It’s warm in Boston and the Bay Area, warm being a relative term. Patria takes a look at the new phenomenon of “mullet gearing,” which offers especially low gearing combinations.
Patrick introduced a friend to Annadel State Park over the weekend and realized that there might be a number of new bike owners who may benefit from a more experienced cyclist showing them around, whether off-road or on.
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I’m a serious cyclist; 5 bikes, 6,500 miles a year for the last decade, touring, racing, commuting. I am also seriously slow, and heavy and in my 60’s. Low gearing is the only way I can ride a bike on the terrain that makes it interesting. My two most frequently used bikes have triple cranks and run 26 inner to an 11-34 cassette. I put off getting a gravel bike for several years as the gearing was just to freaking high. Ended up with a drop bar MTB of sorts with a 1X that gives me a 32-42 low gear. Big bike companies need to understand that there is a huge market that is not strong fit young racers who don’t want an E-bike.
Low gears are getting so much easier to come by now with the huge cassettes and the ability of derailleurs to be pushed to work with them. I will discuss other low gearing options in an upcoming show. Many of the big bike brands spec their parts thinking mostly of the sponsored riders they know and the riding in their part of the country which is not what most people have terrain wise or fitness wise. Some of the strongest and most accomplished cyclists I know who are not sponsored by a big brand are all riding exceptionally low gearing because it makes sense for them, too.