top506

52 gets used all the time, except on the bikes with 53.

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jonwvara 

Even with a 14-tooth small cog, a 52 is bigger than I need. The issue is not so much that the 52-14 combination is needlessly high (although it is) as that moving up a five- or six-speed freewheel from there with reasonably-sized jumps yields low gears that aren't low enough. So several of my bikes are set up with 46, 47, or 48 tooth big rings, which work well for me.

Rings in those sizes are not hard to find for Campagnolo and most Japanese cranks. But they're very scarce for Stronglight cranks. So several of my French bikes are set up with 52-tooth big rings (which are cheap and abundant) and customized freewheels--I like Suntour Perfects--with 15-tooth small cogs. That lowers everything into a range that's more useful for me.

Messing around with a gearing chart (I really like this one: Bicycle Gear Calculator) can provide some useful ideas.

Essthreetee

IAmSam

Same here...

RobbieTunes

Same, but I don't need a label to know the difference. The Army categorizes EVERYTHING....



.


I'm loving 52/36 when I can run it, and starting to look for compact old-school cranks to set up that way.

Just in case I build another bike.

JaccoW

I have a 52/42/32 front with a 14-32 6-speed rear on my Batavus Randonneur GL.

I'm most often in the 52x17 combo (wishing I had something in between 14 and 17) running @30kph.
There are plans to put a 12-34 9/10-speed on there eventually. I sometimes want something higher than the 52x14 combo when the wind is alright.


Source: Ritzelrechner.de
(Click the link and play with the sliders if you want to compare)

Kommisar89

Everyday. I live near the top of a big hill. My office is about halfway down. I'm on the big ring all the way down and the middle ring all the way up. Actually my daily rider has a 50 tooth rather than 52 but I'm on the 52 tooth on the other bikes. I use the big ring for all flats and downhills and the middle ring for climbing with a granny ring as a bail out just in case. The original setup was half-step plus granny 28/46/50 which I found less than useful so I reconfigured it as a compact triple 26/36/50.

Glennfordx4

Being that the only hills around here are bridges I always road 52/11 all the time, never had to shift much I started in that gear and finished in that gear. Even now that I'm older I still find myself in that combo more and more.

Glenn

Kommisar89

Back home when I lived in New Orleans it was like that. Not so here in Colorado.

Oldguyonoldbike

On three bikes I have a 53t, a 52t and a 50t big chainring. Riding here ranges from flat with strong winds to moderately hilly with short punchy climbs. I spend more than half my time in the big ring. The smaller ring is for strong headwinds and climbing. On any given ride I'll use the highest gear combo for a total of a few seconds, a minute or two at the very most.

verktyg 

Hope you survived Florence OK.

You flatlanders are all the same (unless you live in central or western NC).

The elevation of Rocky Mount, North Carolina is 98 feet above sea level!

I live at an elevation of 255 feet and 2 miles from sea level. But the hills behind me are 1000-1500 feet high and the one block street I live on has a dip in the middle with 10% grades at both ends.

I asked a friend who used to race in the Red Zinger Classic if he thought the hills here in the Bay Area were steep. He said "Oh hell ya"!

He used to take me out for "charity rides". We'd be climbing up a hill and I was in my 38-28 gasping for air. He was in a 42-21 just chatting along!

Jobst Brandt used to take a number of Bay Area riders over to Europe to credit card tour the Alps during the 70's and 80's. Photo from ~1980. Notice they were riding 53-42 x 13-21 gears.



Here's a link to a collection of Jobst Brant's photos:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jobs...w=1280&bih=566

verktyg

John E

I don't even have a 52T ring on any of my current bikes, even though I have had 52 and 54T rings in the past.

Top gear on my UO-8, for transportation / commuter / shopping / beater service is 45/13.

The Sieger came with an after market 58-45 up front; I am building it with either 49-46 or 49-45, depending on how wide I can go in back (half-step). Either way, top gear will be 49/14 = 94.5 gear-inches, a top gear that served me well on the first Capo I owned.

The Bianchi (52/14) and the other Capo (46/13) both have 96-inch top gears, plenty for my use in recreational and club cycling.

I am running 104 gear-inches (48/12 on 26" wheels) on the mountain bike. When I ride it downhill on a road, I sometimes go slightly faster than on the skinny-tired road bikes. This is the same gearing I had on my first (cheapo) Bianchi (52/13, 26" wheels) and what I used on the double century with my Nishiki (54/14). I don't really miss it.

Jon T

I changed out the 52t for a 50t. I only dropped about 1mph on my top end but the 50 is a MUCH more useable gear now and I'm not trying to break any land-speed records.
Jon

Bad Lag

I'm using 52/42 up front with a 5 cog 14-24 in the rear (14, 16, 18, 21, 24). It allows me to keep up the 60-90 rpm I like.

I use it here in So Cal but also used it in the Rockies (5,000+ feet above sea level).

Most of the time I'm in the 52-18 combination. I use 52-21 for the 2.5% grades around here.

It is impossible for me to stay under the 8 mph speed limit posted on the bike paths, no matter what gear I chose, so I rode the streets, instead.

The 42-24 is fine for most typical grades (~5-10%). If it gets steeper than that for any extended distance, I have mountain gearing.

ETA - I'm not bragging, I'm not a racer, I'm not better than those who opt for lower gearing, I'm just telling what I do.

