Originally Posted by
kimconyc
IMO, there's no reason for a compact east of the Rockies assuming you are in decent shape. Most modern drivetrains handle 27t cassettes and beyond and that should be enough for most of the "climbing" you are doing (someone will probably mention Mt. Washington).
If you want a compact just for kicks, Jenson sells the Shimano R700 with BB for under $100. You can probably find it even cheaper if you look around or buy used.
Thanks, I will check out Jenson. If it were a regular road bike I would not get a compact, but since it's gonna be for cx as well I will put a compact on. Most cx bikes come with 48or 46/34. I use a full 52/39 on it now and when cx season starts up, I put on a long cage rd and run 39 with 27 on the back, but don't want to be going to the trouble of changing out the bb and front ring every season and swapping rear cassettes as a 25 is good enough for me on the rear and then I can put regular tyres on it and use it for early season races as well.