Considering an Everesting attempt

[E65Ross]

Planning on doing one of these next year for Charity and would like some advice if possible

I'm currently running Ultegra R8070 groupset with 52/36 chain rings with a Power2Max NGeco power meter up front, and an Ultegra 11-30 cassette at the back.

Having seen the GCN video Olly appears to use an 11-32 casette and said it's not a problem, but he didn't confirm he was using the latest Ultegra or the older DI2. Can anyone confirm this would be suitable

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Shimano/FC-R8000-...

And would just swapping this be OK? Would it interfere with my power meter in any way? Would it be better to get a 50/34 whole set? I'd rather just get the inner ring if I can get away with it...and would it be worth getting a chain catcher? If so, any advice on what to get?

Secondly, I'd like 11-32 cassette (well, I'd like a 34T I think but that would involve a new rear mech or a hanger extender and that involves more set up than it's probably worth....any idea what I'd need to do? Just a case of swapping the cassettes? I wonder if I'd need a longer chain....probably not if I get a 34 inner ring?

I also use an 11-30 cassette on my Wahoo kickr....if I get a 32T cassette, and decide to leave it on there, would this still work without any adjustment do we think?

Thank you very much in advance, it's much appreciated!

Ross

[Mr Ted]

If you can go for compact on the front 50/34 I would do it, if you change your current 36 for a 34 you might run into difficulty, they usually specify a maximum difference of 16 teeth on the front.

11-34 cassette can be a life saver if you can fit it, but you will probably have to fit a medium cage derailleur.

An awful lot of riders ride overgeared bikes IMHO

You should be able to run an 11-34 cassette on your wheels and leave the 11-30 cassette on the Kickr without having to change anything, I have run 11-34 on the bike and 11-30 on a Tacx Neo without issues.

Let us know what you go for, and how are you getting on with Zwift? There is a useful site called Zwift Insider that you ought to look at!

[mikees]

I have 11-32 on my road wheel and 11-28 on my turbo wheel with Di2 and its fine.

[E65Ross]

Mr Ted said:

If you can go for compact on the front 50/34 I would do it, if you change your current 36 for a 34 you might run into difficulty, they usually specify a maximum difference of 16 teeth on the front.

11-34 cassette can be a life saver if you can fit it, but you will probably have to fit a medium cage derailleur.

An awful lot of riders ride overgeared bikes IMHO

You should be able to run an 11-34 cassette on your wheels and leave the 11-30 cassette on the Kickr without having to change anything, I have run 11-34 on the bike and 11-30 on a Tacx Neo without issues.

Let us know what you go for, and how are you getting on with Zwift? There is a useful site called Zwift Insider that you ought to look at!

Useful to know about 11-34 on the road and 11-30 on the Neo and no issues, thank you

If I want 11-34 it would mean either a new rear mech, of a derailleur extender. I don't fancy the extender due to having to set the mech up and then having compatibility issues with the kickr....so it's either 11-32 on my current set up or get a new rear mech, which starts getting quite expensive for what will realistically be for one event, as I find 11-30T 52/36 fine (even around Exmoor it wasn't an issue). So for anything other than stupid things like this, a 32t would be more than enough with a 36 up front.

I have rewatched the video of Olly and he said he had no real issues running 52/34, although it didn't shift as smoothly, he didn't drop a chain. This is a good option for me if it works, since an inner ring is just £25 and can just be swapped back.

Question is, will 34 inner ring and a 32 rear gear be low enough? I'm generally a good climber (54kgs and 249W FTP) but no idea after 150+ miles of hills....!!! Thoughts?

mikees said:

I have 11-32 on my road wheel and 11-28 on my turbo wheel with Di2 and its fine.

Thanks for this

[mcelliott]

How steep and how technical is the hill you are using?

[E65Ross]

mcelliott said:

How steep and how technical is the hill you are using?

