Peek the Geek

My Gunnar Sport currently has an Ultegra triple 10-spd setup. Front rings are 52, 39, 30. Cassette is 12-25.

The bike has, as the name implies, sport geometry. Not a road racer. Not a tourer. Somewhere in-between, and I'd like to use it as such. I recently built up another bike as a fast road bike and would like to use my Gunnar Sport more for recreational, expedition, light-touring type trips. I raised the bars, put some tough 28mm tires on, and will occasionally outfit it with a handlebar bag and rear trunk.

For its new purpose, the gearing doesn't work. I've got to work harder than I'd like on hills, and I rarely use the big ring.

I'll also add that I live in Wisconsin, so climbs can be steep but are never long. And some riding will be on limestone and light gravel.

I just picked up a 11-28 cassette on the cheap at a bike swap. What can/should I do up front? I'd like to replace just chainrings rather than the whole crankset, if possible.

Thanks.

djb

guess it depends on the costs and availablity of various chainrings, but definitely get rid of the 52 and perhaps go to a 48. I use a bog standard 50-39-30 with a 11-32, so if you go with the 11-28 cassette, you might want to go with a standardish 48-36-26 touring setup that would get you down quite a bit in gear inches. You may find this too low (but all depends on terrain, and more importantly how much weight you would be carrying)
I ride often in hilly areas with one pannier with a days outing worth of stuff (rain gear, repair stuff, lunch etc) and my gearing is fine for hilly areas and would still be fine with two panniers of stuff. My low gear is 25 gear inches so unless I go with more than two panniers it is alright, close to wanting lower, but doable.

I do find that the 39 ring is what one tends to spend the majority of time in, so you may too find that a 36 would be too short for cruising speeds. Perhaps going down from the 52 to a 48, leaving the 39, but the granny to a slightly smaller tooth number would be an inexpensive way to go (but the jump to the granny from the 39 would be more of a step--maybe a 28 instead of a 26?

guess you need to do some researching of wht is available for your crankset, at what cost and go from there (and also of course getting knowledgeable tech answers for what your derailleurs can handle)

rloftus

You probably can change the larger chainrings to maybe 36 and 50, but I don't think that is your best or cheapest option. I think you would be happier with an Sram 1050 cassette in 11-32 or even 12-36 to get the gearing you are talking about. With these, you would probably need a mountain derailleur like a high-normal Shimano LX.

There wouldn't be much gear reduction with what you can get in 110mm chainrings for your crankset, and changing these would probably cost about the same as the Sram cassette and the derailleur. But, I can understand you wanting to use that bargain 11-28 that you already have!

icyclist 

Just go with a wider-range cassette. Switching out to a 27 or 28 cog from a 25 will make an appreciable difference.

There certainly wouldn't be a good reason to change the large and middle chain rings. You could go down to a 26 with the inner chainring. That would give you gearing suitable for mt. goat status. To actually need that kind of gearing – 26x28 – you'd have to be very old and/or weak.

zzzwillzzz

+1.

djb

really comes down to how much weight you have on the bike. Thats the real kicker, in conjunction with what sort of hills you are tackling.
We can all give our opinions not knowing these factors, but it makes sense to throw on the 11-28 and see how it goes.
I've done a lot of loaded touring, hence my lean to lower gearing.

even lightly loaded or not loaded at all, we probably all spend a vast majority of time in the middle gear inch range, and appreciate a lower range a lot if we have gear on the bike (or more gear than he is suggesting) on a steep, steep long hill. Compared to the relatively few times we miss higher gear inches, appreciating lower gear inches is much more common, and will make a bike more versatile if you want to put more stuff on it.

but, hey Peek, start with the 11-28 and figure out what is good for you and/or is worth spending "x" $s for "x" chainrings.

ericm979

I would have picked and 12-28 instead of an 11-28. 52x11 is higher than you need for riding other than racing. With the 12 you'd have one more intermediate cog.

Unless you have a Dura-Ace triple crank you can use a smaller granny chainring. 26t would get you significantly lower gearing.

merlinextraligh

+1 on the 26. We put a 26 on our tandem for Everest Challenge. IMHO, it's a better option than putting a wide range cassette on because:

1) it preserves close spacing,

2) it shifts better,

3) it's lighter,

4) it's cheaper. the Salsa 26t ring we put on was like $20 bucks.

djb

all good points on tha granny change, its certainly an easy switch, pull the crank, allen bolt the old one off and its done.
Do you think he might need one of those $5 chain stopper thingees that helps stop inner chain drop to a smaller granny?

and what about going to the 11-28, would it be a problem for the range of the RD? (would probably be at the higher limit no?)

merlinextraligh

Our Dura Ace Triple shifts a 53-39-26 11/28 setup well. The 28 is one tooth beyond Shimnao's specs, but its not a problem, so I'm assumming the OP's Ultegra would also work.

A chain stopper (like a Deda Dog Fang) is a good idea with the small ring. Allows you to adjust the front so it goes easily into the small ring, without worrying about dropping the chain, and it's cheap insurance against chewing up a frame.