Cyclist0103

Hello,

I am new here. so i am looking for some advices for upgrading my mountain bike. so please take a look at my list that i have put together:

• Vuelta Corsa Pro Crankset (52T-42T-30T)
• SRAM X.9 Trigger Shifter for 10-Speed Systems, 3x10-Speed Set
• SRAM X.9 Type 2.1 10 Speed Rear Derailleur, Long Cage
• SRAM PC 1071 Hollow Pin P-Lock 10-Speed 120L Bicycle Chain
• SRAM PG-1070 10-Speed Cassette - 11-32T
• SRAM X.9 3 x 10 Dual 34.9 High-Clamp Derailleur (note: i am not sure if there is any low mount derailleur that would able to handle the crankset i have choose)

So u see these list.. so what i want to know is will they all works together? or is there any problems that one of them may not works? please let me know and explain.. so

I will make a quick info about my mountain bike..

MTB:
about 6-7 years old
its a specialized bike that has the following:
SRAM trigger X5
SRAM rear derailleur (X5)
a shimano crankset (should be 44T-32T-22T)
a 9 cassette speed
it has a low mount front derailleur (its mounted to the frame)
note: my bike has 3x9 speeds.

if you have any questions, then i can answer them.. so i will be looking forward to your advices. thanks in advance.

jimc101

To starts, those chainrings are larger than Standard Drive was, and Standard drive hasn't been used on MTB's since around 1990(ish), what is your objective for the bike?

Would look at if that crank can clear the chain stay as well.

krue1971

My triple ring setups are typically 22-32-42 but most people are ditching front derailleur and going with a single ring in the 30-34 tooth range. For instance my son races my Lynskey with a x7 10 speed rear shifter/der 11-34 cassette and a single 30t Narrow Wide tooth profile ring in the middle ring position on the cranks. The Narrow Wide helps keep the chain on the ring while it is moving between gears on the back. This works great on single track and he hasn't had a problem with not being able to climb our relatively small hills here in Mississippi, but he also has enough range to not "spin out" or run out of gears on the downhills.

dabac

That's a sizeable chunk of money to spend on a hunt for quite questionable benefits.
Those big rings can easily interfere with your chainstay, making them impossible to fit.
And unless you're a low-cadence freak of nature, or is already spending important amounts of time (well) above 25 MPH/40 kmh, it won't make you any faster.

Which one will you claim to be?

Put away the catalogs. Get a jar, write "New bike money on it". Stand in front of jar. Stuff money into it until this attack of upgradeitis have passed.

I'll be happy to stay at 9-speed yet some time. Cheaper parts, longer life. Particularly for someone staying with a triple crank, a 10-speed "upgrade" will give very poor value for money.

If it'll let you ditch one chainring, then there's a little bit of a point to it.

Cyclist0103

I see. and no i am not low cadence freak.. what i am trying to turn my bike into a training so i can train my legs to do more work out... with many purpose.. for example, u see the crankset i choose is because it has 3 set.. i can use 30T for hills... 42T and 52T for flat land.. so i can practice do what you may call "sprint" if i recall thats the word.. and i am also working on my climbing skill using 30T and 42T... I like challenges, so the land i am living.. has few flat land and plenty of hills which is quite challenging.

so there is a reason why i choose 10 speed cassette.. I already mentioned that my bike may be more than 7 years old.. its time to do some a bit improve on that bike.. and i am too used to the 9 speed cassette thats 18-36. so thats one of the reason why i want to get 11-32T (10 speed cassette)... A note: i never used the 36-30.. i often used 29-18 to going up the hills and flat land.. with 2nd gear and 3rd gear (44T).

if you are talking about the money, then tell me which is better... 1) buy a new bike which is more than 1000.00 CAD (quite expensive) or 2) buy parts to upgrade the old bike so you can keep using it with new parts and keep going on.

in my opinion, i can't afford to buy a new bike.. so i thought i could make my bike a bit "more" to be new bike again. with some fresh parts. I am just saying. keep this in mind, that my bike is more than 7 years old.. its awful old. u know.. so it need some fresh parts because i just recently moved to a new land where i am living at.

