Originally Posted by
Iride01
On modern Shimano road cranks, you'll have issues finding just the one 50 ring at a economical price. At least I think you will have a hard time. Even getting the common 50/34 large and small combo together won't be inexpensive so maybe just get a 50/34 crankset. If that 50/34 crankset is Shimano and the 36 ring of the old fits onto the 50 ring of the new, then try that combo and see if you like it.
For the 2 tooth difference in size, you may or may not see any difference in your shifting performance requiring a shorter chain. That should be an easy fix anyway that you can do once you find out if you have real issues.
Just because you are in flat land, doesn't mean you should be in the big front and any of the 3 smallest cogs for your normal cruising gear. Those are for when you are pushing hard to go fast. Or at least they are for me. I also have weak legs and use a 52/36. But still I miss my 53 ring sometimes in my rolling terrain.
Buying individual rings can indeed be expensive - what I replaced Campagnolo rings, it was often cheaper to buy a whole NOS crankset than just rings (with the added bonus of eBaying the surplus crank arms). My standard drivetrain is a 53/34 with a 12-25 10sp cassette (12-17, 19, 21, 23, 25). The advantage of this is that I use
all of the sprockets, rather than bringing along a rarely-used 11 for the ride. The only time this setup is a disadvantage is on a fast descent with a group - I'm spinning out on the 12 while the rest of the group is still powering on their 11s - however, this is a rare enough instance and not sufficient justification to ditch an otherwise excellent (for me) cassette choice If I'm soloing, if I spin out on the 12, I'm already going plenty fast - OK to coast. If/when I upgrade to 12sp (where an 11 sprocket is unavoidable), I'll probably switch to a 48/32 crank - still slightly more top end than my current setup, but I really don't need a 50/11 gear.