Originally Posted by
Stix Zadinia
Hello all,
Now that I'm putting a road bike together, I'd like to know which cassette ratio would best serve me for flat terrain, mostly short(ish) rides at a time (typically, two or three 10-15 mile rides a day).
I like to put on speed and mash
occasionally on those short rides, I already know I want to have a regular 53x39 double crank so I can have a 53-11 ratio available for the occasional mashing, but I'm trying to figure out which cassette would be best to go along with the regular crankset: 11-25, 11-26, 11-28 or 11-32 (for flat terrain). I'm wondering if an 11-32 cassette would be pretty much useless for me since I
never come across climbs or anything resembling one, unfortunately (well, maybe some garage exit here and there
).
Should I go with an 11-25 instead, for smoother gearing?
I'm also going with a 172.5mm (instead of a 170mm), since the owner of the LBS suggested that for me (for short rides and putting on more power).
Any advice or suggestions much appreciated!
I'm not sure what you mean by 'mashing'. If you want to train at low cadences, i.e. <60, you're probably better off doing it into a wind or up a hill. You don't 'need' a 53-11 on the flats.
And you won't get more power by changing your crank length. Your LBS owner just wanted to sell you some new cranks.