Cassette mix&match
Discussion
I wouldn't bother with a 11-32 cassette and double chainset, the gaps between gears would drive me nuts, I can see why they appeal for short periods of time, such as visiting the alps, but its over complicating a solution
Ride your old bike, see how you get on, you will soon realise if a double is too much, unless you are going to avoid hills, or a strong climber and quite light a compact suits most people, hence why they are so popular. On the flat I prefer a double.
52/36 would be my ideal I think , I like my current 52/39, but on longer UK brutal hills that are 15% plus I feel I could that be just a bit quicker with a lower gear than 39/26.
Ride your old bike, see how you get on, you will soon realise if a double is too much, unless you are going to avoid hills, or a strong climber and quite light a compact suits most people, hence why they are so popular. On the flat I prefer a double.
52/36 would be my ideal I think , I like my current 52/39, but on longer UK brutal hills that are 15% plus I feel I could that be just a bit quicker with a lower gear than 39/26.
Group of us ride the alps. We all ride compact 11-28T, mainly so we sort of stay together-ish on the climbs. One had a 52/36 though and struggled. He didn't make the Galibier [albeit in 30deg+ heat]. First thing he did when he got home is change the 36 to a 34.
This chap is strong too, I rode the SDW one day in May with him. But as has been said, the Alps are usually relentless climbing for an hour or two.
This chap is strong too, I rode the SDW one day in May with him. But as has been said, the Alps are usually relentless climbing for an hour or two.
Cheer for the thoughts, TMM. I do worry that I'm overthinking it a little, and fully intend to see how I fair on my old 'standard' rings first. It was, though, a thought about what you said - a 53/39 for flatter terrain, but with a 32 tooth 'bailout' on the back for occasional excursions up hills. The other point, though, about 'gaps' or 'jumps' between gears with a larger block on the back is a good one, and as such, an 11-28 sounds like a better plan with a 52/36 on the front as a compromise. The question only really arose after I had a play with the Ribble 'bike builder' feature, and some of these options came up. If it's going to need chain length adjusting to switch between cassettes and chainrings, then it all starts to look like a bit of a faff, and I think the appeal of chopping and changing would begin to wear off, to the point where I'd try to find the best compromise, stick with it, and end up with a bunch of redundant spares in the garage (again).
yellowjack said:
Cheer for the thoughts, TMM. I do worry that I'm overthinking it a little, and fully intend to see how I fair on my old 'standard' rings first. It was, though, a thought about what you said - a 53/39 for flatter terrain, but with a 32 tooth 'bailout' on the back for occasional excursions up hills. The other point, though, about 'gaps' or 'jumps' between gears with a larger block on the back is a good one, and as such, an 11-28 sounds like a better plan with a 52/36 on the front as a compromise. The question only really arose after I had a play with the Ribble 'bike builder' feature, and some of these options came up. If it's going to need chain length adjusting to switch between cassettes and chainrings, then it all starts to look like a bit of a faff, and I think the appeal of chopping and changing would begin to wear off, to the point where I'd try to find the best compromise, stick with it, and end up with a bunch of redundant spares in the garage (again).
At the risk of sounding rude if you need a 32 sprocket you're not strong enough to push a 53 ring on the front. I have ridden compact for years and never run out of gears (except needing more than a 25 on going up some of the really steep stuff - 25%+). For 99% of people a compact is the better choice. yellowjack said:
Cheer for the thoughts, TMM. I do worry that I'm overthinking it a little, and fully intend to see how I fair on my old 'standard' rings first. It was, though, a thought about what you said - a 53/39 for flatter terrain, but with a 32 tooth 'bailout' on the back for occasional excursions up hills. The other point, though, about 'gaps' or 'jumps' between gears with a larger block on the back is a good one, and as such, an 11-28 sounds like a better plan with a 52/36 on the front as a compromise. The question only really arose after I had a play with the Ribble 'bike builder' feature, and some of these options came up. If it's going to need chain length adjusting to switch between cassettes and chainrings, then it all starts to look like a bit of a faff, and I think the appeal of chopping and changing would begin to wear off, to the point where I'd try to find the best compromise, stick with it, and end up with a bunch of redundant spares in the garage (again).
I have a modern steel road bike, that is 25 ish pounds and has a 50/34 and 12-30 on the back. Its a great bike, but the gaps on the rear cassette drive me nuts, I'll be putting a good pace down, hit a slight bump, want to keep my cadence the same so I drop a gear , but the gap is too much and gear too low so I then go back to the gear I was on and now I have lost all my rhythm. Ironically as the bike is quite bulky, the one time is used the bottom gear I found balance an issue!On my other bike with a double I know I can spend all day on the 9-10-11 rings on the 39 ring, perfect gaps between them and enable me to get the best cadence for myself , especially when on century + rides. I then have the big ring for fast stretches and steep downhills.
I can tackle any hill on a double and even got a KOM on a short 30% climb with a 39-25 , but all the effort goes through your legs and legs fail before lungs, so on long rides that feature steep climbs you end up hammering your legs instead of your lungs which can lead me to drop off performance wise , as RXJS said about his friends in the Alps
My hybrid has barstardised triple!! 32/39/52 with a 11-25 cog on the back, I just commute everyday in the 39 ring, I cant even pedal out the top gear at 48mph with 32c tyres on it!
