Roubaix Elite Gearing Question
 

I gave into the N+1 voices and recently purchased a Specialized Roubaix Elite. My first CF bike that is in contrast to my current ride of choice, a Surly LHT. I do a little touring in late summer and the LHT will be the ride here. But I intend to use the Roubaix for state, charity and a Colorado mountain ride. I did the Copper Triangle last year with the LHT. The gearing(48-36-26 chainrings and 11-34 cassette) was adequate except for a steep stretch of Vail pass. Of course the LHT is heavier and I did have an 8-10 lb saddlebag (I know, not smart). I'm just wondering if the Roubaix gearing (50/34 and 12-30) will be adequate? With it still winter here in SC Nebraska, I have only put 60 miles on it. I have did some short steep climbs, but I'm thinking the long climbs will tell the tale. I will know more after the state BRAN ride (Nebraska is not all flat). But my real concern is getting out west to do the CT or even the Triple bypass and realizing through the climbing and altitude, that I need an additional chainring. Thought about putting this thread in the Road Cycling section, but with my age (56) and knee concerns, IMO the 50+ crowd will give me the best advice. Thanks in advance!

62 here. just so you know.

your LHT has a 21Gi low and your Roubaix has a 30GI low. i know the Roubaix is lighter by quite a margin, i don't know exactly, but i don't think the weight difference between the Roubaix and the LHT is enough to make up the difference between the gearing. IOW, you'll be hurting more on the Roubaix.

A little math show that the low gear ratio on the Roubaix is 34/30 = 1.133 and the low gear on the LHT is 26/34 = 0.765 so the Roubaix low gear is 48% larger than the low gear on the LHT (assuming the same wheel/tire size). That means to go the same speed on steep grades, you will be pedaling the Roubaix with a much lower cadence - approx 67.5% of the LHT cadence. Sounds like you should bring the LHT to Colorado.

Thanks for your input Huey and Gonzo. We are thinking along the same lines. I'm hoping someone will see this that has been there, done that. Is the next step doing the 3rd chainring and such? Or would modifying the cassette gears be the way to go? Or N+1?

My Roubaix (2005) used to live in Colorado. It's retrofit with an ultegra 7803 (52/39/30) 175mm crankset. This is driving the original Campy 12-25 cogs. Gets me a bit better than 32" wheel. Your 26/34 combo looks to give about 20". I don't think you're going to touch that gearing in a "fairly standard" substitution (read: reasonable investment). Just another perspective for ya.

I'm totally guessing, because only you know your legs.
26-34 is super low. Did you use it? I could see you might on a heavy bike with a load.
44-30 is pretty darn low. You could look or a cassette with a 32 low end and It will likely works with a derailleur that takes a 30. I know that's what I'd be looking for.

CCCorlew, on my LHT loaded (32 lbs bike, 30 lbs pack and 205 lbs me), I used the 26-34 on many occasions touring in Western US. Yes, a heavy bike with a heavy load. The unknown will be the Roubaix on climbs such as these, with a hopefully lighter me and no pack besides the bare necessities. Changing the cassette would appear to me to be the easiest solution. Adding a third chainring would include replacing the front derailleur I assume.

Yes, you'll need a triple specific derailleur and shifter/brake lever for your set up. Trying to adapt a double FD to a triple is a crap shoot at best, the triple FD had a larger back plate (wider and longer) to make the drop down to the small ring and to pick it back up when upshifting. Look at a few pictures of triple FD in the Shimano website to get an idea. You are probably going to use Shimano components as SRAM doesn't make a road triple and Campag discontinued their triple, as I understand things. There are some exotic triple set ups out there that can make one of the older Campag triples work for you, you'll have to search for that type of set up. Someone here probably can steer you in that direction. Blues Dawg seems to be the most knowledgeable about what the different mfg. offer and what Shimano has, in detail.

Bill

Might be able to use the same front derailluer. You'll definitely need a new front shifter for the triple though. Including the cost of a crankset that's likely to be an expensive modification.

Is the bike setup with Shimano or SRAM components. The cheap upgrade paths depend on the specific components currently on the bike, and what can easily be swapped.

You need a longer cage front to go triple, that and in most cases (Ultegra and 105 being two of them) you need new shifters too. Big$$ Try to do it with the cassette.

My Roubaix gets by with higher gears than my heavy bag laden commuter. I rode it up Mt. Diablo andwas in super low gears carrying a load. My Roubaix, no problems in not-the-lowest gear.

Looks like I will need to sneak out to the mountains as soon as weather allows to see if the gearing is adequate. Sounds like a good excuse anyway!

Shimano components.

I have the same bike (2011) but have a triple (50-39-30) on the front. When I rode the Triple Bypass I had a low gear of 30-28, which was fine, but I am glad that I had the low gear by the end of the day. Vail will be the easiest of the climbs on the Triple Bypass so if you used the low gear on your LHT than you probably would want to at least put a 32T cassette on the back. It's better to have a low granny that you won't use rather than to be wishing for lower gears.

