In my constant quest to make the hills a little easier on my 50-year-old knees and body, I'm considering going to a compact crank (currently have a double 53/39, Shimano 105 Octalink... Hollowtech)
I changed out the 12-23 cassette for a 12-27.
This did give me an extra gear-and-a-half lower which helped on the ride around Mt. HOreb this weekend (woof! Will the hills ever end?)

I've been reading/searching about Compact cranks on the forum, and wonder if this would be a great upgrade to the Felt, to adapt it's race-level gearing to my need for more on the low end. It seems as though I live in the lower 4-5 gears, jumping onto the big gear in the lower 2-3 gears at best. I think the two smallest cogs have to see any chain grease. Seems like a compact might actually give me more gears to use?

Can any of you chime in with your opines about compact cranks, why you went to one, and yoru riding habits. I'm not a racer... just like to put in lots of miles, and will be doing some supported touring... average about 14MPH over 60 miles with 17-18 tops on flat (yea yea... you gize are dropping me left and right)

Thanks!

From what you say, I can't think of any significant reason not to switch to compact.

Just remember to check the BB style before you buy. A lot of the FSA (maybe all? I'm not sure) are ISIS. Ritchey might be a good brand to look into, especially if you want a decent price.

Can't see why you shouldn't try one...

I bought and installed a Ritchey WCS compact a couple of weeks ago, replacing my 105 53/39 and still using the existing BB and front derailleur. Alfred E. Bike have it for $125.99. I price matched at Performance and applied a $20 off coupon... bargain!

I much prefered the shifting and q-factor of a double when I was buying my roadie, but wanted some lower gears for some of the climbs around here. The 34-27 is an great low climbing gear - low enough that I don't actually use it all that much. 50-12 is still plenty high enough for 50mph descents.

I'm 45 this year and have 3 bikes with standard doubles and 1 with a compact. I find the compact gives me a broader range of climbing gears without sacrificing too much in the other end. Thus, I use this bike more often when I know there will be hills involved. I think in the situation you described, a compact would be a great option. Maybe a standard 50/34 or 50/36 with a 12/25?

Good luck.

55/Rad

It may depend on how much money you're willing to waste. I picked up a close-out FSA CF compact and an ISIS BB for about $200 with the intention of having a little experiment.

I'm 51, relatively strong recreational rider, hate climbing but can get up most hills. No knee problems, but like you, I'm not 20 and indestructible. I wanted to build a climbing specific bike without a triple. Note, this bike is not my sole ride.

What I've found - had many problems with gearing and matching it up to my style (small ring spinner, not a masher.) Had to fix a problem with the 2nd and 3rd cogs rubbing on the inner side of the large chainring due to the geometry of the frame (required a 2mm spacer on driveside BB.) Also didn't like the 50T combinations as I was riding in the biggest three cogs - close to constant cross-chaining. Went to a 48T.

So now I have a 48/34 up front and a 12-29 in the back (also had to modify a Campy 13x29 to put a 12 on to regain the 13 when riding in the 34)

I ride almost all the time in the 48 - most of the 34T combos are too easy for anything but climbing. The upper end of the 48 combos put a lot of bend on the chain, so the FD adjustments need to be precise. More precise than a regular FD set up.

If this was my only bike, I'd take the compact off. While I can probably get used to the differences it requires in my riding style (more shifting, oddball combos) it would not be worth the work.

My sole piece of advice - spend some time looking closely at the gear combos you ride now and compare the ratios to where they would fall with a compact set-up. It may be that you end up on the outer edges of everything like I did and thus need to make some compromises.

I see your point Trogon. If the gears you normally like to use put you at the outer edges of the cassette it may not be best.

Honestly, I think it is a Vanilla or Chocolate decision. I think the 53/39 and compact are both good.

In fact, I can think of good arguments for either one now.

I'm a low gear spinner in my late forties. I like the 48 tooth big ring on my touring bike and the 42 on my do-all winter machine. I live in a hilly area, with poor road surfaces, plenty of mud and ice, amongst other hazards. My knees prefer the suppleness lower gears promote.

I still race long TT's and have ridden a lot of randonnees and etapes over the years. I have a race bike with a 53 ring on it but I do most training and commuting rides in gears between 65 and 80 inches. It works best for me to pedal a bit faster, whenever I think about changing up;-) It's not uncommon for me to ride all day in three or four gears, only.

I guess having ridden fixed in bad weather for 35 years has helped my spin?

Is any of this helping? Obviously, I think smaller rings are great for many riders in certain circumstances.............

We set Shannon's Roubaix up with the Campy Record compact drivetrain. Campy has a compact-specific front derailleur for both the Record and Chorus component levels, I believe. She is not a strong climber so I had the shop spec a 13-29 cassette on the rear. By my calculations, this gives her slightly more climbing gearing than the 30-tooth granny on the triple with the 12-25 that she had previously. She has not had any problem with rub or chain drop using the compact-specific FD, and she loves the shift quality.

