JBerman

Should I be worried as someone who hasn't rode in a few years for my bike to have 53/39 with 11-25? My old road bike was a compact setup with 11-28. Thoughts?

PepeM

Florida? You'll be fine.

JBerman

Lol. We have some hills. Plus Horrible Hundred.

Someday I'll do Six Gap! Not anytime soon, but "someday" lol

Barrettscv 

It depends on your preferred cadence range. If you like to keep the legs spinning more than 90 rpm, you might find yourself using the 39t chainring 90% of the time.

If you're more of a masher, staying below 90 rpm, you will be happier.

Consider a 12-30 cassette if you're using a 10-speed Shimano cassette.

Doge

I try to not buy 11 for me - the old guy and kid the racer. Kid is off of 52X14 max and a 50X12 is fine/more than enough. Me - I'll coast before pedaling.

But an 11 is a real small cog and the tension is pretty high. I think a 12T, even a 13T (if you can find a good one) is a bettter choice.

Trsnrtr

Dont stray too far from the Withlacoochee till your legs get better and then mosey towards Clermont as your strength progresses. You should be fine.

JBerman

The Withlacoochee is my go to for solo rides as its right down the street from my house. I used to do group street rides in Ocala so I plan on picking that up. I should be able to jump in pretty quick but I'll start off relatively easy just in case.

Trsnrtr

The riding that I've done around Ocala was fairly flat, too. I'll bet that you'll be fine. You'll be doing Sugarloaf before you know it.

Wileyrat

My vintage Team Fuji has a 53/42 with a 13/26 freewheel. I do ok on that in Tucson when I take it out.

JBerman

True it's definitely not any crazy hills! Thanks again!

zymphad

In Florida, you should be cranking 56-11 at all times.

Trsnrtr

Florida is pretty flat but not flat everywhere. Definitely not "56-11 at all times."

justin70

Depends on your f@t@ss to giantquads ratio

lsberrios1 

I have a 53/39-11/25 setup on my tarmac and i believe i made a mistake. The bike needs an 11-28 cassette to be a happy climbing bike. I thought i'd appreciate the smooth shifting of a more straight cassette but i find myself looking for an extra gear to spin my legs. I did that because back in the past i used to ride a 52/42-11/21 on the ga gaps but did it forgeting how much it actually sucked. On any terrain with more than 50ft per mile i'd go 11/28

ClydeTim

Shouldn't be a problem. I did a 114 mile ride with 12,000 ft of climbing (all in the first 72 miles) and a 100 mile timed event (4 times/different years) with 10,000 ft on a standard 53/39-12/25.

I'm a 230 pound Clyde. If a big guy can ride a standard, so can you!

Dean V

A question only you can answer!
Ride it and you will soon know if it is a problem or not.

Drew Eckhardt 

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Yes. I'd be upset at the missing 18 cog. Suitable road riding cassettes are

8 speed: 12-19, 13-21, or 14-23
9 speed: 12-21, 13-23, or 14-25
10 speed: 12-23, 13-25, or 13-26
11 speed: 11-23 or 12-25

39x25 is a low enough gear to get a fit rider over everything in the Colorado Rockies, and you're in Florida.

merlinextraligh

Unless your very fit, you'll want lower gears for Six Gap.

I've done Six Gap and Brasstown with a 39/27 and would have liked to have lower.

One of my former coaches, who raced professionally, did Six Gap with a 39/25 and regretted not choosing lower gearing.

As for the Horrible Hundred, depends on your fitness and riding style. There are a lot of steep short climbs on the Horrible Hundred, most notably Sugarloaf, but they're all short. If you attack them hard with momentum, most can be done in the big ring, certainly doable in a 39-25.

If you're sitting back pacing yourself up those climbs, depending on fitness, and what cadence you like, you may find yourself wanting a bit lower gearing.

merlinextraligh

Another way to address this is that you've essentially lost the two lowest gears off your 34/27.

So did you find yourself needing those two gears? That's your answer.

merlinextraligh

FTFY. Admittedly most of the big climbs in Colorado are not that steep, but getting over many of the big passes at 10,000-12,000 feet above sea level is going to be a big ask for most recreational cyclists with a 39-25.

Take a 170lb cyclist with an FTP of 275, giving a w/kg of 3.5, which would be very fit for an average cyclist. ( Competitive Cat 3 on the E Wang chart) You would need that power to weight ratio to go fast enough to turn 39-25 at 70 rpm. Figure in a 10% drop in power at 10,000 feet and we're under 60 rpm at threshold. Then consider that many of these climbs are over an hour long, so the sustainable power is going to be below FTP (certainly sustainable repeatable power if your doing more than one pass in the day). is even lower. So assume 10% below FTP as more sustainable for a 3000-5000 vertical foot climb, and we're down close to 50rpm at threshold.

Start with an FTP of 3 w/kg, which is still quite good for a recreational cyclist, and you're busting ass to grind out a cadence in the 40's, not a great idea on climbs going on for hours.

Anyone that can do a long climbing ride in Colorado on a 39/25, either has an excellent power to weight ration, is grinding out a vvery low cade3nce, or a combination of both.

superdex

yes and no. depends on your definition of "fit" --I ride around 2k miles a year (and yes, I know that's low by some standards), consider myself "fit," and a 39x25 doesn't work for me on roads like High Grade and Evans. I ride a 34x25 on the steep stuff around here (which, to be fair, thanks to slowplows, only approaches 10-12% for any length of time. Otherwise it's all 6-8% max). I'm also a 190lb clyde-light.

39x25 for the 27mi, 7k ft slog up Evans would be awful, at least for my knees.


FL, though, 11-28 on a standard should be plenty all day, every day.

merlinextraligh

I did the entire length of the US Pro Challenge course a few years ago with the CTS Group. The group was mostly riders at the Cat 2-3 level. The recommended minimum low gear was 34/28.

At the time, I was in good shape for me, with an FTP of 3.7 w/kg. While I didn't always use the 28, I was certainly glad I had it at times.

superdex

34/28 is greatness bail-out gear, like day 3 of the Tour of Colorado and just the thought of another 12k ft pass hurts.

Seattle Forrest

I had a 53/39 and an 11-25 for years in Seattle. You won't have a problem in Florida.

fietsbob

The Released Boa Constrictors , Alligators and Sharks may be more of an issue.

then there is Bubba in the Pickup truck..





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