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Now... let me clear it up what my topic mean..

what i am asking is will they work together?

let me explain..

if you know any low mount front derailleur that can work with 52T, then tell me.. but if not..
then i will use the list (front derailleur) but the problem is... is the chains compatible with the crankset and the front derailleur, rear derailleur. i just want to make sure i got the right stuff.. that can work together and compatible with each other.. Thats why i am waiting for any advices to make sure that i got the right stuff (not bad things) and some help i could use. and they are not loaded money. so in my opinion, loaded money would mean more than 900.00 USD or CAD. that would a lot. they are around 400-450.00USD for all these in the list i have shown.

well i hoped this would clear up what i am looking for in this topic.

dabac

Not really.

18-36, what kind of a cassette is that?
Why not simply get a tighter ratio 9-speed cassette? Something like an 11-25 or thereabouts.
9-speed and 10-speed can be had with the same overall range, so all you're getting is the one more gear somewhere in between.
And up to 25+ MPH/40+KMH, you can practice your sprints just as well with your 44T ring.
If you're often faster than that, you deserve a road bike.

It sounds like you're planning to sink HALF the cost of a decent entry-level road bike into "upgrading" your MTB into a kinda-sorta road bike.
That's not a sensible spend of money.

Retro Grouch 

You have to be careful when switching from a low clamp front derailleur to a high clamp derailleur. Where, exactly, does it have to clamp? You might encounter a water bottle mount or something. It might just bolt up with no problem but it seems that whenever I've tried to change styles of front derailleur I encountered some kind of problem.

FastJake

Right now you have a used mountain bike. But you want a road bike. Instead of buying a new road bike, why not sell your MTB and buy a used road bike? And fix what needs to be fixed. You might spend a couple hundred dollars this way and get what you really want.

7 years old is not "awful old" for a bike. My commuter is built on a 43 year old frame, and I ride it every day in all weather.

alcjphil

The front derailleur you have selected is not designed to work with a 52 tooth big ring. Pretty much every derailleur out there that will work with the shifters you want to use will be designed to work with a big ring in the 42-44 tooth range. The bigger diameter of a 52 tooth ring will not allow the derailleur cage to be low enough to provide good shifting. Your bike was not designed to be used as a road bike.

cny-bikeman

...and you will almost never have need for a 52-11. Only an elite racer could justify pushing that gear more than about 1% of the time, as one would be going 35mph at only 90 crank rpm's. I would recommend not going higher than a 48 front. 48-38-28 cranksets are readily available and are a good match for many stock cassettes. A 48-11 or even 48-12 is plenty high enough.

Cyclist0103

Oh thats good point and explanation. i didn't think of that. every guys who posted after my post.. that was good explanation.

so i am not looking to make my bike into a road bike. i am just want to get more heavy work out for my legs.. which is why i would like to use 52T ring to do heavy work out. but it seems that trigger and the derailleur is not going to work with 52T. hmm. i would like to know the brand of crankset of "48T-38T-28T" but if possible that i could get a 48T-40T-30T, i dont know if it exist out there. I will see if i can try find a crankset that's 48T. So 48T sound fair and reasonable. so i may get 52T later in the future.. once i get used to 48T.. so that should be good enough? right?

now would 48T works with 10 speed cassette? that i can use.. and well keep this in mind.. i use every speed on 9 speed cassette to go climbing hills.. but 10 speed cassette can improve my performance as i do the climbing hill with 30T or 32T... and 40-42T. I know that for sure. and is there a derailleur that can work with 48T and the trigger shifter too?
but there is one reason why i wanted to replace the crankset on my bike is because i never used the "1st gear" of the crankset, which i am sure i have mentioned it in my previous post. but i dont want to get the same crankset like 44T-32-22T or a little different crankset.. so thats another reason why i choose that 52T-42T-30T because its very different size.. that i can use to replace the current crankset.. i am pretty sure that even i would try to find a MTB crankset everywhere.. and they would be between 40T and 44T. i may be wrong.. but i have seen many websites where i kept seeing the common numbers of the tripled crankset.. for a 3x10 or 3x9 and 3x8

Bill Kapaun

IF you can spin a 48-11 uphill, why aren't you kicking butt in the Tour d' France?

tcarl

1. If you want "a heavy work out for my legs" keep the bike and gearing you have, just make sure your cadence never drops below 100 rpm. That will give you a better workout than any big gear.

