Road Cycling - Ideal chainring and cassette setup for older man

Please suggest ideal #chainrings and cassete setup for older man.
I live where there are many hills.
Climbs of a mile or more are common
I'm thinking of getting a Giant TCR 1, (9 speed, 2 rings), and putting an xtr mountain bike cassette and derailleur on the carbon bike.
Other ideas?
10 speed?...............?
Thanks

Please suggest ideal #chainrings and cassete setup for older man.
I live where there are many hills.
Climbs of a mile or more are common
I'm thinking of getting a Giant TCR 1, (9 speed, 2 rings), and putting an xtr mountain bike cassette and derailleur on the carbon bike.
Other ideas?
10 speed?...............?
Thanks
53x39 and cassette use the mega range cassette of an MTB.
at present I am using a 53x39 and 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21 cassette and on my ride I always seek hilly road, I am also an old cyclist

rear road derailleur might not accomodate mega range on MTB cassette...

get a road triple setup with a rear that goes to 27... or do rear MTB cassette (ie: 11-32) and rear mtb derailleur

The problem with 11-32 cassettes on the road is the percentage change on the
last 3 cogs is large enough that the cadence change they force is annoying, almost
as much as dropping from the 53 to the 39. I prefer triples 52-42-30 and 12-27
cassettes. These give a wide range and lots of close spaced gearing. Depends of
course on your riding speeds and partners. Steve

The problem with 11-32 cassettes on the road is the percentage change on the
last 3 cogs is large enough that the cadence change they force is annoying, almost
as much as dropping from the 53 to the 39. I prefer triples 52-42-30 and 12-27
cassettes. These give a wide range and lots of close spaced gearing. Depends of
course on your riding speeds and partners. Steve

I've seen cassettes that looked fairly close for all but the last cog, which was a 34. He might try one of those, but that last jump up onto the big one might not be reliable, at least it looks like it might be a problem.

Hi,
I am 54 and live on the side of a mountain. I have a 105 crank (52/42/30) which I modified. It has a 28 small ring. The rear goes to 34t. It works. The 32t shifts a little better.

The problem with 11-32 cassettes on the road is the percentage change on the
last 3 cogs is large enough that the cadence change they force is annoying, almost
as much as dropping from the 53 to the 39. I prefer triples 52-42-30 and 12-27
cassettes. These give a wide range and lots of close spaced gearing. Depends of
course on your riding speeds and partners. Steve

This is what I use on both of my bikes as well. No way are you gonna need an 11 tooth cog. If you are adament about the double chainring and don't want to mess with the Mountain bike rear der. check with Sheldon Brown's web site at Harris cyclery. He has what he calls a "Century Cassette" that he custom builds that will use a 105 or Ultegra der.

Ideal is a personal thing. It's also very dependent on condition and your cadence. I'm 65 by the way. When I was riding less than 50 miles a week (not too long ago), a mountain bike triple crankset (22/32/44) with a 12 to 34 (or 11 to 32; they are quick to change out) XT cassette was ideal for me. My wife also uses the same gearing. Handles very steep hills like in N Georgia and the milder stuff here in N Florida on a old clunky 29lb touring bike with fenders yet(but, light wheels and 25 mm tires).

I tend to spin easily to 110, so even with a 44 front and an 11 rear, I can still pedal at speeds exceeding 32/33 mph. Beyond that I just enjoy coasting.

Now that I'm starting to do 50 mile rides (averaging 16 mph net) and pushing toward 75, I can use higher gearing on the flats. I'm starting to cruise at around 18 mph. I'm also about to switch out my frame set to a Ti cycle-cross/Audax frame which will drop the weight to less than 21 lbs. I don't want to give up my low end, so I'm going to a 22 (or 24)/36/46 crankset (Sagino or TA) with an Ultegra 12 to 27 Cassette for N Florida switching to an XT 12 to 34 (or 11 to 32) for the N Georgia mountains.

I choose my cassettes and rings by trying to keep the spacing between adjacent usable ratios at less than 10% difference: closer if possible, especially at the higher gears. This is where the road cassettes really shine and the reason I'm going to try the Ultegra. However, it takes a mountain bike cassette to get really low gearing which I really like/need for the mountains.

Selection of a cassette/Cranksett combination easy to do, no matter the criteria if you plot the gear ratio times the wheel diameter for each combination on two-cycle log paper. That basically transforms a ratio difference to a length difference which is much easier to visualize. Believe it or not, this was common practice by many folks many years ago. Nobody apparently does it now.

I use an LX rear derailleur on my present bike with an XTR front. My shifters are XTI 105's . I'll use the same rear with the new bike, but will go back to my old 105 triple for the front. It's lighter.

Al

Please suggest ideal #chainrings and cassete setup for older man.
How old is an "older man"? ;)
I'm 59 and have an 11-23 cassette and a double chainring. I purposely ride where there are lots of hills to keep the weight off, build up stamina, and stay fit.
My doctor (who is also a cyclist and 20-25 years younger than me) says he wishes he was in the same shape I'm in. :beer:

Well, I'm over 50 and I've been very happy with a Camagnolo double with and their 13-29 cassette. It's all I need for the hills, and it's not very often that I miss the 11 or 12 tooth cog in the back. I use it for long rides and hilly rides. For shorter rides or flat terrain, I use a different bike with Shimano double and a 11-25.

what does age have to do with this post? it should be rephrased ideal chain & cass setup for 'man with not enough miles in his legs' or 'man not happy with current setup' or 'man looking to survive the mountain, not set up and over quickly' or....

i see many men 50+ who routinely kick $SS all over the place.

what does age have to do with this post? it should be rephrased ideal chain & cass setup for 'man with not enough miles in his legs' or 'man not happy with current setup' or 'man looking to survive the mountain, not set up and over quickly' or....

i see many men 50+ who routinely kick $SS all over the place.

You'll get to answer your own post eventually.

Al

You'll get to answer your own post eventually.

Al

Thanks for all the opinions and information.

All the comments will helpful to me in making my eventual determination.

About my "older man", comment , I suppose there are better ways of identifying myself.

I'll be 65 in Sept., and I live on the side of Mt. Haleakala.