Average 6.7% bang on 1 mile. Peak around 9-10%. Not too technical but probably 2 occasions where I'd use the brakes on the descent, but no hard stops except for at the bottom.

I'd be tempted to get a 32T cassette and 34 inner ring, get that fitted, and do a half Everest attempt to see how I fare. That way I could be better placed to make a decision whether 34 and 32 are enough or whether I'd need something even easier.

Any ideas as to whether the inner ring would work with the power2max NGeco unit?

I'm also not sure about getting a 50t outer ring.... If olly says the 34 worked OK with the 52 then hopefully for one ride it'd be ok. Tempting to buy it, try it, if it doesn't work I can then get a 50 but then, again, cost starts increasing then doesn't it....

Thanks chaps

Edited by E65Ross on Sunday 11th November 20:58

[So]

E65Ross said:

Planning on doing one of these next year for Charity and would like some advice if possible

I'm currently running Ultegra R8070 groupset with 52/36 chain rings with a Power2Max NGeco power meter up front, and an Ultegra 11-30 cassette at the back.

Having seen the GCN video Olly appears to use an 11-32 casette and said it's not a problem, but he didn't confirm he was using the latest Ultegra or the older DI2. Can anyone confirm this would be suitable

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Shimano/FC-R8000-...

And would just swapping this be OK? Would it interfere with my power meter in any way? Would it be better to get a 50/34 whole set? I'd rather just get the inner ring if I can get away with it...and would it be worth getting a chain catcher? If so, any advice on what to get?

Secondly, I'd like 11-32 cassette (well, I'd like a 34T I think but that would involve a new rear mech or a hanger extender and that involves more set up than it's probably worth....any idea what I'd need to do? Just a case of swapping the cassettes? I wonder if I'd need a longer chain....probably not if I get a 34 inner ring?

I also use an 11-30 cassette on my Wahoo kickr....if I get a 32T cassette, and decide to leave it on there, would this still work without any adjustment do we think?

Thank you very much in advance, it's much appreciated!

Ross

Let me know how to sponsor you. I still owe you one, though you may not remember, and I probably won't have another opportunity to return the favour.

[HardtopManual]

It depends on your fitness. A 7% climb with ramps under 10% should be eminently doable on 36x30 if you train for the attempt.

[Mr Ted]

Looking at your power meter I can't imagine there would be any problem running an inner ring of 34 if you have the 110mm bcd unit.

34 on the front to 32 on the rear will be quite a noticeable difference to the 36 to 30 that you have and will help with pacing which I imagine will be the deciding factor when you make your attempt, I guess you are going to make a few test runs on a 10% slope to sort out pacing, I would go steady on the descents to give yourself a good recovery time.

Good luck and do keep us updated!!!

[Daveyraveygravey]

I did Boxhill on a 52-36 with an 11/28. Sounds like your hill has a higher average gradient with a couple of spikes too. I was glad we chose Boxhill, I knew I'd be able to ride it seated; when you are trying to talk yourself into something like an Everesting, that's important!
Try not to set yourself goals or targets, it WILL take you longer than you think, and that was what I struggled with on the day. I can't believe I spent 5 hours out of 27 not actually riding, but that was how I got to the end.
Take a second set of clothes, including shoes if you have them. If it rains you'll be glad of dry things to change into, and if it doesn't rain, it's still nice to have a fresh set of clothes. Good luck!

[E65Ross]

So said:

Let me know how to sponsor you. I still owe you one, though you may not remember, and I probably won't have another opportunity to return the favour.

I must admit I can't remember! Please remind me

I did a charity ride a few years back, raised WAY more than anticipated (over 16x my target of £500 + gift aid ) but I wanted to do something else and figured of I set up a charity thing it'd kick my backside into doing it!

[E65Ross]

HardtopManual said:

It depends on your fitness. A 7% climb with ramps under 10% should be eminently doable on 36x30 if you train for the attempt.

