Originally Posted by
Fastfwd01
I’m a new cyclist and just got a road bike in August – 11 speed with 11-32. I have frankly really not paid a lot of attention to the gears, but this chart is really helpful. I’m in a super flat area – so, this thread caught my attention.
Since seeing this chart I’ve been trying to pay more attention to what gears I’m using. I seem to notice that I’m getting stuck on my 16 a lot and have a tough time pulling the 14. So, I end up stagnated around 22mph without a tailwind. I rarely use my 34 up front unless I’m crossing an overpass possibly for whatever that’s worth.
Is it a matter of me needing my strength to increase to break over the hump of 22mph or would I benefit from a different cog set? Maybe the 12-25?
I would think that if you are concentrating on form and in a flat area, the 11-32 would be the worst possible choice. A lot of times when you get stuck on improving your speed it's because of a too low of a cadence (aerobic capacity plays into this). The 11-32 is tough for that because of the large jumps between cogs.
Presuming your cadence is high enough (80-90rpm) then I'd think you'd probably be ok with a 12-25. What might be better is that SRAM makes an 11-26 (11-26: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26). That's pretty much exactly the same as the 11-25 from both SRAM and Shimano but you get a 1 cog larger gear if you do need some help up a hill. Everything else is the same except for the largest cog. SRAM and Shimano cassettes are completely compatible in both the free hub and with chains. I have multiple of both and switch them with impunity.
SRAM:
11-26: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26
11-28: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28
Shimano and SRAM:
11-25: 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25
Shimano:
12-25: 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25
11-28: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28
12-28:*12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-28
For hilly conditions, I like the 11-28's but would like the 12-28 better. Only problem is that it is available only in Dura Ace and that's a $240 cassette. I'll wait that one out.
J.