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Old 06-12-17 | 07:30 AM
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rpenmanparker
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From: Houston, TX

Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build

First off, your preferred gear combinations using the 17 and 19 cogs isn't crossed at all. It is pretty much right down the middle. And why would you switch to 39/14 when you could stay on 52/19 which is nearly identical?

With modern double front derailleurs a 16 tooth ring difference is the advised limit. Hence the popularity of the 34-50 and 36-52 combinations. Assuming your triple is speced similarly (you can check it online I imagine), you should be okay.

Unless you have synchronized electronic shifting, though, I don't think your idea is the best approach. Ideally one doesn't go back and forth on the front with mechanical shifting to hit every possible gear combination; you stay on one front ring or the other as much as possible. In order to do that and not lose a lot of gear possibilities to overlap, you want the two rings to have significant separation. And in order not to have extreme cross chaining, you don't want that separation to be too great. Hence the popularity of the 39-53 combination of rings. So you run up or down one ring, then shift to the other at the point they overlap and run up or down that one.

Your plan will make the two gear runs so similar, that there won't be much use to having both of them. Basically the separation between rings will be nearly the same as the separation between your favorite rear cogs. That means you will only get one new gear combo by shifting the front. Of course, having the near-granny third ring will alleviate some of this problem, but still, I don't think it is a good plan.

Last edited by rpenmanparker; 06-12-17 at 07:41 AM.
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