Ultra low 11 speed road (Mt. Washington)

[NickJHP]

So if I keep the same old X9 mountain derailleur, I could upgrade to 11 speed double tax shifters and they would still move the derailleur up the cog fine with the next 11 speed 12x36?

I'm using that exact combination - Force 22 shifters and an X9 10-speed RD, and it shifts perfectly across an 11-speed cassette. This shows my hill climbing setup - 42/29 chainrings with 11-40 cassette, which gives me a low of 19" and a high of 102". I used an XTR FD with the SRAM shifters, as that combination works perfectly well with a two chainring setup, and my experience is that Shimano FDs change better than SRAM FDs.

[Nefarious86]

I climbed Mt. Evans in June 2007. Left Idaho Springs about 1PM or so. I was at the summit at about 4PM. The park ranger said it was the latest in the day he had ever seen a bicyclist at the summit. There were snow flakes, flurries as I descended off the top. Just a couple miles near the top on the switchbacks. The old rule about climbing mountains in the morning before Noon is true. It can snow on mountain tops in the afternoon.

I've not ridden Evans despite having lived in Denver for 19 years, but I have done a lot of hiking and mountaineering in the Colorado Rockies. Being off the summits before noon in the summer is serious business, but not because of snow flurries- it's because of the risk of lightning strikes. It is very common to have short electrical storms blow in in the afternoons, and last time I checked carbon fiber is a pretty good conducter of electricity!

BTW, the Mt Evans climb is closer to 20 miles, and its not the grade or even distance that is so hard, its the elevation- summitt at 14,000ft (>4200m).

Doing 19 days in Boulder in July/August and really want to try to get over to do Evans

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[pdlpsher1]

Evans is a great climb. But the road is full of potholes and cracks. Not a problem when going up but a problem on the way down. You should bring a fat tire with high air volume to avoid a pinch flat. And go very slow on the way down through the nasty section. Phil Gaimon flatted when going up and his race was over. Personally I prefer Pikes Peak much better. It's a toll road and as a result the road is as smooth as butter. But it's a steeper climb than Evans. So bring some low gearing and you'll be fine. Enjoy your time in Colorado. And by the way if you are staying in Boulder you need to do the Project Supertraining group rides. They come up north and loop through my backyard. Here's the most recent ride. The rider is not me btw, lol! https://www.strava.com/activities/30467 ... 5580893940