Old 08-13-12, 07:55 PM
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volosong
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What do you have on the front, Jeff? Compact or Standard?

I'm running the Ultegra 12-30 on both my compact Dura-Ace bike and Ultegra triple bike. I really like it. Don't need to use that 30 sprocket all that often, but just having it there gives me assurance that I can get up just about anything. The major disadvantages, I've been told, are that you lose the 11T on the bottom end so your top-end speed will suffer a bit. Me? I'm at an age where bombing 45-50 mph down a steep hill is not as thrilling as it was in my youth. As I hit my 60's, I started being aware of my mortality and try to avoid tempting fate and the results of a high speed crash. Also, there are larger gaps between the sprockets. Me again? I'm not a racer, so having a tight gear ratio isn't all that important to me. When I'm in those larger sprockets, I'm moving so slow that being tight is of no consequence.

I guess the other disadvantage is that they are difficult to find. I lucked out on my two. When I went into my favorite LBS one day, I asked about them. Of course, nobody believes that they are even made, but I showed the Shimano spec sheet that is freely available on the manufacture web site, and its existence couldn't be denied. One of the owner's suppliers was in the shop at the time and checked his computer to see if he had any. Sure enough. The owner ordered two, one for me and one for stock. When I picked it up, I purchased the other one too for my other wheelset.

For me, and my compact double, the 11-28 I used to have was good up to about a sustained 10% grade and shorter grades a few degrees more. I feel the 12-30 is good, (while seated), up to about a sustained 13-14% hill. On my triple I wouldn't hesitate to tackle 15-16% grades.

Oh, one last disadvantage ... your RD has to be able to handle a 30T. No problem with the Ultegra triple RD. That has a long cage. Also, no problem with my Dura-Ace RD, which only comes in mid-cage. I had to play with the limit screws a bit on the D/A, nothing needed to be done on the triple.

One last thing ... if you really want to keep an 11T, it is easy enough to purchase the sprocket and lock ring from a LBS that is willing to order parts. I did that on a cassette that I ran on my D/A, (before getting the 12-30). I had an 11-27 and really missed the 16T on that cassette. I had a LBS order a new 12T lock ring and a 16T sprocket. Rebuild the cassette with what I wanted and rode happily into the sunset.

Good luck. I'm a believer in that new Ultegra 12-30. Tech docs say it can't be done, but I've had no problems. (Tiagra makes a 12-30, but as you know, the quality is not the same as the Ultegra line.
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