Originally Posted by
WT21
I'm in the market for a new endurance road bike. Looking at 105 level.
The area I ride in is more rolling than flat or major hills. Last ride was 31km and elevation gain was 280m. pretty typical for my rides.
I ride on a 10 speed Tiagara now with an 11-32 cassette and a 50/34 crank set. I ride 90% of the time on the 50 ring and rarely use the 3 biggest gears on the cassette. In the rare times that's not enough, I usually drop to the 34 ring to avoid cross-chaining, instead of using the biggest gears on the cassette. But I do find that I'm often searching for an 'in-between gear' on the flats.
So, I'm thinking of 11 speeds on an 11-28 would be a better fit. Am I missing anything?? (unless I go to a crank with a 52 then the 11-34 might make more sense?)
I find that a lot with 50/34. At normal speed on the flats I feel like I'm cross-chaining one way or the other, and shifting the front a whole lot more than I do with 53/39, or 52/36. If you only have rollers, and no walls to climb, 34x34 is a waste. I don't even use 36x34 all that much, and I live in a hilly area.
Your last ride is about 45 ft/mile of climbing, which compares pretty well with my 21 mile route which is about 46 feet/mile. I think of that as my flat route, versus the 55 ft/mile of my usual Sunday long rides. So if you're only doing 45 ft/mile, you don't need wallclimbing gears and really don't need a compact crank. I'd consider the 52/36 and an 11-28 or 11-30.