I think the compact setup is great for anyone who doesn't hang out in the 53-11 gearing a lot. With a compatible FD, you can still have quality shifting with the same tight spacing on the rear and a wider overall gearing range -- all without the horrific weight burden of a triple. If I lived in the Hill Country or didn't have a bunch of good components already, I'd definitely go compact now. As it is, after checking out Shannon's setup, that'll be the way I go with the next purchase.

BTW -- What does being older have to do with climbing ability? If I had a dollar for everytime I got passed by some geezer, I'd have a Colnago for every month of the year. A couple years ago at the Ouachita Challenge, a friend and I were cranking up this hill and just about dying. We were desperately trying to keep up with this old guy who looked like Grizzly Adams on a bike. Everything about his look was retro except for the Sugar race bike underneath the braided steel legs. He was just about to drop our sorry young whippersnapper asses when he stopped to help some guy with a mechanical. After we passed him, Don looked over and said, "Hey I think that was Ed Hawkins. Wasn't he the NORBA Masters 60+ champion from last year?"

I see the value of this. I just printed off some figures from Sheldon Brown's gear calculator (53/39T vs.50/36T vs. 50/34T)... and mulled over them as I ate lunch in the break room. It's not like i take explicit notes as to what gears I ride in... I just have an idea where I hang out most (i.e. on the 4-5 biggest on the 39 and maybe the 2-3 biggest on my 53... so you can see where I'm at). I compared the gear inches of what I have to what I'd get, and tried to place that into the range of useable gears (crossover and all that rot).

I've only had one good ride (and it was HILLY) since I went to the 12-27 cassette... so I suppose I should give it more time... BUT... as YCookMD said:


which kinda describes me. When I had my Felt in for adjustment, the repair guy noted that my small cog was 'awful clean looking.'

I think when I ride next, I'll take note of EXACTLY which cog/gear I am in when I am pushing high speeds, and if I run out of low gear on hills... then compare that gear-inch to what I'd gain... Ijust don't see myself doing 38 MPH on the flats or hammering 50MPH going down hill (it's too much fun coasting and screaming my head off... and hanging on for dear life!)

oh yeah...
goes more to the choices some of us more modest riders of middle age make regarding tweaking the rig to suit our needs. I've seen those guys in the white beards and red jerseys blowing me off the road... they are scary-good. ONe guy out by Paoli, on Observatory Hill... sheesh... but he was waiting for me at the bottom with encouraging words

Just another data point.

I am 64, and just went from 50/40/30 to 50/34 through no fault of my own. Well, I OKed the deal to get my new bike quicker, and as long as it works out, I also got more for my money in the bargain with the carbon compact: https://perso.wanadoo.fr/masong4/casati.htm

I am in the foothills of the French Alps, and was worried about losing what amounted to about 2+ gears with the new setup. I decided that I would just suck it up, and have not had any problems. The only time I ever used the lowest set of gears anyway was on climbs like le Mont Ventoux, so a little extra from my body will make up the difference. Good incentive to improve strength too.

On the plus side, it is a simpler setup, better axle/crank arrangement (ISIS), and fewer things to worry about when riding.

That's exactly what I did, and was actually surprised about my habits. Had I been asked before I checked, I would've given a very different answer.

Well....I got the 50/34. I have two cog sets...11-27 and 11-23. I have two wheel sets on low spoke aro wheelset and a trad. 32 spoke set on box rims.

I ride to work:
To work I ride the 11-27 and box rims as the roads are bad downtown and I have a pack with stuff in it. After work I ride the long way home and train.
I ride on the weekends:
On the weekends it the aro wheel with the 11-23 as the boys (and one girl) like to ride hard and fast.
I ride long hills:
For the the aro or box does not really matter but I take the 11-27

And for all of that...I always have the set up I want. I could not really get this with a 53/39 and a 11-23 and 11-27 as the low end is not there.

Last, I spin in the high 90s most of the time and I pick the cog set that will allow me to spin given the
ride.

oh ya I 31 yrs old, 170 lbs, and avg speed is about 19mph or 20 mph given the day, ride about 150 miles a week or so.

So thats me.
For you:
if your going to change youe style and spin more and you are going to do good long hills then the compact will do you well. enjoy.

I switched to a FSA Carbon Compact and a 11/28 cassette about 3 month's ago and will never go back. A 50 x 11 is bigger than a 53 X 12 and a 34 x 28 is much smaller than a 39 X 25 so it works well for me. I am 52 and there are no flat rides around here, so the extra climbing gears is great especially on longer rides when I might be getting a little tired. By longer I mean 75 to 100 miles. Your not going to get the nice crisp shifting you get with a smaller cassette like a 11x23, but if your not racing it shifts just fine.

I changed from a 53-39 to a 50-34 compact crank last year for Cheese Country Hell Week held in Richland Center, WI. 8 days, 100+ miles/day, lots of climbing with grades up around 10%. It worked great. The only shortcoming is that I spun out and could not keep up with the tandems on some of the descents - my top gear was 50/12.

