Standard vs. Compact Gearing
03-04-13 | 02:23 PM
#26
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03-04-13 | 02:23 PM
#27
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From: Escondido, CA
The middle to south shore of Long Island is flat
The north shore is very hilly
No mountains but many hills that are 200-300 feet for less than one mile
I can go up hills pretty easily
I just feel many times that I am pushing too hard a gear
Not going 90rpm but 10-15 less and grinding it out
The north shore is very hilly
No mountains but many hills that are 200-300 feet for less than one mile
I can go up hills pretty easily
I just feel many times that I am pushing too hard a gear
Not going 90rpm but 10-15 less and grinding it out
If that's the situation, compact will make hills less of a challenge on long rides and it will make you more capable to do long rides in more mountainous areas.
03-04-13 | 02:32 PM
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Last edited by MetalPedaler; 03-04-13 at 02:39 PM.
03-04-13 | 02:33 PM
#30
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We do have a few hillls that take 5 minutes or so to climb. On those I can climb pretty well in a 39-21 or 25 (never go into 28)
But same thing is that I feel I am muscling to do it vs. a nice cadence (even if it is 10-15 below cadence on flats)
Can't help feeling that I climb well because I am light and push myself rather than having a nice gear to ride in
Plus on flats I am pushing too hard a gear
If this is indeed true then the big ring is not helpful and compact may be the way to go (keep up higher cadences overall)
Or could just ride in big ring with tighter cassette on flats and small ring with enough flexibility on the high side
But same thing is that I feel I am muscling to do it vs. a nice cadence (even if it is 10-15 below cadence on flats)
Can't help feeling that I climb well because I am light and push myself rather than having a nice gear to ride in
Plus on flats I am pushing too hard a gear
If this is indeed true then the big ring is not helpful and compact may be the way to go (keep up higher cadences overall)
Or could just ride in big ring with tighter cassette on flats and small ring with enough flexibility on the high side
03-04-13 | 02:37 PM
#31
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I would start out with just trying lower gears and see if you're able to spin fast enough that way. Maybe start out by focusing on cadence up hills to keep it in the 90 rpm range and see how it feels.
You might find that you can accomplish the cadence you want with your existing equipment.
You might find that you can accomplish the cadence you want with your existing equipment.
03-04-13 | 02:40 PM
#32
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We do have a few hillls that take 5 minutes or so to climb. On those I can climb pretty well in a 39-21 or 25 (never go into 28)
But same thing is that I feel I am muscling to do it vs. a nice cadence (even if it is 10-15 below cadence on flats)
Can't help feeling that I climb well because I am light and push myself rather than having a nice gear to ride in
Plus on flats I am pushing too hard a gearIf this is indeed true then the big ring is not helpful and compact may be the way to go (keep up higher cadences overall)
Or could just ride in big ring with tighter cassette on flats and small ring with enough flexibility on the high side
But same thing is that I feel I am muscling to do it vs. a nice cadence (even if it is 10-15 below cadence on flats)
Can't help feeling that I climb well because I am light and push myself rather than having a nice gear to ride in
Plus on flats I am pushing too hard a gearIf this is indeed true then the big ring is not helpful and compact may be the way to go (keep up higher cadences overall)
Or could just ride in big ring with tighter cassette on flats and small ring with enough flexibility on the high side
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 03-04-13 at 07:18 PM.
03-04-13 | 03:07 PM
#33
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My wife and I used to have this discussion every time we visited my family in Maryland. She grew up in Oregon and doesn't recognize anything as a mountain that isn't permanently snow-capped. She snickers whenever we drive by the sign saying we've reached the peak of Big Savage Mountain (2982 feet).
Of course, that doesn't mean some of those hills aren't steep.
I don't understand why people are so resistant to triples.
Of course, that doesn't mean some of those hills aren't steep.
I don't understand why people are so resistant to triples.
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03-04-13 | 03:14 PM
#34
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If for example I am in the large ring and don't use the 11 or 12 why have them?
Or if I ride in small ring with 13, 14, 15 on cassette why have big ring?
03-04-13 | 03:20 PM
#35
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Some people do eliminate one of the front chainrings or get along with a narrow range of gears if they find they never need the full range.
03-04-13 | 03:32 PM
#36
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Having had standard, compact, and 50/36 cranks, I switched to a single 46 tooth ring on one bike, and find very little practical difference between any of them. The 46 tooth stinks on grades over 10%, or rollers where you are keeping your speed over 30 the whole time, but in general, is not significantly different than the doubles.
03-04-13 | 04:51 PM
#37
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03-07-13 | 09:49 PM
#38
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See Mike Sherman's gear calculator. Here's a link with your 11-28 cassette and 53,50,and 34 chainrings. You can compare 50 and 53 here. (Ignore the 'bookmark this page' popup--just click OK, it doesn't actually save it)
The 50 to 53 difference is about 1 mph for any given cog. See the Speed over RPM chart near the middle, with the 53 chainring speeds in blue and 50 chainring in black. You can change any setting, and the charts update on the fly.
The 50 tooth chainring has slightly closer gear speed changes from 15 mph to the low 20s. So that would probably work well for you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I run much lower gears, 50/34 chainrings and 13-29 cogs. But I don't really miss the 50-12 or 50-11 combinations. I just coast downhill if the speeds are over 33-35 mph.
I'll even use the lowest 34-29 on a 5% grade, spinning at 90-95 rpm.
I use the cadence reading on my bike computer a lot (more than I expected!), mainly to remind me to stay in the mid-90s if possible. It's easy for me to drift down into the low 80s if I'm not paying attention. If I'm doing a easy cruise, then I'll stay in the low 80s, since I'm hardly pushing the pedals.
