I am an absolute newbie and would like to use my bike for commuting
5mi each way to work. I have acquired an old used Specialized Allez
road bike with Suntour GPX drivetrain components. In my two days of
biking to work, I am finding that climbing bridge overpasses is a
chore. (Didn't I say I was badly out of shape?) Anyway, I think my
gearing is not in my favor. The chainrings are 52t and 38t Suntour
GPX, but the freewheel is a 7 speed with 19t to 13t. So the lowest
gearing I have is 54" which is tough going for me and would like to
make that better.
The questions I have are:
1. Can I replace the 13-19 freewheel with one that has 30+ teeth as
the largest gear? I see a Suntour 13-30t 7spd freewheel on Ebay and am
wondering if there is something with higher number of teeth on the
largest gear.
2. Should I be thinking of adding a smaller ring, if possible, to the
two rings that I have.
3. How difficult is it to do these things by myself? I like mucking
things around by myself, but have no idea how good I am doing it. I
managed to reverse my drop bar to allow me to sit more upright.
If I am able to keep it up for a while, then I will probably have more
questions.
Srinivas