One drawback of the compact is that there is less overlap between the small and big ring. This means that you often end up shifting over more cogs whenever you change rings. With STI, this could be a pain. But I have downtube levers so this is not much of an issue for me.

Absolutely agree! What does it matter what gears anybody else uses or likes? Most new road bikes come with a Lance Armstrong gear set. How much sense does that make for a guy like me? I got myself a 50/34 crankset and found that I can now do most of my riding using the middle cogs of the cassette. I love it!

Like Trogon said, try to figure out what gears you need. Once you do that, your gear train choices will probably sort themselves out very quickly.

If having to click an STI lever more than once is your idea of a pain, I envy your life.

admittedly, it's an easier task with downtube shifters or campy ergopower.

If you switch to the FSA compact crank from a DA10 (52-39), do you have to take out links in the chain?

This is also considering you swap out the cogset from 12-25 to 11-23.

Probably. Assuming you're using a short cage rear derailleur you are going to be pretty close to your derailleur's capacity to wrap up chain. If your chain is longer than it needs to be, it might well be too long. When I installed mine I resized the chain using the big/big method and took out 1" (2 links) of chain.

Yep, that's what I figured, but don't know anyone in person who has gone through this yet. Thanks for you input.

Haha. I know. I don't know what the big fuss is about?

When you switch to 10s (from 9s) with a 53/39 and 12-25 you also have to make an extra click. (Even though the chainring overlap doesn't change the 10s cassette is "tighter"- thus the extra click involved)

Hmmmm...I think you and I the same person...I'm 50, live in Wisconsin, am a 'recreational' rider, and I did exactly what you're contemplating -- just last week. I switched from a 53/39 double (Shimano 105) to a 50/34 FSA Gossamer compact (with their MegaExo external bottom bracket) on my Gunnar. I run a 12-25 cassette,a and I've ridden about 150 miles with the new setup. It sounds like I ride a little more aggressively than you do. I average about 17-18mph for a solo ride of up to 40 miles, riding in the lower 20's on flats. Group rides are much faster. My initial impressions with the compact crank are:

- The shifting is fine (I lowered the 105 derailleur a bit and adjusted the cable.)
- I'm glad to have the lower gearing on really steep hills, but I find don't use the biggest cogs on 'regular' hills unless I'm really tired.
- I seem to need to move between the chainrings more frequently than when I had the 53/39. I'm not sure why yet...maybe it's the terrain I've ridden, or or my riding style. Or maybe it's because it's been so windy this week I've needed to change gearing as my route heads into or out of the wind. I'll need more miles to figure that out.
- It does give me more confidence that I will be able to deal with whatever is up the road.

The compact seems to give me about the same top and bottom gearing as my other bike which has a 53/39 crank and a 13-29 cassette (Campy). I began to realize last season that I was choosing to ride the Campy bike for most of my long rides, but now I feel that I can deal with whatever comes up around here on either bike. Since I rarely ride in 53/12, except for big downhills, I don't miss anything about the top end gearing. So far, I like the compact. I'm not sure I'm ready for mountains or the Horribly Hilly Hundred, but having lower gears that I can spin does help keep me fresh longer. I don't really see a downside to it.

overlap? I was running a 48/34 compact with a 11x25 cassette but my buddy wanted to try the 48 so now I'm running a 50/34 with a 12x25. the 48 was great because on the flats and rolling hills I would just leave it in the 48 and shifted the rear. with a 48 chainring, I could handle small hills and when the big climb came, I just put it into the 34 and and shifted the rear as required. compact is the way to go!

I had my LBS switch out my 52/42 to an FSA 50/34 on my 20 year old Trek with Shimano downtube shifters, rear is 12-28 six speed. On my new bike, Seven, I put Campy 50/34 with 13-29 in the rear. I do lots of hills, don't race, 51 yrs old. I tried a triple, but really did not like it, too many gears to think about,mushy shifting. I''m sure I lose a little off the top end, but that's not my concern. Getting up the hill is my issue, I can always get down. I really like both setups. I've set them up so the gearing is as low as possible with a double and it gives me lots of confidence in the hills. (Last weekend I did a 1000 foot climb over just 4 miles on the Trek, although it was a tough climb for me, I made it. I don't think I could have done it with the 42.) Anyway, for what it's worth I think compact is the way to go, so long as you're willing to give up a little on the top end.

If you think you might need "more" than what a compact & 26 low cassette can give, check out Sheldon's "custom" cassettes. Compare the ranges using his calculator.

-On my brevet bike I went from a full sized double crankset 53/39, to a 52/42/26 triple-and will be running his 13-30 "century special". -Picking it up today, hope to do some monster hills this weekend.

I'm 35, no knee problems-but get severe achilles inflamation if I have to grind/stand up hill while on long (6hr+) rides. I'd contemplated a compact, and perhaps will put one on my regular road bike.