jschen

Before switching out the 50t, ask yourself what gears you actually make good use of. I've pedaled at 45 MPH in a 50/12 before. (I usually wouldn't pedal past 42 MPH, but I was trying to keep in the draft of a van going down a mountain.) While having another big gear would be nice (I've pedaled up to 48 MPH in a 53/12 before), it's not honestly very useful for me. I'm generally better off at those speeds just tucking and coasting.

A 11t cog, as noted above, is another option. But again, consider what gears you actually make good use of and pick your gearing accordingly. Bigger gears in of themselves don't make you faster.

ovoleg

my Univega has a 53/42 standard and 11-21 in the back. It's nice and friendly up hills...

roadwarrior

I switched mine, went to a 50 from a 53, changed my rear cog to an 11-21 (21 to 19, the one step all the way down), I am at a faster cadence and am 1.5mph faster, on average. I can do my usual climbs nearly 2mph faster.

The new Madone, and new Super Six we have also have compact chain rings...

There's an article on Paceline about this.

I like the faster spin rate and greater speed with less muscle and more cardio effort.

BTW...they aren't compact [B]cranks[B]...they are chainrings. My cranks are the same.

Trevor98

New 105 and Tiagra come with the 50/34 cranks as most newer riders don't need the 53/39 and it was wasted on them. Sora only comes with triples. Ultegra and Dura Ace come with the 53/39. Shimano

Shimano is actually trying to satisfy the bulk of their consumers and predict who will use what gearing. If you want the 53/39 standard you need to look for the higher end components. Most bikes don't come with those higher end groups but rather the lower end ones. All bets are off with mixed groups.

astonv0l

What is "Paceline" I will be upgrading my groupset soon and I was wondering which combination. I currently have a 52/42 with a 26/13 in the back so should I change with the new groupset?

krazyderek

You would need compact cranks with a smaller bolt circle diameter IF you wanted to use a smaller inner ring aswell since 130 will only go down to a 38.

That's an interesting gearing combo. Not sure how well i'd spin on those longer climbs with 39x21 though

merlinextraligh

1) you might have looked at the gears befoe you bought the bike, if it mattered to you.

2) 50x11 at 90 rpm is 33 mph, and actually a bigger gear than 52x12. The gears on your bike are not slowing you down.

Aloyzius

I was just posting about something similar in the bike mechanics area. Interesting.

So, from an 11/25 to a 12/27. will that small change really make that much of a difference with climbing?