ModeratedUser

Hello all,

I'm wondering if I could get a suggestion for a good match on what I want to do. I have a CX bike that is doubling as a lite tourer. It also works for an everyday go-to bike and thats cool. I have on Ultegra 6700 throughout and really the last piece I'm looking at for this puzzle is the 3x10 crankset. I have a triple on it right that's ok. It's a FSA Gossamer that is 50x39x30? Not sure if the middle number is correct or not. Anyways I like the 50 ring and would hate going to something bigger. Something smaller sounds far more appealing than something bigger. Even the other rings it sounds appealing having something smaller. My cassette is 10sp 12-30.

Any suggestions on what I could try?

fietsbob

Shimano made a road triple. , you may have to buy the outer/inner rings in the aftermarket.

bikemig 

Shimano's brifter is made for shimano's crankset (or copies like the FSA). That's a problem since shimano's triple is 130/74 bcd (and I believe the new ones have some weird bcd) which is not very touring friendly. Your FSA is likely to be a 130/74 bcd as well. Easiest way to get lower gears is to drop the small chainring down to a 26.

I do not know how well that shimano brifter will work with other triples. I have an 8 speed shimano brifter that I got to work with a Ritchey MTB crankset (44/32/22) but it was fiddly to set up.

A triple worth considering (leaving aside the potential shifting issues) is shimano's trekking crankset which will allow you to run smaller gears. This triple may work fine with your brifter but I'd seek some confirmation before plunking down any money for it. Gearing wise though the trekking crankset is a better choice than the FSA you are currently running.

Another good touring choice (again with the caveat regarding the brifter) is the sugino alpina 2.

One easy fix for any shifting problems the brifter may give you with a non-standard shimano road triple is to use a bar end on the left. There is a lot to be said for using friction with a triple crank.

jimc101

Shimano have plenty of options, 6703, 5703 and due out soon, 4703

ModeratedUser

I was hoping to see something along the lines of a MTB crankset. One of the options I was thinking was to use an earlier, 6503 or 6603 Ultegra crankset. The 6703 doesn't seem to have the option to go any lower on the big ring than 52t. I'm really dreading having to put a 52t or bigger on the bike.

I happen to learn my options on rings available for different BCDs on ebay. There's got to be a better way to learn whats available, right?

fietsbob

MTB cranks, now new are often 4 bolt.. past they used 110-74..

antokelly

why not just change your rings 48/34/26 . TA do a big selection of rings.

ModeratedUser

These numbers sound really good. You don't know what my options are, do you?

fietsbob

Let me google that for you. Chainrings

ModeratedUser

Wow thanks man! I was so lucky to have you online today!

I don't really have the luxury of bankrolling my rolling habit to get the right gearing. I just know what Shimano thinks I should have ain't cutting it. I think I'm just going to start trying different MTB cranksets on CL and see if I can get lucky.

mrveloman

I just changed out my chainrings on my 9 speed Ultegra crankset from 52-42-30 to 48-38-24 (wanted a 36 but couldn't find one) Easy to swap and works just fine. I found my rings from two different vendors on eBay. Just search in the bicycle category for 48t (or however many teeth) chainring and 110 mm or 74 mm depending which ring(s). Cheaper than a new crank but if you do want a crank you need to know the chain line for MTB cranks may not be same as your road crank meaning you'll need a new bottom bracket too. I'd look for a Sugino XD600 crank or the Alpina mentioned above. Just do a Google search for suppliers.

mike

shelbyfv

Cranks, Chainrings I've used this with 9 speed Ultegra brifters. It worked pretty well but was better with bar end shifters. Shimano "trekking" cranks would work but they are hard to find and pricey. T661 is an example.

fietsbob

Sugino is a softer alloy, and lots cheaper .. 7075t6 needs to me machined, CNC machines do that repeatedly,

I built up my touring crank with chrome plated steel chainrings , then rode it on multiple tours over a decade.

