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Touring crankset advice

Old 02-10-20, 04:26 PM
  #1  
SpacyJa
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Touring crankset advice

Hi!
I'm in the process of building my all-round Surly Troll and looking for the crankset advice.
The initial idea was to build it with a new 40-30-22t Deore crankset and 10 speed 11-36 cassette, so I've bought Hollowtech BB and already installed it. But now I'm in doubt that I need a triple crankset. My previous bike was Merida Cyclocross with double 46-36 crankset and 10 speed 12-28 cassette. I'm not the strongest person and I barely used 46 ring, 36 was more than enough for me and I used it as a commuter, without any racks. I compared gear ratios in the calculator and it looks like double 22-36 or 24-38 crankset with 11-36 cassette should be enough. What do you think?
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Old 02-10-20, 06:06 PM
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Whatever gets you to 18 gear-inches ( or less).
If you ever had to ride up a mountainside or a steep river bluff with your stuff you will know real fast.
I'm like you....not the strongest person in the world.
(i've got a troll touring rig with 26" heavy tires and strong rims. Not light.
I think I've got my gearing down to 16 gear - inches)

Last edited by boomhauer; 02-10-20 at 06:12 PM.
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Old 02-10-20, 06:17 PM
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Yes, I definitely want to have a 22 or 24 ring in the front for those uphill climbs. 24-38 with 11-36 will give me 17.5 inch. Does it worth to go lower? 24-38 crankset with 11-42 cassette will give 15 inch but without a 17t ring, so not sure.
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Old 02-10-20, 06:38 PM
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I think your question really boils down to what should you have for your largest chainring, 36, 38 or 40 teeth. I am not sure what your tire size would be but I am guessing that if you had a 40T chainring, you would have a highest gear of 92.9 gear inches or there abouts with a smallest sprocket of 11. And if that was 36T instead of 40, then highest gear of about 83.6 gear inches.

My expedition bike has a highest gear of 85.1 gear inches. I sure wish it was higher for those long shallow downhills where it would be nice to pedal at a low cadence and low torque instead of sit on my butt and coast. I wish I had a high gear closer to the 92.9 that you would have with the 40T. But my bike has a Rohloff, so if I made my high gear higher, my low gear would also be higher and I do not want to do that.

I am assuming you will go with the 22T smallest chainring instead of the 24T.

In other words, I think you would be happier with the 40T chainring. You might only rarely use your highest gear for occasional downhills, but it is a nice gear to have on those rare occasions.
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Old 02-10-20, 07:22 PM
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Thanks!
Tire size will be 2". With 38T I would have a highest gear of 89 inches.
Having 40T ring would be good, but do I really need that 30t ring in the middle? Wouldn't it be better to go a bit smaller ring (38T) and get rid of the third ring? Having 38-24 with 11-36 would give me lowest gear of 17.5. With 11-42 it would go below 15.

I would probably go with something like 44-34-22 or similar, but can't find anything. 40-30-22 seems odd to me, like 30 is too low and 40 is too high, but probably I'm just overthinking.
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Old 02-10-20, 08:20 PM
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I run 42/32/22 with an 11-36 cassette and would prefer the 22 to a 24. If I were to compromise with a double rather than a triple I would choose a 40/22T and or consider a larger cassette. I recently swapped out an 11-36 for an 11-42 on my fat bike and will probably eventually do the same for my road bike (11-40).

I don't know what's available these days in 10speed but they also have 10T in some cassettes. I think a 10-40 with a 40/22 would be a good double if it exists.
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Old 02-10-20, 08:51 PM
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For loaded touring...and if you will be going up and down mountain passes, is a triple 44/32/24, and a cassette range of 11-36.
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Old 02-10-20, 10:02 PM
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my opinion, if touring, more gears is always better.
more gears closer together even more better.
worst touring is a long day into a strong headwind
with gears either too big or too small.

you're looking at doubles.........22-36 or 24-38
and triples............40-30-22 or maybe 42-32-24/22

triple will give you more usable gears.
you're gonna be happy with a 22 over a 24 on long uphills loaded.
match that with your biggest cog to get a 15 or 16".

you'll be spending most of your time in the 30, so pick
your cassette range based on that.

a top gear 89 or 90" should be enough, you say you're
not that strong. nothing wrong with coasting....
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Old 02-11-20, 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by SpacyJa
Thanks!
Tire size will be 2". With 38T I would have a highest gear of 89 inches.
Having 40T ring would be good, but do I really need that 30t ring in the middle? Wouldn't it be better to go a bit smaller ring (38T) and get rid of the third ring? Having 38-24 with 11-36 would give me lowest gear of 17.5. With 11-42 it would go below 15.