2. I'm not sure why 7 year old parts need upgrading. I'm still riding parts from the 1970's. If they're decent quality parts, give them proper maintenance and they'll last longer than you.

Cyclist0103

haha because i am in Canada. lol!

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Hey everyone,
I have one question... crankset BCD should have about 50-65% more to the diameter (where the diameter is from teeth to teeth) of the crankset. so am i correct?

Cyclist0103

to be honest, its not only just working out.. i want to get more speed so i can get from point A to point B much faster.. so like i said in my previous post that its for multiple purpose... where i can use my bike for working out.. and i can use it to go to store and come home faster.. and i also can use it for doing climb hills and flat.. and sprint too. so like i said multiple purpose. and thats why i would like to try and find a crankset that would be 48/38/28T or 48/38/30T for my bike with 10 speed cassette, then i am all good to go. so i can use that bike for next 10 years.. btw i dont have any vehicle to drive.. so i use my bike everyday.

and one thing when i am on flat.. i used 44T with 18T (cassette). my legs are already used to that. and i can reach up to 40km/hr but i can keep my speed at 35km/hr with very high cadence.. about 100 to 105. so its probably the limit i can do.. thats why i want to get a better crankset. so i can do more.. like i want to surpass my limit on flat.. but i can use 38 and 28 or 30T to keep work on my climbing hill skill.

dabac

Do you understand the words ratios and range when used about bicycle gears?
9-speed cassettes and 10-speed cassettes can be had with the SAME number of teeth on the smallest and the biggest sprocket.
This means that they have the same overall RANGE.
10-speed (as such) WON'T give you a harder or a "faster" gear than what's available in 9-speed.
"All" it will give you is one more RATIO somewhere inbetween the biggest and the smallest.
The 10-speed "upgrade" you're planning WON'T do what you want it to do.

And the crank "upgrade" isn't necessary.

If you really have an 18-36 cassette, and want a heavier gear, replace with a 9-speed cassette starting with a 11T sprocket. Done.
An 11T smallest and a 44T biggest, with 26" wheels and 2" tires, cadence of 100, you'll be going at 31 MPH/50 KMH.
All you need is a 9-speed cassette, and preferably, a new chain to match it with.

Kopsis

Some excellent advice in this thread. Gear ratios are sometimes not "intuitive" to people without a mechanical background. It may seem more natural to talk in terms of "development". Development is the distance the bike travels on one full turn of the pedals. When measured in meters it's referred to as "meters development". The formula is simple: tire circumference x (chainring / cog). Here's a handy online calculator: BikeCalc.com - Bicycle Gear Meters of Development Chart

If you run the numbers you'll see that a 44/18 combo with 26" wheels gives you 5.1 meters development. Simply changing to a cassette with an 11T small cog increases that to 8.3 -- a 63% increase. That's a big change. For comparison, I can sprint in the flats at 50 kph on my CX bike with only 8.2 meters development. You'll have a heavier bike with more rolling resistance and worse aerodynamics, so I can assure you that's enough for a good leg workout. And if 50 kph isn't a fast enough average speed for you, then you really should consider going pro. Remember that whatever power it takes to go 30 kph, it takes double that power to go 45 kph.

I won't tell you not to spend your money on upgrades, but I would suggest that you do it in stages and save the crankset for last. Change the cassette (and go to 10-speed if you really want to) and then ride a bit to see how it works out. I think you'd find that a simple cassette change will give you all the performance you're looking for.

habilis

lf all you want is to train harder, you can accomplish that more cheaply with a fixed gear or single speed bike. I bought an FG/SS "flip-flop" wheel set and put it on an old frame I had. For $200, I built a "fixie" that I now prefer to my geared bike (and I love my geared bike). Look into on-line advice on how to convert a road frame to FG/SS so you don't waste time and money. The build is probably much easier and possibly cheaper than what you are planning to do to your MTB. Figure out what gear ratio(s) you'd like and buy only those track cogs. They cost about $20 each.

