Rennvelo

Question about crankset. I am looking for a 42/32, 44/32 or 46/32 crankset. Do such cranksets exist? Are they compatible with conventional setups? Or are there some technical limitations? 46/36 is no option, 36 would be too big.

Erik_A

Many triple MTB cranks were 42-32-22.

Get an older shimano XT square taper model and loose the inner 22 ring.

cobra_kai

There are a bunch of cranksets available now that are either 48/32 or 46/30, and a couple that are more flexible.

Praxis Alba/Zayante: 48/32 only
FSA SLK Modular Adventure: 48/32 or 46/30
FSA Gossamer Pro Adventure: 48/32
FSA Tempo Adventure: 46/30
Sugino 0X601D/0X901D: huge variety of combinations
White Industries VBC: huge variety of combinations
Rotor 3D30/3D+: 46/30

I recently purchased a Rotor 3D30 with 46/30 rings on ebay for an upcoming build and it seems really nice. It's very light because instead of bolting the chain rings to a spider they made the two rings a single piece and bolt it directly to the crank arm. It does mean you have to replace both rings at the same time and I don't think they are available directly retail but the rings are available and can be bolted to any rotor 3d30 or 3d+ crank. Or take offs sometimes pop up on ebay like the one I got. The white industries and Sugino are the most flexible in ring combinations but are very expensive. The FSA options seem pretty good at a range of price points and the Praxis cranks look really nice and I love their rings but are restricted to 48/32 only because they stick with a 110 BCD.

There also might be some other double cranksets out there that I'm missing. As Erik A said, another option is to purchase a triple and only use two of the rings, adjusting the chainline to work with some spacers.

Rennvelo

Thanks a lot for your response. What exactly woul I have to exchange if Ich take for example a FSA Tempo Adventure: 46/30? Only the crankset? Or other parts too? I thought that 32 is the lower Limit, because of hohle circle diameter (free translation from German). If money was now issue, would you recommend sub 32 cranksets. Or do they have severe disadvantages?

cobra_kai

You will most likely have to change the bottom bracket as well since the tempo adventure is JIS square taper. They can be found very affordably like this: Shimano UN55 Square Taper Bottom Bracket | Chain Reaction Cycles

Hole circle diameter is what I was referring to by BCD (bolt circle diameter). For a 110 BCD most manufacturers have been limited to a 34 tooth ring, but Praxis used some clever manufacturing to squeeze a 32 tooth ring in. For the other manufacturers they mostly use a 110 BCD for the large ring and smaller for the small ring, for example the tempo adventure has a 80 mm BCD for the small ring.

I haven't used the crank I purchased yet as I haven't received most of the other parts for the build yet but as far as disadvantages go the only thing would be a reduction in top end speed compared to a compact or semi compact setup since you are going from a 52 or 50 tooth large ring to 46. You can get an idea for how it will affect your gearing and speeds by using this website: Bicycle Gear Calculator

The other thing you would want to be careful with is if your frame has a braze on front derailleur that it can be moved low enough for the 46 tooth large ring. The tooth gap is the same for the sub compact as compact or semi compact so shifting between the rings should perform similarly.

curttard

I got the E5 Comp and I have to say that while it looks beautiful, it feels...fine. It feels no different to me than my Fuji Sportif road bike. I don't notice any improvement in ride quality due to all the fancy tech and geometry. I'm left thinking I should have saved myself $1800.

Rennvelo

Thank you very much for your answer. Now I understand the basic principle. It seems like I will become a bike techie :-).

I wonder why the big companies like Shimano or Sram do not offer solutions for smaller cranksets. There seems to be quit a demand for smaller cranksets. Perhaps some more riders would benefit from smaller rings without knowing that they would. My thinking is as follows. Correct me if I am wrong. If a recreational rider rides 1/3 slower than a Pro (30 compered to 45), then the the outer chainring of the recreational rider should have 1/3 smaller. So a 54 chainring for the Pros is the same as a 36 Chainring for the hobby rider. The same is true for downhill and tailwind situations. The Pros are faster, ergo the amateurs need smaller gears.

Rennvelo

I did some research and evaluated the options. I think I will go for the Praxis Alba or the SLK Modular Adventure 46/30. I I want the new crankset for my Roubaix. Had the Praxis Alba on my Diverge 2017 before it was stolen. I like the look of the Praxis Alba very much. Anyway, I would prefer 46/30 over 48/32. I will talk with my LBS. Gearing is very important for me. Much more important than better wheels for example. I am willing to spend some money for my prefered solutions. May be next year the wheels will become more important for me😊.

vinuneuro

It would be nice if the Praxis came in a 46/30. Their rings shift so well. I have the current four arm SL-K Light 50/34 and it's light and shifts very well. Looking at the Adventure version I'm just not convinced the same shift quality will be there- the rings look positively anorexic.

knucks

Diverge Comp E5






First two are with the Compass Steilacoom 700x38, the third is the Barlow Pass 700x38.

