PAP Wonders...: Best of Both Worlds?

Here is the simple logic of bike gearing:
1. Fast on the flats = BIG chainrings
2. Fast on the climbs = BIG cogs/cassettes

If these are true, then:
BIG chainrings + BIG cogs = fast on the flats + fast on the climbs
The BIG-BIG combination gives the best of both of world.

By having both, can we really set-up a do-all bike? For a bike to handle anything the race course throws at it? Answer: Yes.

55/44t chainrings paired with a 12-27t cassette. Fast on the flats, can be painful for the climbs.

As a duathlete (duathlon: run-bike-run), most course I have raced have involved uphills or rolling terrain: Clark, Nuvali, Eagle Ridge, SCTEX and Balanga to name a few. I can only think of one "flat" course: Pradera. Short anecdote: my first Balanga experience at the 2015 Pilipinas Duathlon Final Leg was a huge surprise. We had to climb up to Letran three times. With fatigued legs, my 12-27t cassette was too heavy for the first time. The same thing happened again for the SCTEX Duathlon (2016). "Parang kailangan ko ng mas malaking sprocket" (I think I need a bigger sprocket/cassette), I thought to myself. Another season is ahead and I'm considering my options. Since getting myself a Roadlink last February, I've been using a 12-30t cassette. This is very similar to my 12-27t cassette but it trades the 16t for the 30t. I've raced the cassette three times so far and no complaints except for the rare times when at speeds that the 15t is too hard and the 17t is too easy. (For an introduction on chainrings, cassettes and the drivetrain, click here)

PAP Wonders...Long Cage, B-Screw and Roadlink

Have you ever felt you needed more gears? More lighter, easier gears to climb? Putting a large cassette may be one of the first things that came into your mind (a road triple may offer more range but this is not a possible option because of availability reasons). By large, we mean 32t and bigger. Mountain bike cassettes on road bikes? Why not? It sounds like a good idea. But, can the rear derailleur handle it?

A Road bike rear derailleur. Highlighted is the Cage and the B-Screw.

For this article, we'll explore three ways to mount a large cassette on your road bike. These are a Long Cage rear derailleur, adjusting the B-Screw and adding a Roadlink. Let's start with what sounds most interesting - the Roadlink. This range-increasing revolutionary invention has been around for a few years and chances are, you might have heard about it.

PAP Wonders... Cassettes, Sprockets and Cogs

Our next topic in PAP Wonders... is about cassettes. Cassettes are the gears that engage the chain and the rear wheel. For a brief introduction on cassettes, look at our Parts of a Bicycle article on the drivetrain. We will be talking about the pros and cons of different cassette choices like having more cogs in your cassette and having larger cogs. We hope this can help you on your cassette choice.

My personal choice: a 10 speed cassette with 12-27 range.

PAP Wonders... Drivetrain - Straight or Mixed?

PAP Wonders... is a new segment here in Pinta At Padyak. We will be wondering and discussing bikes, bike setups and other bike-related topics. In our first issue, we will be talking about the bike drivetrain. For an introduction on the bike's drivetrain, click here.

When we talk about a bike's drivetrain, common sense dictates that a straight groupset is the gold standard. A straight groupset is where all the components of the drivetrain (cranks, derailleurs, cassette, shifters and brakes) are all from the same series. By having a straight groupset, we can have the smoothest coordination between the different components for an efficient operation.

An example of a straight groupset. Pictured above is a 10-speed Dura-Ace groupset (Special Anniversary Edition).

Parts of a Bicycle: Part 4 - Drivetrain

From Part 3, we learned about the wheels of a bicycle. The wheels transfer the movement to the road. In this article, we will be talking about the Drivetrain of the bike. The Drivetrain is the main mechanism of the bike. It transforms the pedaling motion to the rotation of the wheels.

The Drivetrain is the main mechanism of the bike.

The Drivetrain is composed of the shifters, crankset, cassette/cogs, chain, front derailleur, rear derailleur and brakes. The big names of drivetrain manufacturers are Shimano, Sram and Campagnolo. These companies have different series for their components. Having all components from the same series is called having a "Groupset" or a "Gruppo". Although one can mix and match different components from different groupsets or different brands, there may be occasions where these would not be compatible.