I have a Scott CX Comp bike and have been using this for over a year now. Previously I had a Diamondback Topanga which was a great old lady but getting a bit tired - like me!

I bought the Scott cyclocross bike because I thought that it would meet my increasing road cycling needs while still allowing me to take it off road occasionally. However, since I got the bike, I almost exclusively ride on the roads and have never once taken it off road. However, the bike has always frustrated me because it does not handle hills as well as my old Topanga mountain bike - understandably. But I still think that it should do better.

The drivetrain setup on the Scott is:

46/36T Shimano FC-CX50 crankset
Shimano FD-CX70 front derailleur

Shimano TIAGRA CS-4600 rear cassette - 10 speed 12-30T (12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,27,30)
Shimano 105 RD-5700A rear derailleur

Now the things that have bothered me most about this bike are:

1. The close ratio of the front rings. The small ring does not seem great for hills. The large ring not the best for flats.

2. The range of the rear gears. The small sprockets are so close (12, 13, 14, 15) that most times I pass through 2 gears because the shift up produces too little acceleration.

3. The large end of the rear cassette also seems too low for hills.

Now what I would like to achieve is 'easier' uphill cycling. I am getting on a bit now and those hills don't get any easier. I can move up to an 11 - 32T cassette without having to change the derailleur - I think. But will the extra 2 teeth help me much? A change of cassette would certainly address the the close ratio of the small sprockets as those cassettes are 2 teeth differences with the except of 11 to 12.

I had also wondered about changing the small ring to something like a 34T but am not sure that would make much difference - without also changing the rear cassette. I also thought of going the whole hog and changing to a 48/34T set up at the front which I think the derailleur would handle, but am not sure what other issues this would give me. Apart from being a pretty expensive option.

Sooooo......... I would appreciate any advice on this one. Apart from buying a road bike! The bike was not the cheapest and I would not want to give up on it - but neither would I want to make such ambitious changes to the drivetrain as to affect the efficiency of the bike or do long term damage.