I wanted to get lighter wheels. I'll ride the stock ones and maybe find a take-off Roval set or something else. The Axis wheelset is light-enough (though I wanted to double check Spesh' weight..but I'll trust them for now). If I really wanted to have a light bike I should have got the carbon frame but I go through bikes too quickly and didn't want to spend $300 for the next-up or the $3k for the Comp.

I have a carbon S-works seatpost en route and probably will put my Toupe back on

knucks

oh and if anyone is wondering, that's a 56.

I'm 170cm but with a 83cm true inseam. All legs, short torso. I upgraded to Hover bars, using 15mm of spacers and the higher cap, and dropped to a 90mm 6degree S-Works stem. I wanted a bigger frame/more comfort.

curttard

Nice looking setup, knucks. Have you thought of going with cork/brown tape to complete the look?

panoply

To take the conversation in a less sporty direction, has anyone tried mounting a front rack to one of these? I was psyched to see mid fork eyelets on the cheaper models, but even for the original Diverge, I think Jan Heine in BQ is the only one I've ever seen with a front rack. I like the idea of using a rando bag and I like the idea of a modern gravel bike, so I'm wondering if a Diverge could make that happen.

knucks

wont work well. there is no fork crown mount.

Rennvelo

I talked with a guy from my LBS. According to him I can mount a 46 chainring on my Praxis Zayante 50/34. He will see which chainrings will fit. Would be nice if I do not have to change the entire crankset. Ich am mainly interested in smaller heavy gears so I ca ride on smaller rings in the back.

vinuneuro

All the Praxis rings are 110BCD except for 53/39 so they will definitely fit. But are you trying to do 46/34? I would be surprised if that would shift correctly. If you look at the back of the rings, they actually have in print that each of those rings must be used in the specified combination. On all manufacturers chainring sets, the pins/ramps/teeth profile are engineered for the specific combinations. Wickwerks also has some other unusual gearing options.

Rennvelo

Thanks for your reply. Apparently, the world is not that simple. Would have been too good! Will see if I find some compatibility information on the crankset. The Guy from the LSB is very competent. I am a bit surprised he did not tell me that it is not that simple to combine chainrings. I also posted a question to Praxis Works asking about using smaller outer chainrings. Will see what they answer. I am quite new to road cycling. I did mountainbiking for years. It is hard to understand why it is so difficult to get smaller gears on a road bike. Only few people can ride with 30mph. Road biking seems to stick more to tradition than MTB 😊. Although this is chainging with bikes like the Diverge. I appreciate forums like this. I learn a lot and get less lost in all the details.

(Have to switch off the auto correction for german language on my smartphone somehow)

vinuneuro

This was posted earlier in the thread regarding current subcompact cranksets:

Praxis Alba/Zayante: 48/32 only
FSA SLK Modular Adventure: 48/32 or 46/30
FSA Gossamer Pro Adventure: 48/32
FSA Tempo Adventure: 46/30
Sugino 0X601D/0X901D: huge variety of combinations
White Industries VBC: huge variety of combinations
Rotor 3D30/3D+: 46/30

Here are some more that are available:

Praxis: 46/36, 48/36
Wickwerks: 42/34, 44/34, 41/33, 46/36 (these are supposed to shift extremely well and used by many professional cyclocross racers)

With at least the Praxis and Wickwerks options you won't have to change the entire crankset, only the chainrings.

tinkerbike

He's just changing the 50 to a 46, and keeping the 34 inner, right?

If the 46 is meant to pair with a 34 it will shift just fine. It's only the outer ring that's important here. There are typically no ramps, pins, or shift gates on a 110 BCD 34 tooth inner ring - it's a simple chain ring.

vinuneuro

The Praxis 46 is only meant to pair with the 36.

Rennvelo

Thanks guys for your help. I am a bit lost. Yes, I would like to just change the outer ring. It seems like modularity is a relative thing 😊.

If I can not just change the outer ring, I will most probably go for the FSA SLK Modular Adventure 46/30 if my LBS assures it can be mounted (I will buy it via LBS, its more expensive but I like the small bike shops). Otherwise, I will go for Praxis Alba 48/32.

vinuneuro

There would be no problem mounting FSA SLK Adventure however I would expect the chainring stiffness and shift quality to be significantly better with the Praxis.

Do not buy the Praxis Alba! Since you already have Praxis Zayante crankset, all you need to buy is the Zayante 48/32 chainrings to use with your Zayante crankset (which also means it will be $150+ cheaper than the FSA).

Rennvelo

+1

I shoul transfer some money to you for this hint.

Rennvelo

Unfortunately you are right. Praxis confirmed that the rings are only compatible in pairs. So the chainrings are actual one piece...

curttard

How the hell does anyone with a CG-R seatpost get their saddle far enough forward to have a good knee-to-pedal position? Even at the saddle limit I'm way too far behind the pedals.