What gear inches for Catford Hillclimb

thinking of doing the catford cc hillclimb, what gearinches do you think is best?

i think i will do it on 46x17 ..or 45x17 ...something around that mark...

that's what gear i have now, but i would have thought an easier one would be a bit quicker?
anyone have a cheap 19/20 cog i can try and see if it will fit with my chain? i have a few cm in the dropouts.

...yeah i was thinkin about that, but i don't reckon i'd work for me. When iwent to france, i initially went with 46x19, but whenever i reached any hills, i couldn't stand up for more than 30secs..too spinny.

then, someonewhere neear st. tropez there was a fucking looong hill, and i just switched to 46x16, stood up and grinded all the way, and it felt better/easier. Then again ...racing is different...

wait, is it a race, or individual time trial? are they the same thing?

individual time trial..

46 x 17!!!! good luck....that will make for good viewing!

Definately try a 20. look what this bloke uses:

http://website.lineone.net/~jim.henderson/cycling/bikes/antigra.html

http://website.lineone.net/~jim.henderson/cycling/bikes/nickson.html

i'll get a cheapo 20 and try it
i wonder if you pump the tyres up or let them down a bit for grip on the wet leaves to stop wheelspin?

i'd pump them to the max, i think...

I can happily romp up Highgate West or Muswell Hill in 46x17, but no way on the Catford climb... I've come 5th in that event riding 39x20 FYI.

Wet leaves mean riding tyres a bit softer than usual, but a smooth pedal stroke can also limit wheelspin - easier said than done on a 1 in 4 when you lost consciousness 100m ago :p

haha.. that sounds pretty crazy.

OK, i have underestimated this climb :'(

I want to check it out beforehand. Bringmemyfix, what will your gearing be?

I can't be bothered removing my 46t chainring, so it's 46x22. A bit of an experiment, and it'll have to do for the Bec in the afternoon too.

If you're doing these climbs fixed, there's no escaping the fact that you'll be experiencing the entire spectrum of cadences :S

On the other hand, maybe 46x17 is the secret formula that no-one's cottoned on to before...?

lol...i doubt it.

lol.. you just have to go really really fast while it's straight and keep going.. right?

The infamous Bill Bell just reaching the first STEEP part - only about another 45 seconds of 25%...

whoa look at his legs!

aren't you glad you asked your question lpg? I wish I could see your face if you'd had turned up in 46x17 :D

what's the average grade for this? and is it fixed only?

lpg whoa look at his legs!

Yeah, fscking skinny! :P

it would look like this:

nah, more like this:

This Catford climb sounds perfect for 95kg of hippy.. I might have to skip the kebabs for lunch beforehand though.

nah, just get a diet coke instead

i'm starting to regret this already, never done any kind of 'racing' it's not realy my thing but with this i thought if i don't like it it's over in a couple of minutes and i'll be in the 'have a go' section, hopefully it wont be full of pro's who should be in the other cat's i don't want to be last!

it'll be fun!

the 56kg me should (theoretically) do well in this.