Best Gears for Gran Canaria Climbing Week

Equipment
1

Hi there, I am heading to Gran Canaria Bike Week, 7 days of climbing in 5 weeks time.

Example stages:

Stage 2; *98.38 km | 1,505 m *
stage 3: *84.30 km | 1,928 m *
Stage 5: 82.03 km | 1,736 m
Stage 6: 64.25 km | +1,416 m

My question:
I can rent a :Cannondale Synapse CarbonUltegra Di2 there : ( 50/34 - 11-34cassette) . I’m wondering if a 34T will be low enough, or if I should bring my own bike with a Wolf Tooth RoadLink and fit a 40T cassette instead? Too much?

For context: I’m mostly an indoor Zwift rider (mid Cat C woman), not used to long real-world climbs, and this will be my first dedicated climbing holiday.

Many thanks for your help and advice!
Nancy

2 Likes
2

Almost always is it better to err on the side of having more climbing gears.

If you want a solution that will work without a Wolftooth Road Link, then slap on a SRAM 11–36 cassette. Obviously, it won’t give you as easy a gear, but it is an alternative if you don’t want to fuss around with your RD.

2 Likes
3

This is a quote from Amber back from the Cycling Tips podcast days: “I’ve never met a low gear I didn’t like”.

Just because you have that bail out gear doesn’t mean you have to use it every ride but I bet on day five you’ll love it!

3 Likes
4

Some of the roads have quite steep pitches, you will be fine on 1:1 gear if you can hold over 3.5w/kg on those. For endurance riding 1:1 ratio is often not enough there, even with >4w/kg threshold.

2 Likes
5

Currently in GC right now. It is very warm during the day and some of the climbs are long and quite steep. Running a 10-36 on SRAM AXS, easy enough. For a multi day event, go as easy as possible.

1 Like
6

Some have reported you don’t even need a roadlink to make a 11-40 work on shimano 11s. I’d try it. Get the roadlink just in case.

1 Like
7

Been to GC many times, always stayed Mogan and concentrated on the south/south west.

I’d advise the lowest gear possible as some of the climbs are brutal!

I’m sure you are but be aware of the cumulative fatigue over several days climbing!

Some of the road surfaces can be rough.

When I was last there in May the road from Mogan to Ayacata had suffered a huge landslide and was blocked. Not sure whether that has reopened.

Having said all of that, your route its mostly an area I’m not familiar with! Have ridden Fataga and St Lucia a few times, gorgeous and spectacular.

I think GC is a stunning island, I’m sure you will have a great time!

1 Like
8

Thanks for all the advice and inputs! I will rent the Specialized Roubaix SL8 Expert Rival eTap (46/33 + 11-36) , this should be good enough for some of the brutal climbs.

Since there are a few Gran Canaria riders here, can I also ask what extra clothing you recommend for the rides? I’ve heard the temperature drops a lot at the top—how drastic is it in reality?

Should I bring arm/leg warmers, neck warmer, gloves, shoe covers, a light summer rain/wind jacket, or something warmer like an autumn jacket?

Many thanks!
Nancy

1 Like
9

Depends on your luck with weather. Usually no need for leg warmers or shoe covers, but if you descend all the way from the top, you will need a windstopper jacket, long finger gloves and maybe also buff/hat.

2 Likes
10

Always carry arm warmers, buff, and a light wind jacket. Toe warmers are also good to have. It can be really cold at the top and long descending.

1 Like
11

Luck of the draw with the weather, if you’re high up and descending in cloud you will probably appreciate having the items mentioned above!

If you ride into the cloud it can feel like it’s lightly raining and a bit chilly!

Been in mid December and warm/sunny all week, needed a Gillet to descend. Been in May several times, May ‘24 was a very cloudy week and needed arm warmers/showerproof jacket higher up some days.

1 Like
12

I haven’t been to Gran Canaria specifically, but many mountains on many continents (German, France, Austria, Japan, Chile, etc.). My experience is as follows:

  • In mountains it always pays off to err on the side of being over prepared.
  • I always put two small plastic bags and a pair of surgical gloves in my saddle bag, which pack really well and weigh next-to-nothing. When it gets really cold, I put the plastic bags over my socks and the surgical gloves underneath my cycling gloves. 100 % wind stoppage and with time the warm, moist air will keep your fingers and feet toasty/toastier.
  • It almost always pays off to pack arm warmers, a skull cap, a buff and some form of wind barrier for your upper body (e. g. a gilet or, my favorite, a rain jacket). If your feet get cold, pack e. g. Velotoze shoe “condoms”. The buff not only acts as a neck warmer, but also as a plug to prevent air flow in between your wind shell and your jersey.
  • Your choice of gloves depends on how quickly your fingers get cold. Cold fingers on a descent are miserable.
  • Test your gear. I found the claimed temperature ranges for various pieces of clothing to be a rather mixed bag.