MZilliox

why are you searching for such low gearing ultegra? I find 32-42-52 to give quite a wide range of gears w a nine speed. I'm not sure the last time i dropped into the 32 ring, even with panniers on back, and I live in the hills
You can find older 600 stuff thats lower geared too. sugino stuff would probably work. I have a 46-38-26 on another bike and its torture to ride such low gears. its getting the 30-40-50 treatment as we speak.

ModeratedUser

This person is making alot of sense. I can agree with alot said. I might just see about changing my inner ring to a nice 24t or 26t.

BTW, I checked my teeth on the crank and it's 50/39/30.

fietsbob

I thought Ultegra/105 triples used a 130-74, the DA used a special middle ring and only fit their 30t.

Shimano's planned obsolescence is hard to keep up with..

mrveloman

my bad - My Ultegra crankset does indeed have 130/74 chainrings

mike

ModeratedUser

Wow I just ran across this on Sheldon;

Although "road triple" cranksets commonly come with a 30 tooth small chainring, it is very easy to replace this with something more reasonable, such as a 26 or even a 24. If you go with a 24, you would also be well advised to add a chain deflector such as the N-Gear Jump Stop.Using one of these devices allows you to set the low-gear limit stop loose enough to provde positive downshifting, without the risk of the chain overshooting and falling off inward.
This is by far the cheapest and best way to lower the gearing of a stock bike with a road triple crankset.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/chainrings/74.html

Also it looks like changing my crankset to a MTB crankset would be easy to do too. My chainline is 45mm and MTB's are 47.5-50mm. I can get in the ballpark with a 2mm spacer. It was suggested on Sheldon that a spacer for the 10sp cassettes would do that.

All About Bicycle Chainline

BigAura

If you're running brifters you may have problems not sticking to Shimano's specs. Bar-ends are the way to go for a more flexible and mixed system.

Tourist in MSN

I switched out my 30 inner to a 24, but my system is not Shimano, I use Campy road triples. Thus I have a 52/42/24.



It should be easy for you to switch to a 24 or 26 like I did if your inner is a 74 BCD. And I am running a chain catcher, not sure if I need it but it was cheap so why not?

Last summer I tried a 46 instead of a 52 for the outer, it was interesting to play with the half step gearing, thus a 46/42/24 triple.



Yes, the two bikes are different, the upper one is my 26 inch wheel derailleur touring bike, the bottom one is my 700c touring bike. Both are set up with Campy road triples and 11/32 eight speed Sram cassettes.

I am running friction front shifter (Shimano bar end shifters), indexed rear. I suspect that an indexed front would not work too well with my setup.

mrv 

got one of these on my touring MTB: origin8 Trekking crankset: Product Description | Origin8
- ramped and pinned, about $70. seems to work pretty good for the first month anyway.

the cranks seen in the wild

DropBarFan

I'm using the Shimano Deore FC-M590 48/36/26 crankset + 11-34 cassette, works pretty good. For loaded hilly touring a 22-tooth chainring would probably help a bit; OTOH I'd like to have a 50 (or even 52) tooth for descents. Anyway the FC-M590 is 9-speed but supposedly it's compatible w/10-speed chain. Price is reasonable at ~$65; middle & inner rings are steel which is sorta kewl old-school. & Shimano also offers it in 44/32/22.

ModeratedUser

How easy is it for you to shift in and out of the inner ring? You use the inner ring seldomly?

ModeratedUser

Is it pretty much determined that the 4-arm Shimano cranks are MTB cranks and the 5-arm cranks road cranks? Very rarely am needing to get down a mountain faster. I'll sacrifice that part of my options to get better uphill options. I like the option suggested on the FC-M590. Right now I'm thinking of having 50/39/26 on mine.

LesterOfPuppets

I have FC-5503 Shimano 105 triple with 52/42/24. Works pretty well with the smaller small ring. I've found I need to do a long press of the brifter on the upshift from small ring to middle to get 100% success rate. If I hold the lever in for about a revolution the chain always finds its way up there.

If I happen to see a chain catcher on sale maybe I'll get one and try the idea of loosening the lower limit a bit, to get easy downshifts AND upshifts.