loving the Schwinn. Don't change anything on that; it's so badass the way it is, and the wheels are perfect.
Okay, on second thought, you might want to think about a different cassette. That looks like a 12/28, and you'd love a 32 or even a 34. No need to blow out your knees at this stage.
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I have actually already replaced the cassette. It's now a 12/26, where it was originally something like 11/23. Unfortunately, the derailleur will only support a 26 tooth cog, so that's as big as I can go. The chain rings are pretty standard at 39/52, so it is what it is. Part of the reason I need to be much lighter and in much better shape before I get back on it.
The mountain bike has 24/36/46 chain rings and an 11/34 cassette, so that's why I'm starting on it. I never use the small chain ring on the road, since I've yet to meet any hill that I cannot climb with the 36/34 gearing. I did treat myself to a short ride today on the road bike, but its 39/23 as the lowest option left me struggling up some hills that are much easier on the mountain bike.
But, well, a large part of the road bike is a kind of an "ethos" thing. I remember when they first started putting that third chain ring on road bikes. The reaction in my then somewhat "dedicated" (to be polite) riding group was open disdain for anyone seen riding such a contrivance.
So, I dunno, maybe I'm "too old" to push the gearing on that bike in the Puget Sound area. It's anything but flat around here. I used to do it no problem, but that was some 15 years ago and more. We'll see. My knees and hips are in pretty good shape - I'm still repping out with 225 in squats at the gym - so I'm not that worried about injuring myself. That, and I'm taking this very, very slowly. Like I tell guys in the gym, at my age my only goal is not to get hurt. I just have to make it
look heavy...