Cyclist0103

Alright.. these posts are good explanation.. Thank you i have learned a lot from you guys.. i will just get smaller cog for 9 speed cassette.. for now. so crankset is not necessary because from this discussion. i just learned something without you telling me.. i had to measure the "teeth to teeth diameter" crankset on my bike.. now i know why you guys said that the crankset i choose is not designed for MTB bike.. it cleared everything. and but in future. i really want to upgrade the crankset because of the first gear I never use at all. what i would like to get is 44T-38-32T, but supposed it dont exist.. but thats why i would like to get 48T-38T-28T. so i can use 28T for uphill climbing.... but i am not sure about the diameter of 48-38-28T and its hard to find a crankset (48-38-28T) that can go with 9 or 10 speed cassette..

and my bike has 44-32-22... 22T is useless.. for me.. at all. because i did said that i never use it at all. not ever.

Cyclist0103

about that.. how would you add the crank arm to it? thats what i am not sure about. and also how can you tell these gear ratios are compatible with 9 or 10 speeds? or whatever speeds from 6 to 11

dabac

Well, with a 36 biggest rear, I can easily see why.
And I can't say I've ever worn out a granny gear.
But if you switch to a tight-ratio cassette - 11-25 or thereabouts, you might find that the 22 does come in handy every once in a while.
Mine does see regular use during winter riding. Uphill, some inches of snow...

Cyclist0103

Oh 0_0 you ride in winter weather?! ouch! that must be a nasty for you to experiences cold and wind blowing. (shaking when its really cold)

dabac

You might not need a triple crank.

Think a little more about cadence, range, ratios and speed.
First there's cadence. Too high or too low, you begin to lose pedaling efficiency.
Overall gearing range determines how fast and how slow you can ride and still stay within your efficient pedaling span.
For immediate ride efficiency/comfort you want decently tight ratios. Makes it easy to stay in your sweet spot of cadence.
But if you pack the ratios too tight, your available overall gearing range shrinks. Means either you'll spin out while you still want to stay on power, or you'll begin stalling out on steep climbs.

Now, on a bike with a "normal" gearing range it's accepted that occasionally a rider will either have to ride standing, or get off to walk the bike up a particularly difficult hill.

But bikes with triple cranks are generally intended as ride-anywhere bikes.
This means they're built to be able to handle climbs that are too long/steep/slippery to be ridden standing.
For that you need a gear that lets you spin nicely at about slightly above walking pace. Maybe as low as around 5 mph/8 kmh.

But it sounds like you're not riding like that. You're not in the mountains, you're not doing all-day rides, you don't carry any gear. I guess you're staying on roads too.
You don't need a ride-anywhere bike.
So you probably don't need a triple crank(much). If your speed never drops below 8 mph/12 kmh, you can do all your riding on your 32-44 and an 11-28 cassette. Still topping out at 30 mph/50kmh@100 rpm.

The rise of 1x and 2x drivetrains rest partly on 9/10/11-speed rears, and partly on that more and more people are realizing how they actually use their bikes. With a narrower speed range and a wider gearing range available in the cassette, it's possible to get by with one less ring.
I still wouldn't switch to 10-speed, or replace the crank with a double. The improvement just isn't worth the money and the effort.
And 10-speed stuff wear faster.
Save the money, and the experience and use it to decide what your next bike will be like.

Bike Gremlin

+1

The only upgrade I'd do is if most of the drivetrain (and derailleurs) are worn. Even then I'd go for 3x8, not the expensive, less durable 10 speed stuff.

Cross Creek

I don't think I've ever heard of an 18-36 cassette—maybe 13-36... You mentioned in the OP that your low mount FD is "mounted to the frame." Do you mean it's a braze on mount (no clamp)? If so, you may not be able to mount a derailleur in any other position and have limited height adjustment as well, depending on the type of frame you have and its dimensions and other braze ons. Measure carefully. Any crankset with a 52 ring is designed for a road bike with road bike geometry. To put one on a mountain bike may require a super wide bottom bracket (to clear the wide chainstays), and that will cause issues with FD range and chainline. Stick with cranksets designed for mountain bikes (that will fit your frame) and get a different cassette (11-25, 12-28, etc). Going to 10 spd isn't going to get get you any better range or speed, but it will get you components that cost more and wear out faster.