Gravel Bike - 1 x or 2 x Groupset

[bleedToWin]

18 hours ago, RossTopher said:

GRX 810 RD along with the grx FD and 810 crank and a sram 11-36 cassette.

810 is officially 34t max, so that's what I've got on. How does it handle going 11-36?

[splat]

5 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

810 is officially 34t max, so that's what I've got on. How does it handle going 11-36?

11-36 will work fine with enough 'b-screw'.
I am running mine with a Wolf Tooth Roadlink DM and a 11-40 cassette.
Works like a charm

[bleedToWin]

15 hours ago, Mamil said:

Gear ratios mean nothing on swartberg if you don't have an entry. A 1400 ZAR  entry rider for anyone on a bike for 1000. 

I feel for event organisers. If it's this hard to give someone who wants to ride the event a 400 ZAR discount ..... 

That's for the swartberg granfondo BTW 

I've been eyeballing your entry for weeks now, but apparently I not only need to convince my family that Prince Albert is a nice holiday destination and not really that far of a drive, I also need easier gearing.

 

[bleedToWin]

Can anyone compare Swartberg to Jonaskop?
I would have preferred better gearing, but managed reasonably well with 1:1

[RossTopher]

5 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

Can anyone compare Swartberg to Jonaskop?
I would have preferred better gearing, but managed reasonably well with 1:1

i had a 34 cassette on, and swapped to 36 purely because of the annual pilgrimage to Jonaskop.

31-34 just didnt feel like it would enough.

i then tore ligaments and havent had a chance to test the climb.

 

re the max tooth, i think bike manufacturers conservative limits are storied, be it tyre clearance, tooth capacity etc.

i havent had to do any adjustments, and i've read others using 810 up to 42, but I did buy a longer B screw in case (cost R40)

[Jewbacca]

15 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

Can anyone compare Swartberg to Jonaskop?
I would have preferred better gearing, but managed reasonably well with 1:1

One of the differences, especially for you (being a racer, not a participant) will be the 156km in the legs before you start the climb.

The Swartberg from Cango Caves side is long and the gradient changes constantly. There are very mild sections and then it ramps up in 2 or 3 places which gets in your head a bit.

1:1 definitely gets you over the pass, albeit a bit uncomfortably in places. But once you go over the top it's a long descent and very easy flat ride back into town.

If you're there to win it, you might burn a few matches more than the others getting over which may impact the sprint to the line, but you can definitely get over the top.

Maybe make a big out the saddle move a la Contador on the steeper bits and make the others chase you? 😁

[bleedToWin]

40 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

One of the differences, especially for you (being a racer, not a participant) will be the 156km in the legs before you start the climb.

The Swartberg from Cango Caves side is long and the gradient changes constantly. There are very mild sections and then it ramps up in 2 or 3 places which gets in your head a bit.

1:1 definitely gets you over the pass, albeit a bit uncomfortably in places. But once you go over the top it's a long descent and very easy flat ride back into town.

If you're there to win it, you might burn a few matches more than the others getting over which may impact the sprint to the line, but you can definitely get over the top.

Maybe make a big out the saddle move a la Contador on the steeper bits and make the others chase you? 😁

Yeah, 156km in the legs will change things up quite a bit. With Jonaskop I was quite fresh, although not 100% in good health. Would have liked more gears, but made up for it with Watts in the first 50 minutes. It was only the last 3km or so where the relentlessness of the climb and the elevation started to take a toll. My sense of humour requires more oxygen than what is available above 1300m, and those >15% weren't funny anymore.
 

[Spinnekop]

1 hour ago, bleedToWin said:

Can anyone compare Swartberg to Jonaskop?
I would have preferred better gearing, but managed reasonably well with 1:1

Using a formula I have picked up on another site:

Kinda useful in comparing climbs in general

 

Edited January 16 by Spinnekop

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, bleedToWin said:

I've been eyeballing your entry for weeks now, but apparently I not only need to convince my family that Prince Albert is a nice holiday destination and not really that far of a drive, I also need easier gearing.

 

 

Dont let them scare you off .... 

 

Climbing Swartberg from Prince Albert was my last hard ride on a normal bike ... I bid not walk one step up that pass   (dont ask how many times I stopped)

 

As @'Dale would say: "500m climb in 5km will warm up your legs".  (thats up to the Die Hel turn, bit more if you want to get to the very top)

 

 

The thing that got to me was those erosion humps .... just as you get your rythm climbing a steep section you pass over the hump and spin out ... grab some gears and, oops, o-wait, next climb ...

 

The climb from the other side is much longer, not sure if it is steeper, at least more consistent.

 

This is (or should be) a bucket list ride for every cyclist.

 

 

The ride into Die Hel is also an experience in its own.  I have not done that last decent (avoiding the climb to get out)

 

 

A return trip over the pass had me at 2 229m in only 100km .... dankie tog die keer was dit n e-bike .... then again, that took some serious battery management.

[Mamil]

1 hour ago, bleedToWin said:

Can anyone compare Swartberg to Jonaskop?
I would have preferred better gearing, but managed reasonably well with 1:1

Steepest pitches of Jonas are steeper than the swartberg steep bits I think. Also.jonas has parts that slackmoff whereas swartberg is sustained. The hard part of swartberg is that by the time you have got to the pass you've already been climbing for 20km.ans have 130 odd in the legs 

 

Prince Albert is lovely... A spa day for SO and nice restaurants. 

Edited January 16 by Mamil

[bleedToWin]

7 minutes ago, Mamil said:

Also.jonas has parts that slackmoff whereas swartberg is sustained.

Jonas has two descending sections yes, but when it climbs the only slack offs are down to 10% between long stretches of 15%... 🤣 Looking at power and speed and gradients from a top contender now for Swartberg. I think it's mainly where it's placed in the race and the loooong drag into the the actual steep part that makes this one such a challenge.

[Underachiever]

53 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

Using a formula I have picked up on another site:

Kinda useful in comparing climbs in general

 

Swartberg northern side (which includes the little downhill) would be an interesting number, certainly more difficult vs  south

[Ispeed_V]

1 X set up.

I even run a 1 X on my road bike.

Used hate the constant chain rub on the FD and no matter how much fine tuning I would do, it was always there so decided extreme measures were in order.

Binned the FD and run either a 42 or 44 chainring with an 11/34 cassette.

[Johan1983]

Can i use my old Ultegra Rim Brake Shifters with Disc Calipers?

[Spinnekop]

2 hours ago, Underachiever said:

Swartberg northern side (which includes the little downhill) would be an interesting number, certainly more difficult vs  south

Maybe a perception?  Or just a function of which part you choose to use for the stat:
Having a quick look, I would use this section as the "north side" of Swartberg.
https://www.strava.com/segments/10601836

If true, then South side is easier.

 

[Underachiever]

3 hours ago, Spinnekop said:

Maybe a perception?  Or just a function of which part you choose to use for the stat:
Having a quick look, I would use this section as the "north side" of Swartberg.
https://www.strava.com/segments/10601836

If true, then South side is easier.

 

I'm OCD, so the pass for me is where the gravel starts, to the top, which then adds about 5km at 2.1%.  Significant for old, fat and unfit ballies like me!!!! 

This segment.....

https://www.strava.com/segments/27176466

Edited January 16 by Underachiever