Originally Posted by
Andy_K
Bingo! I find the arguments about compact gearing offering the same range to be completely missing the point.
The bike I was referring to when I started this thread has a 34-29 low gear. The day I started the thread I rode it up a hill that peaks at 16% grade. It would get me up an even steeper hill if I needed it to. And the 50-12 top gear is easily enough for my purposes. The range of gears isn't the problem.
As for over-thinking it, it's not as if I put my gears into a calculator, looked at the numbers and said, "Hey, that's a problem." Rather I took it out on the road, concluded that I didn't like the experience and then put the numbers into a calculator to try to understand the problem better. That may still be over thinking it, but I'm pretty sure it's not an imaginary problem.
I don't think it's an imaginary problem at all. Perhaps other people aren't bothered by lots of cadence variation but I've worked a very long time to maintain a steady cadence while I ride. I've never even been tempted by a compact double system because I'm not a huge fan of the way a "normal" road triple shifts and the effect it has on cadence.. Going to a system where there are huge gaps and huge differences in cadence just never appealed to me.
This is my current commuter gearing, a 50/39/30 crank and an 11-34 cassette. If, for example, I'm riding in the 50/17 combination and I have to downshift to the middle ring, it doesn't feel "natural" since I have shifted a gear that requires a higher cadence (90 to 120 to maintain the same speed) to keep up with the speed or, on the other hand, I have to wait for the bike to slow down to that speed at the same cadence. Yes, cadence varies but it always feels better
to me to have a fairly steady cadence rather than letting it vary all over.
If I compare a 50/34 compact with the same range to my current gearing the problem is even worse. The same shift would require me to increase my cadence from 90 to over 130 rpm to maintain the same speed.
Perhaps it's not that much of an issue for people who live where the terrain is much flatter. But looking at a terrain map of Beaverton and knowing what I do about the terrain here along the Front Range of Colorado, I'd say that it makes quite a difference for us. I've noticed this for the past 35+ years. Given what is outside my door, I can't help but be a bit nerdy about gearing.