It looks like the power requirement for a 6% grade at 6 mph would be about 210 W for 267 lbs and about 180 W for 217 lbs. About a 15% reduction in power requirement, but the difference between a 26-34 and 34-30 setup is huge. As someone already pointed out, much has to do with your climbing abilities but having the right setup for your abilities makes the ride much more enjoyable.

Last summer I rode the Markleeville Death Ride and beforehand I switched my 11-28 cassette out for a 12-30, giving me a 30-30 granny. This ride has some stretches of 12-14% grades so there were times I used it. I should say, though, that I prefer to spin at a pretty high cadence when climbing so if you are more of a masher, that may effect your decision also.

Hoping for warmer weather in the midwest, SOON.

You might look into Microshift for the triple FD shifter, they are one of the Shimano compatible small guys with slightly lower prices, http://www.microshift.com.tw/product_road.html

The website has the triples listed, and it references which Shimano components their stuff matches up with. Supposed to be fairly good components but not first line as the Shimano stuff is thought of. Of course there is always eBay, just watch what you bid for.

Bill

Congrats on the Roubaix. I love mine. I have a compact with 11-25 11spd on my Roubaix and have no problem with hills. Granted I live in Ohio and the hills around me are pretty much speed bumps

This is very much into the category of your mileage may vary, and more research needed.

There are rumors of people using Deore XT (9-speed, on Dyna-Sys) rear-derailuers with Shimano 10-speed groups (6600/6700). That might work with a SRAM mountain cassette to get you a 36 low rear.

Here's a combination that provides lower gearing for climbing.

SHIMANO DEORE XT M771 REAR DERAILLEUR (SGS LONG, 9 speed)
SH-CSM771-34 SHIMANO DEORE XT CASSETTE (11-34)
SH-CN6701 SHIMANO ULTEGRA CHAIN

Even though the derailleur says 9 speed, the range actually works on 10 speed cassettes with zero problems. The 34/34 combo is a nice fall back for those extra steep or long climbs.

My suggestion is: Wait and see.

The current gearing may be just fine.

I'm a lifelong lowlander and flatlander. (57, and I used to have knee problems until I took up cycling.) When I went to Colorado a few years back, I took my commuter with the triple. It weighs about the same as your LHT, and I carried a lotta stuff in the trunk bag. I suffered a lot on the climbs, but I did them all.

Since then, I've acquired a much lighter bike with an increadibly light wheelset. It has a standard crank (with a 12-23 out back), so the small ring is the same as the middle ring of my triples. I find that it easily climbs in the 39 the same hills where I need the 30 on the triples.

Once a year I ride a hilly century--10,000 feet of climbing. For that, I swap to a compact and 12-27. The bike handles the grades with aplomb, and I end the day feeling just fine. A year ago, a full day of rain was forecast for that ride, so I took the commuter, which has full fenders. I suffered through the same climbs that the Litespeed just eats up.

Where I'm heading with this is wheels. My commuter has industrial-strength wheels. Most touring bikes do as well. I don't have a precise weight, but it's at least two kilos, possibly as high as 2100 or 2150 grams. The Litespeed's wheelset is 1400 grams--at least a pound-and-a-half lighter. I think that's what lets me do with a double what I need a triple for on the heavier bike.

So wait and see. It's only February. You'll have plenty of time to ride the new bike before taking it to Colorado. If you can, ride the two bikes back-to-back on whatever climbs you do have. That will tell far more than anyone on the forum can.

My thought about hilly ride gearing is the use of SRAM WiFly cassette and RD (Apex level is cost friendly) and use either a road double or a compact. You can get a fairly low big cog on the back and with your small ring at 36 or 39 you have a viable bailout gear and can keep your regular double shifter for the FD. Something to add to the mix, I guess.

Bill

I wrote about those two sections on Vail Pass last summer when I was contemplating converting my Bianchi from a compact to a triple for the Triple Bypass, because they were leg burning, lung sucking, cadence killing demons on my 34/28 gearing. But they are short, and I decided that for the money, it was better to ... you know. At 34/30, on light CF, bet nothing else on the Triple Bypass or Copper Triangle routes will cause the least bit of trouble.


btw: if you do come out for some test rides and don't mind some company, pm me. I can usually break away.

Same here Terry. Just a few miles on it, but really love riding the bike. Makes figuring out this issue worth it!

Here's an idea. For the Colorado trip, swap the rear derailer from the LHT over to the Roubaix and put an 11-34 cassette on it. Will work as long as the LHT rear derailer is not Shimano Dyna-Sys or SRAM ESP (different pull ratio for those).

That sounds like an offer I can't refuse! I will give you some lead time tigat. The earliest I have been out to the Summit Co. area (outside of ski season), has been the middle of June. On average, when is the earliest date that the passes are not too cold and/or miserable?

On the front range, some of the climbs like deer creek are open now. Safe bet for the mountains is probably May 1.

IDK what gearing is on your other bike that Was adequate.. ?

My Road bike has a touring crank , based on a campag triple 50,40,24..

Its not a Speecialized-Merida..