Originally Posted by
Ttoc6
When I lived in SEA I could get away with a standard 53/39 on the road bike. Now that I live in the mountains the 36-28 is a huge blessing with some races where I'd want smaller.
For TT's I'm currently using a 53 qring with an 11-25. The tighter spacing is awesome, but there have been times I'd have liked a bigger front ring for the better chainline. I'll probably eventually go to a 1x on the tt bike with a 53, 54 or 55.
If I were racing on the same bike for road and TT I'd probably do a 52/36 so I had the option the go back down to 50/34 for the steep road races. If you go to 53/39 you have 130BCD which isn't gonna be compatible with your other rings.
with the riding i've seen from you, i don't think you'd need anything less than 39x28 for any race i've done in UT-CO-AZ-NM-CA-NV-OR.
i'm more of a spinner, and i've had situations where i *needed* that 53x11 (yes). the 34x28 was nice for the Everest Challenge from back in the day, though.
seriously--the climbs aren't *that* steep or *that* long.
TT -- yes, get a 55. don't go 1x.