I'm relatively new to the gearing scene. I have two road bikes, a BH Connect carbon frame with Campy Centaur, and a Cannondale R800 aluminum frame with Shimano 105. One reason I have two road bikes is to have two different sort of rides.

Both are currently set up with standard double 53/39 cranksets. I have a 13-26 cassette on the BH and a 12-26 on the Cannondale. Question is: Is it worth it to replace the FSA standard double on the BH with a compact double, in other words, will it give me even more of a "different ride" from the Cannondale by making this change? For the sake of simplifying the question let's not consider the cost factor or any "cool" factor of the compact double, and the small weight savings of the compact is not that important.

I should mention that I'm probably no better than average re: my fitness (climbing or cadence), and that I live in moderately hilly Seattle. Not likely to be doing much in the way of long 10%+ grade hills on these bikes, at least for now. I do not and am not currently interested in racing; I ride for pleasure and am looking to improve my fitness.

I have consulted Campagnolo's gear calculator, so understand on paper the difference in gear inches between the two, and have also compared different cassette ratios (11-25, 13-26 etc) between the two cranksets. What is likely to give me the most useful ratios and (both crankset and cassette) considering the above?


Thanks for the tips.