Originally Posted by
E.S.
https://www.scott-sports.com/global/...r-20-cd22-l56/
Here is the bike in question ^^^
The drivetrain is completely stock at the moment.
Do you think there is any way I could have a LBS put a triple chain ring with a low gear of 30-ish on? I would really like some super easy climbing gears for a couple 'fondo' rides this year and even 50/34, 11-32 is a bit much for me right now. I would like to be able to spin 90+ even at very low speeds.
Any help appreciated,
Thanks!
According to Sheldon's gear calculator, a 34t chainring with a 32t cog will give the same gear ratio as a 30t chainring and a 28t cog. You may be able to get away with taking apart the cassette and putting on a 33 or 34 but it seems like a lot of work for not much change in gearing- other solutions seem pretty dramatic for what amounts to an extra cog.
Edit: Here's the output of sheldon's chart comparing a 34/32 with a 30/29. It's almost the same ratio, far less than one shift:
34 30
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE]
[TR]
[TH]
2.1[/TH]
[TH]
1.8[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]
2.3[/TH]
[TH]
2.0
[/TH]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
If you really need that .1 supposedly shimano derailleurs are pretty conservatively rated, you could try to find a 33t cog somewhere and put it on instead of the 32. If you don't want a wide spread you could always try to find a cassette starting from 12 (or even more) teeth. If you like a high tempo how often do you push 50/11?
Also, I think this solution is more elegant (and cheaper) than the others