Are you running Compact or Std chainset?

[EZRider]

 

 

What would Froome Dawg do...

 

Froome Dawg won the Tropical Tzaneen tour in his day.

Berto rode a WIFLI in the tour, ya ya I know he only came 4th...

[SwissVan]

Froome Dawg won the Tropical Tzaneen tour in his day.

Berto rode a WIFLI in the tour, ya ya I know he only came 4th...

 

WTFisa "WIFLI" ?

[Stiggy]

 

 

Whats your reason for changing?

With a 12 / 25 you might loose a bit of top speed and obviously the 28 for those really steep hills.

SRAM (Red) have a 11 / 26 but jinni its bloody expensive when compared to the other cassette options

Long story - chain broken so gonna do the cassette and chain change combo, and due to shortage of parts can only find a 12/25 cassette. I hardly sit in the big ring in the back so dont think it will affect me too much there. Bit concerned about losing top end speed tho

[Chopper Jr]

I'm on a compact! Makes perfect sense for heavier riders 90kg+

 

I'm sure there are a couple buffels out there who aren't scared to grind a standard crank up the hills but a compact with a good cadence makes it so much easier.

 

I don't feel like I'm losing out on the other end either, 50-11 at 60km/h is just fine on the flat fast races.

[SwissVan]

Long story - chain broken so gonna do the cassette and chain change combo, and due to shortage of parts can only find a 12/25 cassette. I hardly sit in the big ring in the back so dont think it will affect me too much there. Bit concerned about losing top end speed tho

 

I've not tried a 12, but with the 11 (50 on front) I start to spin out at +/- 50 km/h which is only achieved on fast downhill's.

 

12 might be an issue of you do a lot of racing in fast bunches where the speed could be in the high 40's or ride a lot of long fats downhill's

Edited August 8, 2013 by SwissVan

[JA-Q001]

55/42 om my one road bike at the moment. Normally I would use 53/39, but I must say, I climb and pace better with the 55 at the moment.

[dracs]

I'm on a compact! Makes perfect sense for heavier riders 90kg+

 

I'm sure there are a couple buffels out there who aren't scared to grind a standard crank up the hills but a compact with a good cadence makes it so much easier.

 

I don't feel like I'm losing out on the other end either, 50-11 at 60km/h is just fine on the flat fast races.

whats your cadance at 60kph on a 50/11?

[Eldron]

Just a logic check chaps...the actual number of teeth front and back don't matter - it's the ratio of the two that matters.

 

53/12 and 50/11 is only about 3% different (effectively the same thing). In a blind test I nobody would feel the difference.

 

A "compact" crank doesn't instantly make you a better climber.

 

Likewise - 39/21 and 36/19 is identical.

 

There are only two ways to make it easier on yourself on the climbs (and by easier I mean pedal faster at exactly the same speed - you will not go faster):

1) Less teeth on the inner front.

2) More teeth on the inner back.

 

The easiest way to make it easier is more on the inner back - buy a cassette with a 25 or 27. Much cheaper than a new crankset.

[tombeej]

Just a logic check chaps...the actual number of teeth front and back don't matter - it's the ratio of the two that matters.

 

53/12 and 50/11 is only about 3% different (effectively the same thing). In a blind test I nobody would feel the difference.

 

A "compact" crank doesn't instantly make you a better climber.

 

Likewise - 39/21 and 36/19 is identical.

 

There are only two ways to make it easier on yourself on the climbs (and by easier I mean pedal faster at exactly the same speed - you will not go faster):

1) Less teeth on the inner front.

2) More teeth on the inner back.

 

The easiest way to make it easier is more on the inner back - buy a cassette with a 25 or 27. Much cheaper than a new crankset.

 

agreed

[javadude]

whats your cadance at 60kph on a 50/11?

 

105 with a 700c wheel and 23c tire. With a 53/12 you'd only be doing 58 at 105 cadence.

 

http://www.machars.net/bikecalc.htm

[tombeej]

whats your cadance at 60kph on a 50/11?

 

Fine, nothing special. Once you go past 60 kph though, you're a windmill in a tornado.

 

50/11 (as already said by Eldron) is comparable to a 53/12.

 

I run compact (50-36) and it transformed my riding when I changed. It's not just for heavier riders or for climbing. It also means you can stay in the big ring for longer. I visited family in JHB for xmas and the whole time there I changed out of the big ring once.

 

Only thing is, if you want to use the 50T big ring all the time, you need wider ranged gearing for the cassette. That's the drawback for me - you forfeit the nice tight gearing options in an 11/23.

[CraigZa]

Found a cool site, where you can translate your gear ratios at different cadences to a speed on the road.

 

Here's my ratios

 

 

http://www.bikecalc....peed_at_cadence

Edited August 8, 2013 by CraigZa

[ZakAttak]

53/39 and 11/25.... I rode compact when I started cycling, I find the Standard Crank easier to climb with.... However, I am a slow climber, but when I'm big one day, I might just climb a little faster....

Edited August 8, 2013 by Buzzman

[Butterbean]

I ride with a standard 53/39. For me, the cassette is the one that matters.

 

Rode a 12-23 by mistake after 11-28. Nearly died on my usual hills(I'm a fatty too)

 

Switched back to 11-28 and am absolutely happy. Only climb out the saddle on 39-28 on gradients steeper than 10%.

 

You can pretty much manage anything with the combo i have now.. If you can't - then you need to train more, not change the gearing.

[kosmonooit]

What is different with a compact crank besides the number of teeth on the chainrings? Smaller BCD?

[EZRider]

Just a logic check chaps...the actual number of teeth front and back don't matter - it's the ratio of the two that matters.

 

53/12 and 50/11 is only about 3% different (effectively the same thing). In a blind test I nobody would feel the difference.

 

A "compact" crank doesn't instantly make you a better climber.

 

Likewise - 39/21 and 36/19 is identical.

 

There are only two ways to make it easier on yourself on the climbs (and by easier I mean pedal faster at exactly the same speed - you will not go faster):

1) Less teeth on the inner front.

2) More teeth on the inner back.

 

The easiest way to make it easier is more on the inner back - buy a cassette with a 25 or 27. Much cheaper than a new crankset.

 

I ride 34/28 up the hills here and on Panorama tour.

To achieve that ratio you need a compact or go WIFLI.