Bravado aside, I still reckon a 'compact' compact (50/34) and 11-25 (or maybe 27-28) is the best 'all round' solution.
If you have a ring bigger than 50, except for special circumstances (TT's and *FAST* bunch riding) ditch the -11 and go with a -12 cassette. For 90% of folks if they're spinning out on 50/11, they should be freewheeling and recovering some. I can also see the purpose in a 50/36 compact as the 50/34 is a big old jump, but I can't see why you need 52-11.
As for the alps, I took my 50/34 with a 12-27. Granted I didn't want to bury myself as I was doing a tri, but every climb was done in 34/27; Grand Serre, Col d'Ornon and Alpe d'huez. The alpe took 1:25 at 55 rpm and 207w average - I'm 80kg, and threshold is 250. I'd have killed for a lower gear, especially when I got to the top and tried to run 20k; I'd have stayed at similar watts, but for less leg stress. I didn't for one minute notice or regret having 50/12 as my top end.
As someone else said, it's not the grade that hurts, it's the sheer amount of time you spend pushing - very different to a bit of a kick over the ramps typical of a lot of the UK.
If you have a ring bigger than 50, except for special circumstances (TT's and *FAST* bunch riding) ditch the -11 and go with a -12 cassette. For 90% of folks if they're spinning out on 50/11, they should be freewheeling and recovering some. I can also see the purpose in a 50/36 compact as the 50/34 is a big old jump, but I can't see why you need 52-11.
As for the alps, I took my 50/34 with a 12-27. Granted I didn't want to bury myself as I was doing a tri, but every climb was done in 34/27; Grand Serre, Col d'Ornon and Alpe d'huez. The alpe took 1:25 at 55 rpm and 207w average - I'm 80kg, and threshold is 250. I'd have killed for a lower gear, especially when I got to the top and tried to run 20k; I'd have stayed at similar watts, but for less leg stress. I didn't for one minute notice or regret having 50/12 as my top end.
As someone else said, it's not the grade that hurts, it's the sheer amount of time you spend pushing - very different to a bit of a kick over the ramps typical of a lot of the UK.
upsidedownmark said:
Bravado aside, I still reckon a 'compact' compact (50/34) and 11-25 (or maybe 27-28) is the best 'all round' solution.
If you have a ring bigger than 50, except for special circumstances (TT's and *FAST* bunch riding) ditch the -11 and go with a -12 cassette. For 90% of folks if they're spinning out on 50/11, they should be freewheeling and recovering some. I can also see the purpose in a 50/36 compact as the 50/34 is a big old jump, but I can't see why you need 52-11.
As for the alps, I took my 50/34 with a 12-27. Granted I didn't want to bury myself as I was doing a tri, but every climb was done in 34/27; Grand Serre, Col d'Ornon and Alpe d'huez. The alpe took 1:25 at 55 rpm and 207w average - I'm 80kg, and threshold is 250. I'd have killed for a lower gear, especially when I got to the top and tried to run 20k; I'd have stayed at similar watts, but for less leg stress. I didn't for one minute notice or regret having 50/12 as my top end.
As someone else said, it's not the grade that hurts, it's the sheer amount of time you spend pushing - very different to a bit of a kick over the ramps typical of a lot of the UK.
For me 34x25 is the right gear for the ADH. Think I rode about 54 mins last time I did it. Would expect to be around 50 mins now and not convinced I'd ride much bigger. If you have a ring bigger than 50, except for special circumstances (TT's and *FAST* bunch riding) ditch the -11 and go with a -12 cassette. For 90% of folks if they're spinning out on 50/11, they should be freewheeling and recovering some. I can also see the purpose in a 50/36 compact as the 50/34 is a big old jump, but I can't see why you need 52-11.
As for the alps, I took my 50/34 with a 12-27. Granted I didn't want to bury myself as I was doing a tri, but every climb was done in 34/27; Grand Serre, Col d'Ornon and Alpe d'huez. The alpe took 1:25 at 55 rpm and 207w average - I'm 80kg, and threshold is 250. I'd have killed for a lower gear, especially when I got to the top and tried to run 20k; I'd have stayed at similar watts, but for less leg stress. I didn't for one minute notice or regret having 50/12 as my top end.
As someone else said, it's not the grade that hurts, it's the sheer amount of time you spend pushing - very different to a bit of a kick over the ramps typical of a lot of the UK.
I'd say don't worry at all about your top gear, if you end up spinning out on descents, then just freewheel for a bit. Overall you're much more likely to fail for need of a smaller gear than a bigger one.
I'm not a particularly strong rider, and did a lot of alpine touring in the '90s with 36/48 and a 12-28 block (8 speed, natch). Yes there were some big gaps in ratios, but it turned out that the ones I needed the most were all there. These days I'd be looking at a 34/48 compact and a 12-27, I think.
outnumbered said:
These days I'd be looking at a 34/48 compact and a 12-27, I think.
I've just ended up going to 34/50 and 12-27 and for where I ride it's perfect, for the last couple of years I struggled about with 39/53 12-25, I had to avoid certain routes as simply couldn't ride some hills with that setup. Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff