Shuffleman

I currently ride a 50/34 in Florida. The only hills that I see are over passes. I never paid much attention but lately I have noticed that when going down a hill I can hit a point where I need another gear. I can also hit this point on sprints but it is not like I can ride that pace for long. In addition I am always on the large ring. I never, ever, touch the small ring. Is there a better set up for this type of riding?

redfooj

Yes

53/39

indyfabz

+1.

JerrySTL

Always in the big chain ring even when starting off? Just hearing that makes my knees hurt! What rpm are you spinning at when you think you need another gear? If you are a masher, like 70 rpm, spin faster. It's better for you.

If you are spinning out at 90+ rpm downhill, I recommend coasting. Once you are above 30 mph, you're better off getting aero and coasting. The exception to this is if you are racing or don't mind expending a lot of extra energy for a little speed gain.

However you could get another crankset with something like 53/39 gears. You'd probably need a new, longer chain.

What's your cassette like? If the smallest isn't a 12, you would get a cassette with a 12. You might be able to go down to an 11; however, there can be some clearance and shifting issues that small.

mobilemail

Show-off. :-)

bikepro

Depending on your crankset brand, you might be able to get larger chainrings. Perhaps a 52/36. Or, you might go to a smaller cog set. Perhaps a 12/21, 12/23 or 12/25. This would give you better gearing with close gear spacing. Also, by switching cogs, you don't need a longer chain, but you may need to shorten the old one.

MRT2

At 90 rpm in your biggest gear (50 - 11), that means you are going 32 mph. Maybe you should consider turning pro, and I am not joking.

DXchulo

He said downhill and briefly in a sprint, which isn't unbelievable (especially with a tailwind). He also didn't mention whether his smallest cog is an 11 or a 12.

Anyway, in FL you're probably best with a 53/39. There are also some 52/36 options out there, but you might as well go all the way.

merlinextraligh

I think the OP needs to learn to spin. My main road bike is set up with 50/34, and an 11-23 cassette.

I live in Florida, race Cat 3, and even win an occassional sprint.

Admittedly, I put the 50/34 crankset on for a race in Colorado, but I've never felt any need for a standard crank racing in Florida.

I've done P 1,2,3 crits with that setup . I've also done the Race of the West on it, where you have a 15% descent (admittedly for a very short distance). Gearing has never been an issue

50/11 at 120rpm (a not unreasonable sprinting cadence) is 44 mph. 53/11 takes you up to 46 mph.

As for descending in Florida, by the time you'd hit a speed that you spun out, the hill is over. Additionally, if you're descending over 40mph, you're typically better off tucking, coasting, and recovering, given the tremendous amount of power it takes to raise your speed 2mph at that speed.

If you're losing sprints by a few meters because you're spun out at 45mph, you might need a 53/39 setup.

Otherwise, I think you're wasiting your money buying a new crankset to go to a 53/39.

If you really want bigger gears, 52/36 chainrings on your existing crank would at least be more cost effective.

Andy Somnifac 

32mph, even for for an amateur, is not exceptionally fast even on flats, for short periods.

If you're spinning out in a sprint, yes, a larger front chainring (assuming an 11 on the back) could be in order. But you don't say what cadence you're spinning out at. Depending on what you're spinning out at, you may be better served training that, rather than buying a new crankset/chainring.

Phil_gretz

OP, I would advise changing the small chainring. Also, check your technique. Can you really stay in the large chainring under all conditions in FL with the optimum cadence? Use a gear ratio calculator with a graphic output (link below) and put in your rear cassette cog sizes and front chainring sizes. Look at the output as you change the small chainring size. Find the gear ranges that overlap efficiently and give you what you need. It's not that hard.

Mike Sherman's Bicycle Gear Calculator


Keep the 50T large ring unless you can spin that out in your top gear. So, maybe a 36T, 37T or 38T will do it. Your shifts between rings will also be crisper.

Drew Eckhardt 

Run a tight cassette in back (11-21, 12-23, or 13-25/26 10 cogs; 11-23 or 12-25 11) instead of giving up spacing for big cogs that you don't need because you have a small ring.

