11-36 and or 11-40 with Roadbike
10-12-21 | 10:00 AM
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 326
Likes: 73
From: Brentwood WLA
Bikes: 50/34, 11-40, 11 Speed
Hi,
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
Even when I was six years younger and putting out an FTP of 100 watts more than now as a 75-year-old, I rode an 11-32.
Good luck with your health and choice.
10-12-21 | 11:19 AM
#27
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,296
Likes: 577
From: Loveland, CO
Bikes: Cervelo Rouvida x 2
A 30 or 31 little chain ring with a 36 is about the same as a 34/40, so shimano grx cranks might be an option to get lower gears. The grx chainline is wider, but I corrected mine with spacing washers. That's possible since both chain rings bolt behind the crank spider.
10-13-21 | 01:36 AM
#29
Not lost wanderer.
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,686
Likes: 1,425
From: Lancaster, Pa
Bikes: Cambodia bike,2012 Fuji Stratos...
Hi,
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
I prefer a 10 speed 11-36 cassette with a 48x45x34 set of chainrings shifted by an Ultegra 6700 GS RD and a modified 5703 FD controlled by 6700 level flat bar shifters.
I have also Run a 9 speed 12-36 cassette with a 49x46 set of chainrings shifted by an Ultegra 6700 GS RD and a 5700 FD controlled by 7700 bar-end shifters.
10-17-21 | 06:53 PM
#30
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 326
Likes: 73
From: Brentwood WLA
Bikes: 50/34, 11-40, 11 Speed
I will stoop to directly answering the specific question and advise getting an 11-40, which is what I ride with a 50/34 compact. If you do any regular serious climbing running out of gears is the worst thing in the world that is 99 percent preventable with common sense.
Even when I was six years younger and putting out an FTP of 100 watts more than now as a 75-year-old, I rode an 11-32.
Good luck with your health and choice.
Even when I was six years younger and putting out an FTP of 100 watts more than now as a 75-year-old, I rode an 11-32.
Good luck with your health and choice.
Your current derailleur will not handle an 11-40t. You will need to get an MB rear derailleur and Wolf Tooth Tanpan to accommodate that gear range on a road bike. (Tanpan, not a Wolf Tooth Road Link.
Give Wolf Tooth a call. They are friendly and knowledgeable about what parts you need for set up I am proposing. As mentioned I ride a 50/34 compact and don't know if you having a 52/36 would make a diffence in compatability of what I suggest. I've got to repeat that if you have the choice or option available go with the 40t over the 36t.
In order to put
10-18-21 | 07:22 AM
#32
Sunshine
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 18,729
Likes: 10,282
From: Des Moines, IA
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Hi,
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
My bike is a Di2 Ultegra mid cage with chainrings 52/36 and actual cassette 11-32. I am 70 years old and I have gone through a severe heart operation. Despite of that I have my routine is to bike 30-35 kilometers in fast pace almost daily. In this manner I have succeeded to gain puls at 51-52 b/m . Recently I feel that I need little more help from bigger sprockets such as
11-36 and or 11-40, and I wonder which to choose.
I appreciate any help and advise in this respect.
I dont understand why switching to a more compact crank is bad. I understand you dont want to have a high cadence due to your health, but you then almost certainly dont need a 52/11 gear ratio.
At 60rpm(for sure not a fast cadence by any enthusiast's standards who rides a road bike) you are moving at 23mph in 52/11. Genuinely- how long can you maintain that gearing and speed solo on flat road?
At 60rpm, you are moving at 20mph in 46/11. Holding that for a legit 10min on flat road is probably difficult for many cyclists.
If you switch from 52/36 to 46/30 and keep your cassette, your easy gearing option will be 17% easier than it currently is.
That just seems like the obvious answer to your issue since you will get easier bailout gearing and you wont have to spin fast on flat road to go fast.
...or maybe I am missing something.
10-19-21 | 06:31 AM
#33
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2,368
Likes: 2,483
From: Upstate SC
OP, has your doctor specifically told you not to ride with a high cadence due to your heart issue? I ask because I have heart issues as well, and I watch my heart rate while I ride, since I've been told not to exceed a certain EFFORT due to my heart.
I have Ultegra Di2 with a compact crankset (50/34) and 11-32 cassette. If I spin in low gear up a hill, my heart rate will be lower than grinding up a hill in a higher gear at lower cadence, due to the increased effort. I also have a bad knee, and it definitely feels better spinning at a higher cadence / lower watts (I have a power meter as well.)
I really don't care how fast I'm going. I use my gearing to maintain a certain effort, and let the speed be wherever the gearing, cadence, watts, and heartrate are the most happy.
I have Ultegra Di2 with a compact crankset (50/34) and 11-32 cassette. If I spin in low gear up a hill, my heart rate will be lower than grinding up a hill in a higher gear at lower cadence, due to the increased effort. I also have a bad knee, and it definitely feels better spinning at a higher cadence / lower watts (I have a power meter as well.)
I really don't care how fast I'm going. I use my gearing to maintain a certain effort, and let the speed be wherever the gearing, cadence, watts, and heartrate are the most happy.