I would probably go with something like 44-34-22 or similar, but can't find anything. 40-30-22 seems odd to me, like 30 is too low and 40 is too high, but probably I'm just overthinking.
Everyone has their own personal preferences, but I strongly prefer a triple for touring. I have one bike with a double, that is my road bike and it has pretty narrow gearing. I have triples on two derailleur touring bikes, a rando bike, and an errand bike (that cost $5 USD). If I used my road bike on any serious hilly routes, I would convert it to a triple.

Regarding the chainrings on triples, I am not sure what the most common ones are these days, so I will not make any specific recommendations.

On my expedition bike I have a low gear of 16.2 gear inches, that gives me a speed of 3.5 mph with a cadance of 72. I find that I need 3.5 mph to maintain vertical and directional stability, any slower and I am constantly over-correcting my steering. With that low a gear, I put a lot of torque on the rear wheel and frequently loose traction and spin out on gravel. Some people like lower gears than that, but a cadence of 72 for a long uphill works well for me, that is the lowest cadence that I have a smooth non-jerky pedal stroke..
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Old 02-11-20, 07:54 AM
  #10  
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The widest range of gears are good. Go with the 22 for low. The middle ring can be 32/34/36 or such. The big can be 42,44,46,48. What are you trying to save? 6 oz? I have a 22/36/46 on 3 bikes. No issues. 36/11 out back.
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Old 02-11-20, 09:45 AM
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I built up a bike a few years ago that I concentrated on having the gears low as possible via a mountain crankset 22/32/44 and 13-36T custom cassette. What I discovered is that while having the low gearing is very good, I pushed the bulk of my riding into sub-optimal ring and cog combinations. I was shifting from middle to big ring a lot. Just something to consider... optimize the bike to be in the middle of the cassette and the middle chainring where the bulk of the riding is done.
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Old 02-11-20, 09:51 AM
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That's what I'm afraid of with 22/30/40 crankset. Maybe with 11-36t it would be better than with 13-36t, but still, 30t in the middle doesn't look optimal
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Old 02-11-20, 10:09 PM
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Spacy, I've ridden a lot on 42/32/22 8 speed and 44/32/22 9 speed
Your concerns about a 30t mid ring being a bit low is valid for unloaded and lightly loaded riding, BUT it really depends on how much you'll be carrying and if you'll be in hilly terrain. I've spent months on my Troll with the 44/32/22 and 11-34, but with four panniers and extra stuff, so a rather heavy bike at times. I am really really happy with this setup and its 16.7 to 103 gear inches with 2inch tires. I personally wouldnt like a lower top gear than what I have.

triples give you such an advantage for all kinds of riding, no matter the trend, they are simply more versatile and give you a lower low and a higher high than a double, with better chain line to boot as you wont be cross chaining, ANDyou also wont be having big jumps between the chainrings AND you can even run a tighter cassette than with a double, which is nice, but still getting a good range of gears.

now to the one downside--yes a 32, and especially a 30t midring will be a bit annoying if you ride the bike a lot unloaded or lightly loaded. Sure you'll use the large ring more, but in the end, a 48/36/26 can give you a great setup, but you seem to make it clear that you wouldnt use the 48t ---if you dont use it with your cross bike unloaded, you'll not use it often with a loaded or heavy Troll....

as someone else said, I'm not familiar with what triples are out there in the smaller range, but I get the impression from your original question that you havent toured yet, not with a bunch of stuff on the bike, so its hard to realize how much we need lower gearing with a much heavier total bike+load weight.

perhaps you could look into if you could use the 40/30/22 and change the 30 to a 34 or something?
Are 44/32/22 still available in 10 speed?

I guess in the end we can give suggestions from lots of our experience, but without knowing what kind of riding you'll be doing (total bike weight wise) and what triple options you have, its hard to say....
get back with more details as it would help.

what shifters are you going to use, trigger shifters?
I set my wifes troll up with Deore 10 spd trigger shifters and as all previous deore shifters like this, they are well priced and work very well. An excellent price/performance/longevity balance.
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Old 02-11-20, 10:32 PM
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Thanks djb, read a lot of your posts lately!
Apparently 48/36/26 and 40/30/22 are the only two options exists now in 3x10 Shimano line, or Hollowtech line at least. So either too high or too low. I guess I would try to go with 40/30/22, big ring should work for unloaded touring, and other two for loaded/climb parts. Or maybe the middle ring will work for unloaded too, will see.
Regarding shifters, I've used to STI on my cx bike, but in this build I want to go with Microshift bar end shifters because of simplicity of the design (Cowchipper handlebar is on my mind).
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Old 02-11-20, 10:45 PM
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Batman

