damnable

Hi everyone,

I've got an Ultegra crankset on my road bike. The large chainwheel has just been replaced, mostly due to wear, but I also switched it to a smaller wheel, a decision I'm not completely convined was a good one, but that's another story. I should say the work was done by my LBS (not me).

Will I also be able to swtich the smaller chainwheel in a similarly simple fashion?

DOS

Changing out small rings is pretty straight forward.

AndrewP

Depends on how small you want to go. 38 for standard crank, 34 for compact

Al1943

More information is needed to answer your question. If you have a standard double then the inner chainring is probably a 39, and the smallest you can possibly run is a 38. Probably not worth the change. Shimano chainrings will shift as well or better for you than any other brand. If you want to change the gearing consider a cassette change.

Edit: AndrewP is correct.

damnable

What would be limiting me to a 38 small chainring?

I'd be looking to change it to something similar to a compact.

Al1943

On a standard crankset with a 130 BCD (bolt circle diameter) the chain would be riding over the crankset bolts if the size of the chainring was smaller than 38, and in some cases the chain may ride on the bolts on a 38.

operator

Yep there's a reason why most standards are 130bcd and compacts are 110bcd.