Learn to pedal faster. Even 50x13 is good for cruising at 30 MPH plus sprinting over 40, 50x12 is bigger than the 52x13 Eddy Merckx used to dominate the spring classics, and 50x11 is bigger than many EPO powered pros used until 10 cogs on back allowed more range than 12-23 without a two-tooth jump below the 17 cog.

A 39 inner ring is a better choice than 34 because it limits front shifting.

merlinextraligh

The answer to that for most people is pretty much yes. 50/21 at 80rpm is 10 mph. Even in most head winds, most folks can hold 10mph.

And most "climbs" are 60-70 vertical feet and over in less than 2 minutes. If you can't do those in the big ring, you're going to get dropped on most group rides.

Only time I would use the small chain ring would be a massive headwind, warming up/cooling down, recovery ride.

Shuffleman

I am riding on Campy Athena

I am 47 and not even a racer, so that is not an issue or even an idea in my head. On a side note, I am primarily a competitive distance runner. That is my passion so my endurance and cardio levels are pretty high already. I did say that they were short distances and down hills though. As an example, there is an overpass that we like to sprint up and down. I am getting stuck at 32.8mph (going down). For 6 straight weeks I have not been able to break that barrier. When I went riding up in N Georgia there were some much larger hills. I did notice there that I could get faster by coasting but the same thing occured. If I wanted to pedal any further there was simply nothing left.

I try to keep my cadence right around 90 at all times. I am running a 12-25 cassette.

I do appreciate all the responses. I am sure that I could stay with my current setup and be fine. As stated, I do live in N. Florida where hills are not common or even close to common. It is rare that I ever hit that stage of pedaling out. I was just curious if there was a more optimal setup than what I am currently running.

BoSoxYacht

the OP should pay attention to Merlinextralight. What he said makes sense.

Andy Somnifac 

Like @merlinextraligh said, if you can spin up to 120rpm in your 50/12, you'd be doing 39.39mph (w/ 25c tires). If you're not hitting that kind of cadence, you have plenty of room to improve there. Improving your ability to spin is far cheaper (and going to benefit you more) than a bigger gear.

10 Wheels

Try a cassette with a 11T-something.

merlinextraligh

Couple of solutions here. First you do need to work on your spin, 100 rpm will get you 35mph in the 50/12. 110 rpm will get you almost to 40 mph.

Second, get more aero. Full tuck will definitely make you faster than that, with little pedaling. Failing that, just in the drops, elbows deeply bent, knees in, and pedals level will make you faster descending.

Third, pedal hard over the top. Your terminal velocity down a hill will be affected as much or more by how fast you go at the top, as by where you spin out. So bust it over the top of the climb, go as hard as you can go until your spun up to 100rpm, then tuck in and enjoy the fruits of your momementum.

Going to an 11-25 picks up 3mph at 80rpm, and really doesn't cost you much in spacing (other than the loss of the 16 cog).

You might try that next time you need to replace a worn cassette. That's essentially a no cost change as oppossed to hundreds for a new crankset.

ThermionicScott 

+1 to spinning a little faster. I hit 32.8 MPH (while pedalling) all the time... in my 50/13, 48/13, sometimes 48/14, and occasionally in a 45/16, depending on the bike. And learning how to turn the pedals faster costs nothing compared to new cassettes and cranksets.

I'm not a fan of the huge jump in a 50/34, but thankfully the 53"-110" range on the big ring is all you need for Florida.

fietsbob

There not much climbing on Paris > Roubaix, the Pros use a 53-46 on that Race. (7t difference)



Florida, Never use the little gear ? replace the 34t with a 44t? 50-44 pair (6t difference)

Shuffleman

That is certainly different advice that I thought I would get. I am definitely going to try this on my next long ride on Sat. It will be interesting to see the results as I normally do not pay that much attention to those details. Thanks.

Andy Somnifac 

If we're comparing ourselves to what the pros do, especially in a punishing race like PR, we should all just hang up our bibs.

rms13

SRAM brings 1x to the road with new Force 1 and Rival 1 groupsets | Cyclingnews.com

fietsbob

no but northern France is just a little bit hillier than Florida , rather than a whole crankset swap, just use a bigger inner chainring..

that Sram 1 by is said to be a 44t, and the new cassettes a 10t high.

MikeyBoyAz

@OP, is your Athena 11 speed? If so, you will not even lose 16t if you go to 11-25.

11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25