Smallguy

I'm about to order a quarq and currently run a triple

I'm not a strong climber at 195

so what would u get ?

mollusk

Which configuration is better for your usual training rides?

echappist

52x36t. though at your weight, you may flex the 110bcd 52t chainring a bit.

SRM makes compacts with a 130 outer bcd and 110 inner bcd.

Smallguy

I think there are not many places I would need a 34t

I do not use my granny now

mollusk

So, the answer is ... ?

Hida Yanra

I think almost everyone should use a compact. Almost nothing happens in racing that can't be done with a 50x12. Seriously, there's very, very little benefit to running a 53, and if you are climbing in a race situation enough to need a 39, a 36 or 38 is not going to hurt your cause.

The major exception (and the reason I went 130bcd) being TTists... I don't want to think about life in a TT without bigger rings. Other than this one point, I would have gotten a 110bcd for sure.

**Sparkle Bonus!** also, you can get a super-trick 110 to 144bcd adaptor ring and use your quarq on a track bike... super nerd.

Smallguy

I'm more concerned about not having anything smaller than a 39 in a race than not having a 53, my crank now is a gossamer with a 50t

Smallguy

I think the answer is I'd be fine with a standard but I hear more and more people saying a 53 is not needed a 50t is plenty

ericm979

As a dedicated compact user, I think that racers should use 130mm BCD unless they need the low gears of a compact. I do a lot of climbing, prefer climbing races, and live on a very steep road. I'm reasonably fit and I don't think I could ride home after a long ride if I had a 39x25. But if I didn't need the low gears I'd run the regular 53/39. The smaller gap between the chainrings makes for easier shifting and less shifting the rear derailleur when you're shifting chainrings.

But the 110mm BCD is more versatile. So if you say wanted to go ride big mountains on your vacation you could put 50/34 chainrings on for that and run 52/38 the rest of the time. But with a Quarq you would need to recalibrate if you change to a different type of chainrings. (not sure about changing sizes between the same make and model chainrings, anyone know?)

Somewhere I read a quote from Levi Leipheimer about running a compact all winter and considering using it for the racing season. Pro gearing has gotten lower over the years even though they're going faster. So maybe I'm not just a weak masters fattie, I'm an early adopter.

Hida Yanra

...

tombailey

I have a standard but mostly do crits and tts. One other benefit to compacts for bigger guys - endurance work in the winter: trying to get over hills in a 39/25 in Z2 without cadence being 7 is difficult.

crapweasel

I don't TT much (yet), but I can't even see needing the 53 there. Is there some advantage I'm missing for the larger front? I won't be strong enough to spin out a 50x11 in anything less than a sprint for a long time, so I'm puzzled.

Smallguy

good point I do one crit a year and tt if my gf is going to one just for fun or a prologue but I also do not have a tt bike

mattm

Of course it depends on you and the courses you race, but if you ask me... standard all the way. It looks better when you cross the line in 1st.

Not that you'll win, lose, or get dropped, based on what chainring you have.. but there are worse things to hand-wring over I suppose.

Enthalpic

I use a 55 on my TT bike. Not necessarily because I need huge gears - although I do use them on downhills - but because it puts your chain closer to the middle of the cassette for finer shifting.

tetonrider

i'm very fortunate to have both standard and compact quarq setup. i am very grateful to have the standard for time trials. for racing, i figured i would sometimes use the 53/39 but find myself rarely (=never) using it and just running the compact. in fact, the compact can be run with a tight cassette like an 11-23, and you might actually save weight (if such a thing is important to you).

i'm not as experienced as many folks here, but 50/34 has been good enough to place high in lower category races (3,4,5)...even flat courses -- maybe it won't be sufficient as i move up.

i'm chiming in because i was thinking about this very issue today. i set out to do a 2-hour ride at tempo, but i really wanted to climb a local hill (5 miles, ~2,500' vert). i found that in order to maintain tempo, i had to ride in my lowest gear (34x27 at the time) @ 70rpm to stay in tempo...and even then i was pushing it a bit.

my point is this: you will likely train more than you race. when you train, you might not always want to push it. you have a triple now (but don't use the smallest ring). the compact will be MUCH more versatile (unless you do tons of pancake flat races and -- even at that the compact should be more than fine). the compact will allow you to train anywhere, at any intensity. had i only had a standard, i would have wanted to train with power today to make sure i was always in my tempo range, but i just would not have been able to do this particular route. (39x27 would have required me to lower my cadence even further, and that would not have been comfortable for me or what i wanted to train.)

just something to consider.

Hida Yanra

If you are riding lots of actual climbing sorts of stuff, compact is the way to go.
If you are sprinting a lot, a compact won't hold you back until you get into the P/1 races (IIRC, esammuli raced a compact all the way into his Cat1 upgrade?)
If you are doing anything other than races that involve full-gas downhills, I think a compact is just fine for most humans.

However, if you are going downhill in a TT, the 53x12 isn't anywhere near good enough... you'll want a 54x11 or 55x12... depends on the course and setup, but lots of time can get lost if you spin out on a downhill and the next guy has the gears to keep it pinned.

Smallguy

Thanks for all the advice

I climb more in races than any with long descents and I can almost always out descend people with my weight

we do not have technical descents where skill can trump my weight.

Compact it is for me.....I can't see me loosing a race because of gearing..... Juniors seem to do well with limited gearing even in upper categories

MDcatV

compacts are for old men and the grand fondo crowd.

if you're a racer, get a standard 53x39.

shovelhd

Hida, I think it depends on the racer and where they ride and race. It's not hard for me to spin out a 53x11 around here. There are plenty of times where I wished I had a smaller ring than a 39t but that's the way it goes. I wouldn't give up the top end. Also, I shift in sprints and the 53t up front makes for a cleaner chainline in the back which makes for cleaner shifts.

merlinextraligh

The 53/39 shifts a bit better, and it tends to work better for a lot of people on flat to moderately hilly terrain, not because you need of 53/11 so much, as where it puts the crossover points, and chain lines.

If you don't need lower than a 39/28, get a standard crank.

If you need lower than 39/28 get a compact.

jsutkeepspining

this is why junior gearing is stupid in a time trial!!!!! a 52x14 can be spun out on flat land let alone going down even a false decent.

guadzilla

I have a standard Quarq (and am switching most of my bikes to standards as well) mainly b/c I find that with a compact, I am often crosschaining.

My travel bike is a compact but pretty much everything else is a standard. At 185lb, I am not going to drop Contador anytime soon, but I find that I can climb pretty much anything on a standard anyway. And on downhills, usually I need to brake or watch my speed way before I run out of gearing.

V.

Blackdays

I run a compact Quarq @ 120 lbs, and I have yet to catch myself needing a 53t ring.

I run a 11 - 23 cassette if that helps.

mattm

Yes!