Originally Posted by
OldsCOOL
Remember, I'm switching from the road double to compact double. I dont recover-coast on the backside of the hills. With a 53 and 14 I'm spinning a bit fast at 37mph. So if I reduce the ratio to a 50 and add the 11 I can live with that. I would grab a shimano 12-28 if available. But my dilemma isnt the high end.....it's the low end. I need a lower bailout gear.
I understood that. I was pointing out that even with a 50/13 you would still have as high a gear ratio as with the 53/14. Slightly higher, in fact. A 50/12 would give you the higher gear you seem to want (you didn't indicate that before). The 50/11 would be such a big increase over what you had, I wonder if it would be usable. In either case, the 34/28 will give you a much lower gear than your old 39/28.
See the comparison here.
7 speeds on compact gearing makes for some hard decisions. If you go for more range than you really need, the price paid is very large jumps between gears. 10 speed rear ends is what made it possible to really get the most out of compact gearing. As long as you are upgrading...
