Chainrings for a climbing clyde
01-15-14, 11:34 AM
#26
Senior Member
In the distant past, like 4 years ago, your only options for wide-range gearing from Shimano were an 11-27 or 12-27 cassette combined with either a 53/39 or 50/34 crank. People who wanted to climb often chose the knee-friendly 50/34 and 11-27 giving a gear range from 34.0 to 122.7 gear-inches. The 53/39 + 11-27 gives you a range of 39.0 to 130.1 gear inches, BTW.
Then somebody at Shimano ran the numbers and figured out that if you combined a 52/36 crank with an 11-28 cassette you'd end up with almost the same gearing as a compact: 34.7 to 127.6 gear-inches. As you can see, the 52/36 is a nice compromise between the 50/34 and 53/39: you still have the same low gearing for climbing, but a bit more top-end for hammering along the flats in a pace-line. Plus, your buddies who haven't run a gear calculator will still think you're a stud since you've got a 52-tooth chainring
01-15-14, 11:05 PM
#27
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01-16-14, 01:01 AM
#28
SuperGimp
It really depends on how fast you're going and what cadence you choose to maintain. 16 mph or so is the cutoff for me (I think, I don't really have a cutoff but unless it's hilly or windy, I'm on the 50 ring for the most part) Slower than that and you can get along just fine in the 34 ring.
01-16-14, 11:00 AM
#29
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It really depends on how fast you're going and what cadence you choose to maintain. 16 mph or so is the cutoff for me (I think, I don't really have a cutoff but unless it's hilly or windy, I'm on the 50 ring for the most part) Slower than that and you can get along just fine in the 34 ring.
01-21-14, 10:02 AM
#30
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I ride a 48-34 with a 12-28. It is plenty except fr some short steep off road. 230 lbs and a built up older steel frame. It's sweet and I can climb anything on road I've run into. I'm in the 48 on everything but hills on road. Stay in the 34 off road.
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01-21-14, 01:39 PM
#31
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Yeah. 50-34 with good rings (Praxis) might be the way I go. It's not terribly expensive, and I am running into both the top of my gearing (albeit on longer, if shallow, downhills) and the bottom (though I still CAN make it up the hills I've ridden, but those don't go much over 9%, and not for very long).
