Beachgrad05

I have two bikes. I'm doing Cool Breeze Century which has about 4500 feet of climbing. I currently weigh 226. I've been training.



All of these rides have been on the Domane which weighs 16 lbs with pedals a d bottle cages. It has Dura-Ace 11 spd 11-28 cassette.

My Madone weighs 19 lbs with pedals and bottle cages and has mix of 105 components with Ultegra crank 10 spd 12-30 cassette.

I took Domane last year but had done little to no riding after getting back from AIDS Lifecycle in June due to three trips to Washington state. Last years pre century looked like this



Obviously very little riding and I suffered on the Domane.

For those bike tech savvy folks which bike would be better to take? Does the weight of Domane make it better choice than heavier Madone with the extra two teeth on my granny gear?

deapee

Assuming they have the same crankset - the 16 pound bike with a 28 is probably going to be easier than the 19 pound bike with a 30. If it were a 32 I think it would be more noticeable. Or if the Domane has a 53/39 and the Madone has a 50/34 then the answer is more clear.

PS I think 100 miles at 4500'ish feet climbing isn't really that hilly.

Beachgrad05

They both have compact cranks.

For me the hills on CB are challenging enough. I'm not a very good climber. I'm a woman at 226 and tho I have muscles I'm not as muscled as a man. The grade of climbs is what gets me. It gets above 7% I struggle. At 10+ my legs quit

Beachgrad05

You may not feel 4500 is hilly but I do

dr_lha

Compared to the total weight of the bike and you combined, 3lbs is not much, and it's the combined weight that's going to slow you down going up those hills. The extra granny gear also doesn't add up to much though either. If you're keeping a decent cadence of 80 up those hills, you'd be going 0.5 mph slower in the 30 vs the 28.

So not much in it really. Pick the bike you enjoy riding the most!

As for 4500' being "not hilly" it really depends on how that is made up of course. I can ride a century and cover 4500ft and it be mostly flat around here (by PA standards), equally I can do 4500ft and have it kill me. Really depends on the grades of the climbs!

TrojanHorse

All that elevation change is in a 10 mile stretch though, so while most of the ride is flat.. you still need to account for the hills.

I agree with @dr_lha - take the bike you enjoy riding more. Is one more comfortable over 100 miles? I doubt 3 lb will be noticeable and I doubt two teeth will be noticeable - the only "steep" climb is that first hill, and it's short.

Beachgrad05

I plan on taking the Domane. Last year I did and I struggled tho more from lack of riding tho I thought I needed the 30. Wanted opinion from those who know geek numbers to see if I was better off with one over other.

And LMAO at 80 RPM cadence up hills. Hahaha

Try more like 60-65

dr_lha

Then the difference is even smaller!

Beachgrad05

Here is route and profile. Yes relatively flat but the grades in the climbing are in my KILL ME zone

Beachgrad05

Good to know. Thanks! Truly. I don't really understand gear ratio stuff

rfmarotti

I would just keep riding what you've been training on, unless you have significant miles on both bikes and are sure they would both be comfortable for a century. W/ a 40 up front you're gaining less than 3 gear inches between the 28 and the 30.

Beautiful area. I'm jealous. Lived down there for many years.

Beachgrad05

TBH I've ridden the Madone on several centuries including this one. But yes the Domane is designed for this sort of ride.

dr_lha

You're cycling past my old house I see (Santa Barbara FYI).

jsigone

I'd take the every day bike and if I had those two bike specs, it would be the domane

You will miss those two teeth for like 5 miles of that profile, the rest is pretty much the same.

DMC707

Do you have the time to procure a new cassette and possibly a mid cage derailleur for the light bike with the 11 speed?

If so, that's what i'd do -- install a 12-32 and a mid cage derailleur-- then you would have the biggest gears on the lightest bike

rm -rf

Which bike is more comfortable on long rides? I'd take that one.

Get a lower gear
Some local riders have converted from a 27 or 28 tooth low gear to a 32 or 34 low gear. (And these low gears are getting more common on new bikes, too.)

The lower gears have really helped them on group rides. They can climb hills better without maxing out their effort.

It needs a new cassette, and usually a new mountain bike derailleur, or a longer arm on your derailleur, but those aren't too expensive. Check with your local bike store to see if they've done those conversions. The mountain derailleur conversion works differently on 11-speed, I think, due to different cable pulls between shifts on 11-speed.

Low gear differences:
Since you won't change the chainrings, just compare the percentage differences between cogs.
New low / Old low.
30/28 = 1.07, is 7% easier
32/28 = 1.14, is 14%
34/28 = 1.21, is 21%

1:1 low
A 34 cog on the back and your 34 chainring is a 1:1 ratio, really nice on hills. I have a 30 front and 29 rear on one of my bikes, which is essentially the same thing. I can sit down on 10% grades, going at a very slow speed, with just moderate force on the pedals. With a 28 low, I'd be standing up and pushing pretty hard on the pedals--faster, but hard to maintain for too long.

I'll even use my lowest gear on a much less steep hill, so I can keep the cadence high. I like it.
(My other bike has closer gear spacing, for faster riding on flatter terrain.)

Percentage changes per shift to compare:
Rear shifts range from around 6% to about 15%, depending on the two cog's tooth counts.

So, compared to a 28 low, a 32 cog will be about 1 1/2 shifts easier, and a 34 cog about 2 to 2 1/2 shifts easier. That's very helpful.

~~~~~~~~~

Bigger gaps between shifts
The tradeoff on these wide range cassettes, like a 11-32 or 11-34, is larger jumps in cadence in the middle gears.

Here's a chart, at typical flat road cadences, for the 11-28, and below it, 11-32. The 50 chainring is in black, and the 34 in red.
You can see bigger gaps between shifts on the 11-32, but it's not bad at all. Worth it if there's a lot of climbing to do.

It kind of depends what typical speeds you ride. In some speed ranges, the two different cassettes both have reasonable gaps between shifts.

rm -rf

3 pounds difference in the bikes:

The water in two 22 ounce bottles weighs 2.9 pounds. I don't really notice the difference when climbing if my bottles are empty or full.

So I'd pick the bike you like best for the ride.

TrojanHorse

Let us know if you require the house to be TP'd.

JohnJ80

^this

I normally ride a 12-28 or an 11-28 cassette on my 11 speed bike which weighs 16lbs. I bought a 12-25 and already had an 11-32. I made a 12-32 out of it and it was simply brilliant in the recent trip I made out to the mountains to ride. It was also much better on the flat than the 11-32 too. Total cost of this would be about $110 if from Bike Tires Direct and is about a 15 minute project if you already had neither of those two cassettes. (You'll have a 11-25 left over). Having that additional 4 teeth as a granny gear was really nice. If your cadence is only around 60-65, you'll appreciate the lower gear.

You will need the mid cage RD if you don't have it already. That, also, is not a difficult to change.

J.

Beachgrad05

This is very helpful! I don't have ability to swap cassette or change the rear derailleur at moment.

I do have an 11-32 cassette (10 speed) that I've thought to put on the Madone but then I'd have issues with using my trainer wheel which currently has matching 12-30 cassette. Yes, I could get new cassette for trainer wheel...which I may do eventually.

Seems like the Domane is the correct choice as currently configured vs Madone as currently configured.

Beachgrad05

BTW thank you EVERYONE! You have given me awesome advice to put to use