Originally Posted by
Frankfast
I guess that's the point. I don't know what I need because I don't feel I'm in the best shape....yet. Right now hills are a strain but I don't want to sacrifice the bigger chainrings until I'm sure I need to change them. The recommended gear inches for hilly riding seem to point to a compact crank but before I spend the money I wanted to see how others felt.
If you're straining up hills, that would point towards a compact. You're knees aren't getting any younger and you want them to last a long, long time. Plus a 50 running on an 11 gives you a high of 120 inches; that's a pretty good high gear.
Compacts make a lot of sense with 9, 10, or 11 on the back. You have plenty of in between gears and a very useful low and high. The jump is a bit big at 16 teeth which is why you might prefer a cross type set up (say 46-36 or 48-36).