Going from a 54/42 to a 50/34, help?
06-23-11, 12:26 PM
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Going from a 54/42 to a 50/34, help?
hello all you wonderfully knowledgeable people that are so kind.
ok the kiss up is done now to the meat. Well i have a late 80's 12speed road bike which i assume has a 54/42 crankset i have a friend at work that will giving me a FSA carbon 50/34 crankset and Bottom bracket that is used and scratched up.
first will it even fit?
second how odd will the gearing be?
ok the kiss up is done now to the meat. Well i have a late 80's 12speed road bike which i assume has a 54/42 crankset i have a friend at work that will giving me a FSA carbon 50/34 crankset and Bottom bracket that is used and scratched up.
first will it even fit?
second how odd will the gearing be?
06-23-11, 12:39 PM
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hello all you wonderfully knowledgeable people that are so kind.
ok the kiss up is done now to the meat. Well i have a late 80's 12speed road bike which i assume has a 54/42 crankset i have a friend at work that will giving me a FSA carbon 50/34 crankset and Bottom bracket that is used and scratched up.
first will it even fit?
second how odd will the gearing be?
ok the kiss up is done now to the meat. Well i have a late 80's 12speed road bike which i assume has a 54/42 crankset i have a friend at work that will giving me a FSA carbon 50/34 crankset and Bottom bracket that is used and scratched up.
first will it even fit?
second how odd will the gearing be?
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06-23-11, 01:14 PM
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The answer is - it depends. You will probably be okay with threading of the bottom bracket because the majority of bikes use English threading but that isn't guaranteed. The 50/34 is going to have significantly lower gearing with a 6 speed. I'm assuming a freewheel with a 13 or 14 tooth gear on it. If it's a 14 tooth gear, you'll drop from a 104 gear inch high to a 96 gear inch high.
I will just tell him thanks but no thanks and to craigslist it and get some money for it.
06-23-11, 02:51 PM
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Why assume. If you don't know count the teeth. The odds are good that your crankset is a 52/42 or 52/39. Unless you are a professional road racer it's a good bet that smaller rings and a higher cadence would help you. And a lot depends on what kind of terrain you are riding and the number of teeth on the freewheel cog set.
06-23-11, 02:53 PM
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Taking the top end down from 54T to 50T is roughly the same as a one tooth change on the cassette/freewheel. Not huge but only you can answer that.
06-23-11, 07:30 PM
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Wouldn't know til I see the bike and the crank. And the bottom bracket.
06-24-11, 07:31 AM
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Why assume. If you don't know count the teeth. The odds are good that your crankset is a 52/42 or 52/39. Unless you are a professional road racer it's a good bet that smaller rings and a higher cadence would help you. And a lot depends on what kind of terrain you are riding and the number of teeth on the freewheel cog set.
06-24-11, 07:34 AM
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im am just worried that with the lower gears i wont ever use them and then not having enough top speed. well i guess anyways i shouldnt really go that fast in an old road bike i fixed myself
06-24-11, 07:45 AM
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
06-24-11, 10:02 AM
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Go run the numbers. This gear calculator lets you see the gears in a nice format. Very intuitive.
06-24-11, 10:41 AM
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Go run the numbers. This gear calculator lets you see the gears in a nice format. Very intuitive.
that is the coolest website, thank you for that!
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