Smaller Gears, Slower Riders? Tour de France Gears Explained | Tour de France 2017

Simon takes a look around the Katusha Alpecin mechanics truck to see how cassettes/rear derailleurs have revolutionised to the needs of cyclists.

What do you think of the SRAM WiFli rear derailleur system? Let us know in the comments below👇 We'd love to know if you have one.

SRAM introduced the WiFLi rear derailleur as a solution to allow a rider to use upto a 32t cassette with ease. Previously it meant having to put a long cage derailleur on a bike, you'd need to put a longer chain on too.

Simon is joined by Jason from SRAM who is the team liaison and finds out how products can be bettered for the professionals, this technology, when implemented, is available for consumer use too. Meaning that everyone can take advantage of advances in technology.

Tony Martin is a classic example of a rider who wants to stay in the big chainring for as long as possible and with a 58t chainring paired up with a 32t sprocket on the cassette means that he can do so by using the WiFLi medium cage rear derailleur.

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Leave us a comment below!

[djlowes]

I'm relatively new road cycling and I found this video to be pretty darn interesting. Sheds light on the current trend and "evolution" of the sport.

[maxgraman]

Finally GCN acknowledges the obvious advantage of large cassettes!

[markclemence]

my first ten speed (1970) had a Campy 13, 14, 15, 18, 21x 46 and52, pretty tough on the climbs

[Karollenart]

Got 11-32 and 50-34, really great for climbing when your ftp is 220 :) Can beat 15% without burning.

[chriscolabella]

I came to road from competitive MTB so could already put out decent power. Even then I was astonished at how high geared road bikes were. One of the first modifications I made was sticking a MTB mech and 11-36t cassette out back. Done a few Sportives since, nothing serious, and still get comments about my silly gears while loads of riders push up the climbs.

[listofromantics]

Now this is much more interesting TDF / UCI content.

[russellmoore]

The additional extra cogs that 11 speeds give you is one of the reasons that wide range gearing is now used for racing. In the 70s 6 speed clusters were the go, so if you went for wide range you had large gaps in the gears. As the number of cogs increased the chance to have evenly spaced wide range gearing has became a reality.

It does seem strange though to see racers using clusters that not that long ago were the choice of touring cyclists.

[fabianwylie]

Thanks for the information GCN . I just got the Dura Ace crank 54/40, cassette 11/34 . Thanks 🎉🎉🎉

[obknb]

Well....in the 70's and 80's they were juicing on testosterone so small gears for big muscles, today they juicing on EPO so big gears high cadence . Simple stuff really.

[georgejgilles.]

👍" a lot of this stuff"? 11/32 sounds like a great friend when going up hill. 58 tooth is massive.

[_Green]

52/36&11/32 what i ride. Wider range of gears allows for a higher cadence and less stress on the knees going up climbs.

[TimothyFish]

Fewer drugs changes what people are able to push.

[AngelGonzalez-hczw]

I believe the 12-23 was the standard. Oh and let’s not forget that good ole front 42 tooth chainring.

[KatieKookaburra]

Spin spin spin! Power is power at the end of the day regardless of what cassette you have. I've got a 40 and I push more watts than when I had a 32. Watts is watts 🚴🏼‍♀️

[swites]

Anything 12% and over I'm doing 300W to keep my cadence over 80rpm's with a compact and 11-28. That's why I went up to an 11-32. Just means when I'm tired/fatigued or on a recovery ride, I can get up the many climbs like that around here a lot easier, and in a comfortable cadence.

[humbertoleandro]

I think this video missed an important aspect. 20 year ago the cassettes were 9 or 8 speed so if you wanted to have a wider range, you would have big gaps between gears. Now with 11 speed not that much. So if you take a 8 speed cassette that was 11-23, you just add two more cogs and you have an 11-28. If technology allows for cassettes to have even more cogs (12 speed is available for MTB already), in 10 years from now we may be talking about the disappearing of the double chainring system.

[leftymadrid]

52/36 and a 11/32 cassette makes for the perfect combination, especially when you live in a hilly area! AND doesn't drain your gas tank/energy as much at the end of a long day of cycling...

[Juang]

50/34 with 11/30 cassette is what I ride on. I try to avoid using the 30 cog but when cimbs get super tough I am glad I got that 30 cog.

[davidturpin]

The answer here is not complex.  It is an engineering problem.  Even as cyclists get stronger, you simply cannot put smaller than an 11T on the back.  To compensate, they are riding larger chain rings.  To compensate for that, they need larger cassettes.  Simple engineering.  Tony Martin is running a FIFTY EIGHT tooth chainring.   That's massive.  So he has to run a 11-32 rear to be able to climb, and when descending he can hit 75kph without spinning out.

[johntechwriter]

Actually a useful episode of this show, which isn't always the case. They explain how drivetrains have evolved over the years and show how cluster range is much wider, and how they use a compact crank to keep their cadence high, compared with the low-cadence "lugging" style when climbing as was done in the '70s.