Originally Posted by
LowCel
Compact allows me to stay in my big ring 99% of the time on the time trial courses that I do. I am not nearly man enough to spin out a 50/11 on the flats so it doesn't hurt me.
When my flat bar bike was my main ride, it had a standard 53/39 crank. In trouble shooting a noise, I switched to a 50/36 with a different BB, and found I was in the big ring 98% of the time. Last weekend, I went to a single front ring, an unramped 46T, and have had no trouble with it on the weekend group rides or the commute. I thought I would lose a lot of top end, but have yet to see the impact. Surprised the snot out of me.