bikex10

Do you think that the new 10spd, particulary in the 12-27 cassette combo, cause the 50/36 compact cranks to go away?
I can see people going to the 12/27 and not lose the close ratio and still have the climbing gear that they were striving for with the compact.
Whats your opinion?

80vette

No

WheresWaldo

Depends on what you are climbing. I have two road bikes set up virtually the same, one with a compact (50/34) and another with a standard road crank (53/39). I have one set of wheels that I swap between the two bikes that has a 12-27 cassette. When it is not so hilly the road crank with the 12/27 seem to be enough, but when training on mountian rides the compact with the 12-27 means the difference between finish just worn out, or finishing with my legs cramping up.

My experience above was from comparing some rides between 75-85 miles with approximately 7,000-7,300 feet of climbing, with some grades as steep as 18%. In both cases the only difference was the compact crank. When I ride around home, there are not climbs steeper than 6-9%, and even those are really short. The compact and 12-27 is just overkill in those cases and I never use the 34/27 combination, even on days that I am too tired to ride hard. On many local rides I simply use the compact with an 12-23 without any problems.

R900

+1

GuitarWizard

I have a 50/36 and a 12-27 on one of my bikes, and it's my favorite setup actually.

merlinextraligh

12/27 10 speed has been around at least 4 years now, and the compact revolution has really taken hold in that 10 years.

I bought a compact because 39/27 isn't low enough for some rides.

terry b

10 speed is new? I've had it on a Campy Chorus bike since February 26, 2000. With a 13x29 cassette no less that is even more hill friendly than 12x27.

So I guess the answer is "no", there have been ample options for a long, long time and yet compact has managed to jump species from MTB to Road and thrive accordingly. Unless people universally get sick of the dimwitted gear combos on compact, it's going to be around - forever.

GuitarWizard

How does a 50/36 offer "dimwitted gear combos"?

terry b

I knew if I sent that one out there someone would bite.

Now, we're talking my personal experience here, I'm not trying to state universal truths or anything like that.

Normally I ride 39x13, 39x14 and 39x15. To get that on a 36, I'd have to use 12,13 and 14. 12 is a cross chain (and it rubs on the inside of the 50) so that requires a switch up to the 50 and the 16 cog. More work than necessary for me. Given the choice, I stay off the big ring as much as possible. I mean unless I'm going downhill, why bother?

It's all a matter of riding style, the 34 was far, far worse and I ended up switching the whole thing out to 50x38 which means it was more or less a waste of my time and money. I can get up just about any hill with a 12x25 cassette and a 53/39, and I keep a 13x29 in reserve if I know I'm going to be riding up walls. They might work for 99% of the riding population, but I was less than impressed. For me, compact was a dimwitted choice.

GuitarWizard

You "ride" or "climb" in a 39x13, 14, or 15? Couldn't really tell from your post....

At any rate, for my terrain, the 50x36 is perfect....and I can even climb some smaller hills in the big ring, so it's all good. Helps out quite a bit with racing it seems from the two I've done.

terry b

I ride almost all the time in those gears. I climb in 39x21,22,23,25. But as I said, I do have a 50x38 with a 13x29 if it's going to be a day in the mountains. 39x29 is the same as a 36x27 which is the best you can do with Shimano and that chainring.

I'm sure 50x36 works great for many people, just not for me. 50x34 is even worse, I spent all my time in the big cogs with the 50 just to ride comfortably.

I think a lot of people jumped on the compact bandwagon and didn't really consider their style or the ratios. And got a big surprise. I was certainly one of those. That's really the source of my "dimwitted ratios" comments.

ac29593

I agree with you, and I was one of the advocates for the compact crank until my experiences with them. I think it really depends on where you ride. I still do not have a 53 as a big ring, since I am def. not a masher and do not like big gears. But my small ring is a 40T. When I tried using a 50/36 or 34, even a 48/36 or 34, I was in cross chain hell. My advice, which is working wonders for me, is to have a usable small ring in the 42 to 39 range, and have a decent size cog at the back of your cassette depending on what you need for a bailout gear. Now I am constantly riding in the middle of the cassette, front of the big ring, or back of the small ring. I am still riding a compact crank 110, but could have done the same setup with a standard double. If I ever needed a smaller ring than a 39 I would go triple.

Psimet2001 

I know I have said I'm not exactly thrilled with my compact, but I think after I dial in the final gearing selection it will be amazing.

That said I will always ride a 53/39 on my main rig - just no climbing around here. Now I ride that rig with a 12-27. It gets me low enough to tackle 99.9% of all of the "hills" we have in these parts. Usually only using the 27 cog as a final bailout.

I will be buying a Shimano compact to run with my 12-27 for the Horrible Hilly Hundreds ride this year. I think the 34X27 will be a wonderful bailout to have in the arsenal.

Hocam

trrrrriple

Psimet2001 

Nah...too expensive. Requires new crank, RD, FD, and shifter...

JayC

I have a 50/34 on both bikes with either 12/27 or 11/26 out back. I only use the small ring for climbing so what's down there is kind of irrelevant to me unless Im going up a big hill then Im glad its there. I spend almost all my time on the big ring and since I like to spin, the compact gives me more choices, especially on rolling terrain. I rarely find myself coming off the big ring except for the worst climbs.

7.rider

I started road riding about 1 & 1/2 years ago. I really have only been been riding about 3 years (started for health reasons on a hybrid and hard tail mountain bike). Anyway, I started with a 53/39 - 12/27 setup. And although I could climb with this setup, I was curious about the compact crank. So I put a little thought into it. First I noticed I was never in the 53/12 combo, so I did a little math and realized the 50/12 was a bigger gear than the 53/13, not by much, but still a bit bigger. So in theory, the comapct should not slow me down and I would get the advantage of easier climbing with the 34/27 (50/34 compact). Finally, the compact setup has 1 less duplicate gear. So I replaced the 53/39 with the 50/34.

Two observations: First I am in the big chainring much more, a positive as it has made me a stronger rider. Second, the 16 tooth jump from 50 to 34 or 34 to 50 is a big jump and many times I need to double shift, i.e., casstte first, chainring second, a slight, slight for me, negative.

I like my setup, I can still pull at a nice steady 21-23 mph pace, get to spin up the rolling hills of Western Northern Virgina in the big ring and have the comfort of being able so slip down into the 34 for any agressive grades when I need to. But, I do know a few riders who like their 53/39, some beat me on a realitively flat road...but I love passing them on the hills when I can...oh, did I mention I'm 57 going on 58 in June?

Silver Litz

I have the Shimano R700 50/34 and 12/27 cassettes on two bikes, and I love it. I like staying in the the big ring except for tough hills.