i'm currently running 30x46 on a 94 bdc double mated with a 10 spd 13-29 rear.
would run 30x44 or 32x48 depending on what i'm doing, if i felt like changing rings.


i'm currently thinking about moving to 8 spd, as i just had a friend set up his cross bike so his camoy 10 ergolevers shift a shimano rear der. on an 8spd cassette.
8 spd is way cheaper to maintain than 10spd...!


i'm a fan of the double over the triple... and i'd probably set somthing up like nun's 26/42 if / when i swap out cranks again.

I use the inner rings of a 74/110 triple and a compact double derailleur as it has the capacity for the 26/42 shift. I find that the 42t ring is perfect for the majority of my riding. The 48/36 I once ran was the one where I often felt I was either pushing too hard or spinning away. The shift between front rings does require an accompanying rear shift, but it's not really an issue. I ride most of the time in the 42 and only use the 26 in the mountains. I've fond that I can go along at 15mph in 67" most of the day. I pushed this a little further by touring single speed a year ago and had a great time.

Yes, I suppose it shows what a parts snob I've become

The reason the larger cogs are held together is to prevent the splines that hold the cog onto the freehub from stripping. The torque applied at the cog-freehub interface is inversely proportional to the gear ratio.

24-36-48 Sugino crank with an 11-34 and an XT rear d on my Surly LHT. I didn't have any problem at all controlling things in steep climbs in Vermont with a full touring load in the 34-24 combo at oh, 4 mph for several miles. . . .and that was certainly better than walking and pushing that load. And yeah, I could be stronger, but I can't be younger any more.

Shimano freehub drivers are steel at least most of them, part of why XTR stuff is overdoing it on touring,
too many Titanium parts.
and aluminum ones on Campag's newest things , touring is quite an off label application.

no worries mate, I was responding to your comment:

explain please.
how is the same ratio more or less efficient in one size or the other?
they both yield the same speed @ the same rpm.
aside from the wear on the smaller cog (pulling on the surface area of teeth of a 12 versus a 16)...how does it change things?

and I thought my post would be right after yours, but there were three others inbetween...

really, all I was doing was trying to answer your "efficiency" question. and how I believe keeping the chainline straightish and off the small cogs on the cassette is inherently more efficient than not.

twas all

Thanks for the "subcompact" double info, all.

I hear you there. The factory waranty on my knees is long gone. Besides that, "training" means boarding an AMTRAK by my way of thinking, and biking is only for when I have enough time to get there without redlining my heart rate.

Luxlumis, I hope you already got what you were looking for out of this thread- sorry for my part in the hijacks. You can have it back now

yes, interesting compact and subcompact info, will keep it in mind if I ever get one (tho Im still happy with a triple)

as for the "I could be stronger, but I can't be younger any more"--- great line.
Closer to 50 than 40 makes me appreciate that more and more.

Amtrak-funny.

ditto to Mr. LightCandle, no matter what gearing you use, have fun out there at whatever speed.

This may all may be true, but we have been taking cogs apart for years. Those three little rivets don't do much for structural integrity. Some are also held together with three 1-2 mm bolts. Just unscrew them and they come easily apart or drill out the rivets and pull them apart. I've taken them off to service my hubs, and after years of riding there is virtually no wear on the splines. I think the teeth will wear out long before the splines. Finding good 8 spd 34 tooth cassettes is a challenge. I took the 34 tooth cog from a mega-range cassette and combined it with a 30 tooth cassette that I had. You do have to settle for the lower end cassettes to mix and match, but that has not been a problem.

I also tend to think the alloy carriers are designed to save weight by reducing the amount of steeel vs. alloy. There are 9 steel splines on a Shimano cog. I'm not concerned about stripping as long as I keep my lock ring properly torqued. How do you think Sheldon Brown and Harris cyclery made up those non-stock cassettes? They slap a 30 tooth cog on an an older Ultegra 11-26 or 27 and remove one of the smaller cogs on the other end, and call it their "Century".