wheelinthai

I'd be grateful for your opinion on this matter. I've been told it's all I'll ever need, and to work up my cadence, instead of reaching for 11t sprocket. I know it's different strokes for different folks, but I'd like to hear your opinion and advices. Many road bikes do come with 53-39 and 11-23 cassette.

RollCNY

I am not a racer, but do very fast club rides. Yes, 50x12 is sufficient, IMO. Learn to spin.

zymphad

Your legs must be strong at this point. I can't spin 50 12T.

rpenmanparker 

Considering that the pros back in the day were not significantly slower on a 54/13 than their counterparts today, I would say of course a 50/12 is fast enough for club racing. The ratio is a little higher on the 50/12. And don't forget you can always have a 50/11 if you wish. The secret then and now is the same: being able to pedal over a broad range of cadences. That is a skill worth developing for anyone wishing to race at any level.

ColnagoC40

Not sure what inter club level is?

Most of us who ride competitive use a 53/39 in front.

For racing I change cassettes, (10 speed) relatively flat 11-21, flat with a few rolling hills 11-23, hilly course 12-25, for those five mile 10% gradients 12-27

If you are below cat 4 level, a compact is a good idea.

RollCNY

The only time most of us spin out our top gear is in a downhill where you are pushing speed against an easy load. Neither the OP nor I mentioned spinning out a 50x12 on flat ground.

wheelinthai

Thanks. All your contributions much appreciated.

gregf83 

The notion that you need a standard crank above cat 4 is laughable and part of the reason riders like the OP ask the question.

A standard double works just fine for pros with 5.5-6+ W/kg threshold power. Club riders aren't close to those power levels and won't be held back by riding a compact.

The reality is gearing is far down the list of factors determining race outcome. Race what you have and adapt where necessary. If you find you're frequently mixing it up and placing top 5 with 40+mph sprints then you might need something bigger, otherwise there are plenty of races to be won with a 50-12

Homebrew01

Races are very rarely won or lost on long downhills where top end gear might make a difference.
Usually the opposite. Climbs separate the strong from less strong. Also, windy conditions can make the difference.

Plenty of examples of juniors with gear restrictions winning and placing in senior races against guys with unrestricted gears.

ColnagoC40

Apologies that you find my post laughable.

If a compact crank works for you, great! There is no right or wrong here, simply a matter of preference.

Just sharing the mean average.

Some of the pros climb a 15%+ gradient for several miles on a 39/23.

IMHO high cadence is always a bonus. A good plan is to learn spinning the easy gears first and work ones way up towards being able to spin a heavy gear at the same cadence eventually.

As a matter of curiosity, how many cat 1/2's here ride compact cranks?

Clipped_in

I occasionally ride (training) with a ladies Cat1 who sports a compact crank on her road race bike if that's of any help. She's a petite little climbing/road race specialist.

gregf83 

I think you're confusing correlation with causality. Most good racers have white on their jerseys. That doesn't mean you need white on your jersey to race well.

By the way I didn't find your post laughable, just the notion that crank type was somehow related to your racing category.

f4rrest

When the gradient goes -1% for a mile and then turns slightly uphill, you have to turn 110-120 in 50x12 to not get dropped. Here's a segment from a fast local group ride where I'm often wishing for a 50x11:
Example Strava Segment | Rose Bowl descent (east side)

pdedes

Even the pros sometimes reach for a compact. For them, it's course dependant

redlude97

120rpm for 2 mins should be nothing for a decent Cat 1/2

redlude97

BTW sometimes the local CX racers should up with a 46x11 on knobbies and stomp all over the fast guys here in Seattle

RollCNY

So is turning 110-120 for a short duration a problem? On our group ride, we have a 1 mile section of mostly -1% grade where I have to turn my 47x16 at 160+ rpm to not get dropped. I don't typically contest the final sprint with that gearing, but I don't get dropped either.

buffalowings

It's not, unless you're trying to make up the time you lost after getting dropped in the climbs. At that point, you're toast.

rpeterson

For time trials with downhill sections you'll probably be spinning out and wishing for more, but for anything short of those and downhill sprints 50x12 is just fine.

f4rrest

It's doable (10 times on the ride circuit), and I'm not a Cat anything -- but that's just to hang on while I'm spun out. An 11 tooth would be handy to jump a gap when the group breaks.

f4rrest

There are usually a couple of fixies or SS that open gaps on this section. It's annoying if I'm behind one and have to close the gap. Hat's off to them though. I couldn't ride that in 47x16.

caloso

I lost my FD cable 10 miles into a M123 road race a few weeks ago and the biggest gear I had was a 39x12. It was sufficient to finish with the main pack but not to contest the sprint.

topflightpro

I once did almost an entire crit in my 39. I didn't realize until about 5 laps to go that I wasn't in the 53.

So, yeah, a 50 is sufficient for most races.

And I'll add, I know several very successful juniors (one a Cat 1) for whom a 50-12 is not allowed.

Drew Eckhardt 

Yes. It's also a bigger gear than the 52x13 Eddy Merckx used to dominate the spring classics.

Even 50x13 is good for a 40 MPH sprint.

wheelinthai

Thanks for all above confirmations.