I don't do "that" much flat road riding. There's usually at least a small grade. So I'm always shifting gears, even for a short change of grade, just a few pedal revolutions.
Good chainring and cog selection depends on what typical flat road speeds you hit, and what cadence you like. I like small gear speed differences at my cruising speeds, so I can shift into the exact cadence I want.
When you need a replacement cassette, maybe you should try a 12-27 cassette, instead of the 11-28. You would add the 16 cog. At 90 rpm, that cog is 21.9 mph on a 50 chainring, or 23.3 mph on a 53 chainring. You'd only lose some top end speed in the mid to upper 30s. (You can add the 16 cog to the Gear Calculator, showing 11 gears, to see how it might help. Add it to the end of the list, it'll be inserted in the correct spot.)
That's pretty typical for climbing. I'm often in the 70-80 rpm range, and have gone down to 32 rpm (about 1 pedal stroke per second) on very steep hills. Most riders don't have low enough gears to do 90+ rpm on real grades.
The 50 to 53 difference is about 1 mph for any given cog. See the Speed over RPM chart near the middle, with the 53 chainring speeds in blue and 50 chainring in black. You can change any setting, and the charts update on the fly.
The 50 tooth chainring has slightly closer gear speed changes from 15 mph to the low 20s. So that would probably work well for you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I run much lower gears, 50/34 chainrings and 13-29 cogs. But I don't really miss the 50-12 or 50-11 combinations. I just coast downhill if the speeds are over 33-35 mph.
I'll even use the lowest 34-29 on a 5% grade, spinning at 90-95 rpm.
I use the cadence reading on my bike computer a lot (more than I expected!), mainly to remind me to stay in the mid-90s if possible. It's easy for me to drift down into the low 80s if I'm not paying attention. If I'm doing a easy cruise, then I'll stay in the low 80s, since I'm hardly pushing the pedals.
I don't do "that" much flat road riding. There's usually at least a small grade. So I'm always shifting gears, even for a short change of grade, just a few pedal revolutions.
Good chainring and cog selection depends on what typical flat road speeds you hit, and what cadence you like. I like small gear speed differences at my cruising speeds, so I can shift into the exact cadence I want.
When you need a replacement cassette, maybe you should try a 12-27 cassette, instead of the 11-28. You would add the 16 cog. At 90 rpm, that cog is 21.9 mph on a 50 chainring, or 23.3 mph on a 53 chainring. You'd only lose some top end speed in the mid to upper 30s. (You can add the 16 cog to the Gear Calculator, showing 11 gears, to see how it might help. Add it to the end of the list, it'll be inserted in the correct spot.)
That's pretty typical for climbing. I'm often in the 70-80 rpm range, and have gone down to 32 rpm (about 1 pedal stroke per second) on very steep hills. Most riders don't have low enough gears to do 90+ rpm on real grades.
03-07-13 | 09:57 PM
#39
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I don't understand the compact popularity. Now I don't live in the mountains, but if I did, I would want the gearing to blast down them and.
03-07-13 | 10:48 PM
#40
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1.shift gears
2. spin faster
3. **********
4. Profit
seriously, your issue seems pretty easy to fix. Also i like my 39 because when im in a flat area i can spin all day going 40kph. its pretty funny to be in the middle of a paceline just going along in your 39/14 (as you know you dont want to go to the 13 or the 12, too much chain rub). (just to let you know that was what most of my training at my winter training camp was. Spinning all day wth a gorup just working in miles).
2. spin faster
3. **********
4. Profit
seriously, your issue seems pretty easy to fix. Also i like my 39 because when im in a flat area i can spin all day going 40kph. its pretty funny to be in the middle of a paceline just going along in your 39/14 (as you know you dont want to go to the 13 or the 12, too much chain rub). (just to let you know that was what most of my training at my winter training camp was. Spinning all day wth a gorup just working in miles).
03-07-13 | 11:09 PM
#41
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How fast do you want to go and still pedal? The biggest gear on my compact is a 50/11 combination, so I spin out at around 45 mph. When I'm going that fast, I'm in a low tuck on a steep grade, and pedaling would be useless to maintain or increase speed.
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03-07-13 | 11:20 PM
#42
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the only issue with compacts is that the 34 is far to small for regular riding (i.e. non mountainous riding). you're always stuck between your big ring and your small ring, where as the 39 can be ridden at much higher speeds.
03-08-13 | 09:25 AM
#43
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39 seems to be some sort of sweet spot! As a weak, new rider, I thought 39 from a triple was going to be a problem- but on my first ride on the standard, I quickly fell in love with the 39.
03-08-13 | 09:31 AM
#44
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That's probably because the 39 isn't any different from the middle ring of your old triple. The most common middle rings on triples these days are 39 and 42.
03-08-13 | 09:37 AM
#45
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That is why I said earlier that crank size only matters, IMO, at the very largest end and very smallest end. Not that I like the 16 tooth jump of a compact, but I have found no practical difference.
03-08-13 | 09:43 AM
#46
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True...the middle ring on my triple is a 40....but yet, on the triple, I'd spend a lot of time in the 30. (Told ya I was weak!). Last few rides on my triple, in preparation for getting the standard, I'd keep it in the 40- and I wasn't able to make it up the worst climb of my ride. I figured I'd be walking the standard up it....but amazingly, come the first time I rode the standard, I mae it up that climb, with ooommph to spare.
03-08-13 | 09:46 AM
#47
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I'll second that! That's been my experience, too- only going from a triple to a standard double. Didn't even think I'd be strong enough yet to ride the standard on the hills here.....but I took her out for the first time, and not only made it up all the hills...but had the best performance EVER! Going to the standard has instantly made me a better cyclist.
03-08-13 | 10:07 AM
#48
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With wind it's difficult to stay in the little ring.
03-08-13 | 10:12 AM
#49
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