ButchA

Sugino GT 52/42 up front paired with the Sun Tour "Mighty 6" freewheel --- 14,16,19,22,26,30

I love the 52 ring on straightaways and downhill sections.

79pmooney

I started on a UO-8 with 52-36 x 14-28. Liked the hill gear, had no great love for the rest. Next bike was a 52-42-32 x 13-24 triple. I was in love from day one (but it didn't take me long to drop the 32 to a 28 and move the FW up to a 13-21. Then I built a 13-19. And that triple now had real 1976 racing gearing, (Just don't use the inside ring.). Next bike was a 54-44 X I don't remember pure racing bike. The 13-19 went on. RIngs of 52, 53, and 42 were purchased (and used more than the originals. Loved taht gearing - when I was so strong I coluld climbe just about anything on the 42-19. Finished racing, ordered the Mooney and set it up like the first triple except with a 53. DId an overhaul 15 years later ande went SunTour Microsihft; 50-38-24 x 12-21 7-speed (virtually the same gearing but smaller cogs and another step down to the lowest gear to reflect aging).

Now I have a different 7-speed set up as a gravel bike; 52-42-26 x 13-28 7-speed.. Not in love with the wide spacing in back and all the missing flat ground cogs. My good bike has 53-42-28 and a 9-speed cassette with cogs from 12-28 and nearly all possible combinations. (Campy doesn't make - to my knowledge - 20, 22, 24, 26 and 27.) My favorite (altime) is 12, 14-19, 21, 23. Absolutely love the straight 14-19 I can use with all three chainrings. Big enough gear for serious downhills. (There are plenty in and around Portland, OR. Great choices uphill. Granted, I don't always feel up to the 28-23 low and do swap cogs to the 25 and 28 but I have to loose a cog or two to do it.

Ring I use most - the 42, by far unless it is really hiily.

Ben

Choke 

Here you go - https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/stron...ing/#pid=21171

Lascauxcaveman 

A 52 is great for going downhill. I'm riding downhill about 50% of my miles. The other 50%, I'm riding uphill. So I'm actually more concerned about what size my small ring is

Kabuki12

I ride almost entirely on my large ring which is either 52 or 53 . I have some hills in my area that I normally climb just to stay in shape and then I drop to 42 . I have one bike that I am currently building that has a 41 front ring , it is the only one I have seen with a 144 BCD. It also sports 175 crank arm length. I will see if that helps the climbing, Joe

Lazyass

Yes, I use it when I go downhill, when I do sprints, when I'm cruising @20MPH+ and am in it most of the time on A group rides. If they were 50T instead I would be fine with it, but I despise compact cranks and the worthless wussy 34T.

SJX426 

Nothing is lower than 52 except the MTB and SS. I ride what was purchased. The Montello is about to be changed over from 8V DA to 8V Campagnolo. The only difference is a replacement of tooth count from 19 to 18 on a 13-23 block. The rings are 53/41. It is a bit of a work out on some few hills I run into (10%) but it is worth it for the flats or low grade either up or down. There is one down hill that I rid up where the 53/13 is usefull, doesn't happen all the time. I think I will like the change because the jump from 17 to 19 comes at the wrong time/conditions.

kcblair

I have been slowly, replacing all my 52T chainrings with 50/34T rings. Now all my main bikes , have 50/34T chainrings. My Concorde still has a Campy 52/39, because the BCD is 135mm. I rarely use the 52T and seldom use the 50T chairings. At age 72, anything over 18mph. I'm coasting down hill, or have a tailwind. KB

canklecat

Depends on the bike.

My more upright hybrid has a 30/40/50 triple and, usually, 13-28 on the back (13-25 recently due to a wheel swap). I usually loaf around on that bike around 12-14 mph, tops. I'm rarely out of the 40T chainring. I suppose I could convert it to a double or even single chainring, but occasionally I run errands and need the smaller ring for hauling loads uphill. And in the 40T ring I'd be spun out on some downhills -- the bike feels more in control when I'm still pedaling against some resistance, but that's about the only time I'm in the 50T ring.

But on the road bike I'm often pushing faster. With 52/39 chainring (I switched out the original 42T) and 13-24 freewheel, I'm in the small ring between 15-24 and big ring from 13-15, with occasional overlap on the 17 cog if I don't want to risk dropping the chain on a front derailleur shift. There are a couple of fast downhills I keep trying to improve my time on, just after cresting a hill, and I have a bad habit of dropping the chain on hasty front derailleur shifts. So occasionally I'll take the lead-up hill in the big ring to avoid that blown shift.

LesterOfPuppets

52 works for me in flattish areas. Here in super flat PHX I Usually start off from a stoplight in 52x23, then drop into 21 and then 19 for cruising speed.

RiddleOfSteel

In a word, yes.

For all practical in-saddle speeds, technically a 1x system consisting of a 39T front ring and an 11-36T cassette of 10-speed persuasion works well. But if I'm going up hills, I'm also going down them, and I'd prefer to keep some power flowing via pedaling if possible. I do use the 53T and the upper rear cogs on steep and/or long downhills as well as sprinting. Sprinting is a nice motor check to see how I'm doing. 11T for the small cog on the cassettes. I'll spin out a 13T quickly, not because I'm pro, but because I'm not a 100-120 RPM spinning machine.