Fitness is good as said above, generally been riding 8-10 hours a week, FTP is 4.6W/kg so I'm not too bad up the hills, but I've never ridden anything like this before! I'd rather have too easy gearing than not. Hoping 34/32 is adequate otherwise it starts getting costly.

[E65Ross]

Mr Ted said:

Looking at your power meter I can't imagine there would be any problem running an inner ring of 34 if you have the 110mm bcd unit.

34 on the front to 32 on the rear will be quite a noticeable difference to the 36 to 30 that you have and will help with pacing which I imagine will be the deciding factor when you make your attempt, I guess you are going to make a few test runs on a 10% slope to sort out pacing, I would go steady on the descents to give yourself a good recovery time.

Good luck and do keep us updated!!!

Thanks! I'm looking at around April when it's a bit lighter

[E65Ross]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I did Boxhill on a 52-36 with an 11/28. Sounds like your hill has a higher average gradient with a couple of spikes too. I was glad we chose Boxhill, I knew I'd be able to ride it seated; when you are trying to talk yourself into something like an Everesting, that's important!
Try not to set yourself goals or targets, it WILL take you longer than you think, and that was what I struggled with on the day. I can't believe I spent 5 hours out of 27 not actually riding, but that was how I got to the end.
Take a second set of clothes, including shoes if you have them. If it rains you'll be glad of dry things to change into, and if it doesn't rain, it's still nice to have a fresh set of clothes. Good luck!

Fortunately the 1 mile hill is 0.3 miles from my house! I'll still drive and park car right at the bottom so I can leave loads of spare food and drinks in there which means I don't need to carry much at all on the bike, this will save doing the extra miles to/from the house. But it does mean if I fancy a slightly longer break I can just nip home (useful for toilet stops!).

[HardtopManual]

E65Ross said:

Fitness is good as said above, generally been riding 8-10 hours a week, FTP is 4.6W/kg so I'm not too bad up the hills, but I've never ridden anything like this before! I'd rather have too easy gearing than not. Hoping 34/32 is adequate otherwise it starts getting costly.

I'd just order a 34T inner ring and 11-32 cassette and see if it works, which it probably will unless your bike has a very short rear mech hanger. You may even get away without changing your chain if you have the presence of mind not to cross the chain in the big ring. Will you even need the big ring on this ride?

Honestly can't see you needing 34x34.

Edited by HardtopManual on Sunday 11th November 21:46

[HardtopManual]

So many prejudices and issues in so few words.

[E65Ross]

HardtopManual said:

E65Ross said:

Fitness is good as said above, generally been riding 8-10 hours a week, FTP is 4.6W/kg so I'm not too bad up the hills, but I've never ridden anything like this before! I'd rather have too easy gearing than not. Hoping 34/32 is adequate otherwise it starts getting costly.

I'd just order a 34T inner ring and 11-32 cassette and see if it works, which it probably will unless your bike has a very short rear mech hanger. You may even get away without changing your chain if you have the presence of mind not to cross the chain in the big ring. Will you even need the big ring on this ride?

Honestly can't see you needing 34x34.

Edited by HardtopManual on Sunday 11th November 21:46

[Fletch79]

The shimano website says the 11-32 will also need a new mech - If i have picked the right Model

[Fletch79]

The Max Capacity: 35 tooth (short), 39 tooth (long) (from what i can find, this wasn't from shimano's website (i got bored looking on the shimano site) so take with pinch of salt)

Max Chainring Diff - 52-36=16
Max Cassette Cog Diff - 32-11=21
Total Drive Train Capacity - 16+21=37

So you would need the long cage

[lauda]

E65Ross said:

Fortunately the 1 mile hill is 0.3 miles from my house! I'll still drive and park car right at the bottom so I can leave loads of spare food and drinks in there which means I don't need to carry much at all on the bike, this will save doing the extra miles to/from the house. But it does mean if I fancy a slightly longer break I can just nip home (useful for toilet stops!).

I think you’re fairly local to me if memory serves. Which hill are you planning on riding?