Bike Gremlin

Can't argue with that.

After passing 30, my muscles seem to give in when pushing them too much. So in order to make long steep climbs with a loaded bike, especially when already exhausted, gear ratio below 1 is welcome. However, still don't have problems with 2 tooth jumps in gearing, especially above 15 teeth.

colnago62

Everyone's legs are different. I don't notice the jump between 17 and 19 because I can turn those gears at a high cadence. I notice 17 to 15 a lot more because my cadence is a little lower in 50 gear. The 17 I will use for floating in a pace line and the 15 more for pulling through.

woodboy

With a compact crank you'll need the 11, especially on group rides.

deacon mark

I have a compact on one bike and yes I need the 11. I have a 12 on the standard double but I would not mind an 11 on it either. If I had and 11 spd I would use 11-28 or 30 in a std. dbl.

rpenmanparker 

So you are saying your group cranks it up on the flats to more than 33 mph? And you can't manage more than 100 rpm to keep up with them for those short periods? Whoa, Dude!

You must have missed what I posted about pros in the '80s and '90s being stuck with 54/13. I can't imagine how they managed.

rpenmanparker 

There is a tide of some serious BS rising fast around here. Save your watches, my friends.

emveezee

So much to behold in this thread. Cat 4 super sprints, and here, a rider for whom 53x11 is not enough, and yet, the handlebar drops are not visible, out of the top of the photo. The watts needed to spin out 53x11 while sitting straight up!

woodboy

No. I'm just saying if you want to ride with others who have a 53 up front WITHOUT have to churn out over 100 RPM (which, by the way, I can't in a big gear) then you'll probably need an 11. This is the general consensus, at least it was when compact cranks first came into widespread use.

BillyD

Oh yes. Serious pissing contest territory.

kbarch

Who said anything about 100 rpm, or 54/anything? It is easier to modulate ones speed at a higher cadence, but, speaking for myself, this isn't always such a good thing - sometimes it's TOO easy. This is when I find a lower cadence helpful; just as one doesn't want to tap the brakes in a pace line, one doesn't want to punch the gas pedal, either, so to speak.

If someone were to study group riding habits and find that riders in B groups use their smallest cogs more often than those in A groups, I wouldn't be the least surprised - simply because B riders tend to maintain lower cadences.

D1andonlyDman

The De Rosa I just bought has a 53/39 crank, and an 11-23 9 speed cassette. I'm not full of BS, so I'm planning on swapping the cassette for a much more sensible for 56-year-old me 13-26 cassette for use with that crank.

anotherbrian

I used to spin out the 52/11 ... sprints, 1% declines. Doesn't happen so much with the Q-Ring 54T.

And for all the bellyaching about 2 tooth gaps ... go ride 9 speed MTB 11-34T gearing for awhile, and you'll find your legs are more than capable of making up the difference.

BoSoxYacht

it's not about what I can or cannot do, it's about what works best for the area in which I ride. For me, an 11t cog is unnecessary, and so is anything bigger than a 25t cog.

Fastfwd01

My new bike came with a semi compact and 12-25 that I asked to have exchanged for a 12-28. They had an 11-28 in stock, but I felt like I wanted the 12-28 as my more climbing oriented Dura Ace cassette (those things are insanely expensive). I've considered an Ultegra mid cage to accommodate an 11-32 option too, but I haven't pursued it.

I've only ridden one sort of hilly event so far on the 12-28 and I could have used an 11 on a few downhill sections, but it didn't hurt me too bad to top out at mid 30's mph. Maybe I would have hit the top 30's or 40's briefly with it and had a nice stat for Strava or something, but it didn't make a huge difference for the event.

I'm going to try Mt. Lemmon later next month and I might miss that 11 on that downhill (and the 11-32 on the uphill of more consequence).

BoSoxYacht

Mt. Lemmon AZ?

PepeM

A 50-12 combo should get you to 40mph.

Fastfwd01

Yes. I know it's a gradual climb, but I'm still not totally used to this semi compact with the 12-28 vs my old compact and 11-32.

BoSoxYacht

It's a nice ride, but 8200ft in December can be less than ideal for cycling.

colnago62

Clearly you know your needs. I don't understand the feeling of some that there is a correct answer to this question that applies to everyone. I am pretty sure I wouldn't miss the 11. When I was racing, I used a 52 up front and a 13-2x. I preferred cadence over large gears. I still do. I used to ride fixed gear on the road with the team. We would go flying down hill 72 inch gears.

BoSoxYacht

in the 80s + 90s I used a 42/52 with a 13-23t freewheel, but now a 12-25t cassette and either a compact 36/50 or 39/53 standard crankset works for me.

My area of AZ(NW Phoenix) is pretty flat, so there's little need for an extreme range of gears. Sometimes the small chainring goes unused for months.

surfinguru2000

I'm running compact up front (50/34) with a 12-28 cassette. Now I'm not claiming to be some "Billy Bad-A$$" or anything, but I have quite a few rides where I'm spinning out at 50/12. Yes, it's downhill and yes I might be a little crazy to be going at that clip for being 47, but yes, I do really use my smallest cog to go faster. (That's ~38mph @ ~118rpm on a -6.5% grade)

FWIW, I moved from an 11-28 to get a little tighter spacing since all my rides have a decent amount of climbing and thought I'd give it a go. However, once this cassette is done, I'm going back to an 11-28.

cosmicfour

I live in 2D land (flat land) I have an 11-28 never have I used the 11 or 12. 13 yes but rare occasions.

andr0id

He didn't have a tail wind or a downhill.

I run 50/36 x 11-23. I don't use the 50x11 on every ride, but certainly every 3rd or 4th ride.

We'll sprint across the Granger Dam and get to 35mph+ if there's a bit of north wind. And that's a perfectly flat stretch of road.

chasm54

Well, bully for you. But sprinting up to 35 mph with a following wind is not the same as spinning a 53/11 "with ease". And really, it adds nothing to the debate about the usefulness of the 11 sprocket, because a 53/12 at only 100 rpm, which is a perfectly ordinary cadence, will get you 35mph.

BoSoxYacht

These people that are "spinning out" a 50x12, I have to ask "what is your cadence"?