Holey cranksets batman. I read some of this and my brains jammed up on all those gears.
I now feel like I havd to go look at what gearing is on my touring bike. 🤓
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Old 02-11-20, 11:03 PM
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Go the triple on a Troll. Even empty they are heavy with racks and fenders etc. If you go 4 panniers there is a tendency to load them up because they handle weight real well, and who doesn't like a few luxury items. The lower the better for low gears, because if there's one thing that sucks with touring it's pushing a loaded touring bike up a big hill. So much easier to pedal, even if it's only at walking pace or slower, and the geometry of the Troll makes going slow pretty easy. To give an idea whats possible, with 9 speed you can run 40-30-20 and 11-40 with a RD- M591. Sunrace make a 10 speed 40T Cassette as well, not sure if the small gears is 10 or 11T. It takes some modding to the front spider and bolts to make the 20T fit, and tuning it so every gear works is an art form, but you end up with a gear range of 720%, from 13" up to 93" which covers most touring.
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Old 02-12-20, 04:54 AM
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Good luck on your decisions.
any idea if a 9 spd era crank will work with 10 spd chain?
re shifters, more expensive but I love my gevenalle setup.....
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Old 02-12-20, 02:33 PM
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If you are using the bike as an all-rounder I would shy away from 30 or 32t middles. Have at least a 12t jump from small to middle otherwise there will be lots of overlap where you don't need it.
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Old 02-13-20, 11:19 PM
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I have a Troll. It's got 26 inch wheels and a 3 x 9 drive train. Chainrings are 46/36/26. Cassette is 36-11. It was advertised as an off road touring bike. I used it on a short gravel tour 2 years ago and I ride it on dirt trails all over the Shawnee Forest here in southern Illinois. I love my Troll. For me, the low gears are plenty low. I've been up some pretty steep, but short hills (>15% or more) without faltering. The middle chainring is where I do most of my level to moderate riding. I never use the big chainring off road and I almost never ride the Troll on paved roads. It's really not meant for road riding, I have much better bikes for that. So for me, that 46 ring is pretty much useless. I would consider a 2 x 10 or 11 with 36 / 26 or 24 chainrings. The bigger the cassette the better, 40t or 42t large sprocket, depends on the rear derailleur. Plenty of range for off road touring. Paved roads are a different animal.
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Old 02-14-20, 02:46 PM
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I have 26/36/48 with 11-34, and it is really good. Middle/middle where the bulk of riding is done. I think this combo, or 11-36 if you are really loaded down is the right one. I rarely use the biggest cog, albeit I carry a pretty reasonable load.
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Old 02-15-20, 06:43 PM
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I built my touring bike up with a triple 9 speed and have vehemently stuck by it for a long time but I am starting to think maybe a change is in order (or at least a new bike with the ratios I want). I am currently running a 11-34 with a 24/36/48 crankset and so far it has been good.

I personally would want a bit more high end speed. The low end seems just fine so maybe a 40/24 or 42/26 and probably an 11-40 but I would do 11 speed if I could. This is of course for a more gravel and off road rig. For something on the road I would probably go 46/30 and 11-36 or maybe a 11-40 cassette again 11 speed. I think when I did the comparison for the 46/30 with my current set up it got me close to similar for what I am using most often so it cuts off some high end and a little low end but keeps me in a good enough spot.
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Old 02-16-20, 09:00 AM
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After years of touring with a triple crankset, I put a compact double on my custom build and haven't looked back. Gives me all the low I need, and a high end that is perfect for me. I'm freakin' slow, though, so take it with a grain of salt.
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Old 02-18-20, 05:17 PM
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A great thread! No matter what set up you have on your current bike, you can find a post here to justify a different one; new bike, or just new components, woohoo!
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Old 02-18-20, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by skye
After years of touring with a triple crankset, I put a compact double on my custom build and haven't looked back. Gives me all the low I need, and a high end that is perfect for me. I'm freakin' slow, though, so take it with a grain of salt.
details por favor, more from curiosity
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Old 02-19-20, 07:01 AM
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Found a Shimano T551 44/32/24 crankset recently. It's sold out almost everywhere except chainreactioncycles. Should work better I guess, and it should be possible to swap 24t with 22t in case 24 isn't low enough.
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