Originally posted by Turbonium
hey,
it seems that all people with the 520 change the cranks to a 48t. i don't get it why? if you think 52tx11t is too large why not just use a 52tx17t or something like that? i meen wouldn't it be good to have the 52tx11t for downhills??
The point isn't the size of the big ring. It's the size of the small one, and the tooth-differential between big ring and small ring that a derailleur will handle.
If you need at 24 or 26t small ring -- and most people do, for getting up real hills with real loads -- no FD will let you also use a 52t big ring.
And after ascending a grade with a full load, you're generally going to want to use the descent for recovery, not for going as fast as possible. Besides which, going as fast as possible in a descent with 50 pounds of panniers and stuff is not really recommended.
RichC