Originally Posted by
DaveSSS
If cross chaining is your concern, think about the actual change. You'd only get a 6% reduction in gearing with a 50T big ring, which is less than a 1-cog shift. If you're often in the 53/23, then you'd use the 50/21 and still not have quite as low a gear ratio. You'd probably still find yourself in the 50/23 quite often and at the limit of the recommended chain angle.
I have ridden flat terrain with my mountain-geared bike; a 50/34 crank, 11-25 cassette, 11 speed, that has the same 50/23 limit on the big ring. I hardly ever shift to the little ring, except when there's a hill of enough length that I don't want to handle it by staying in the big ring and pedaling standing.
You don't need a 9 speed crank. Any 10 speed model would work.
thanks dave, that does put it in perspective. my cassette is this standard 13-26 - 13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26
i find that in the 53 ring, i'm in the 16, 17 or 19 and i would love to have the 18t cog.
in the 39 ring i'm usually in 14, or 15 but sometimes i find myself wanting to crank it up to the 13t cog for a short time. not long enough to shift to 53-16 and back tho, so i just increase cadence in the 39-14. maybe that's lazy on my part.
sounds like the adjustment i need to make is the cassette. going to 13/23 - 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21,23 with the 18t in back will probably make me happier than having the 50T up front. that eliminates the gap that bothers me most.
on the 9sp vs 10sp.. i know the 10sp is just fine but my minor case of OCD wants me to have a fully consistent group on the bike. i went as far as replacing the avanti FD with veloce despite them being identical except for the name on it. now everything except the brakes are veloce or better.. record headset and BB, chorus aero seatpost. veloce hubs and drivetrain. the brakes are still avanti but i'm ok with that.
so just to satisfy my curiosity, is there a 9sp compact? or did they start with 10sp?