SlvrDragon50

I am currently on a 11spd 34/50 FSA Gossamer crank w/ 11-34 Ultegra cassette. I commute pretty much only flatland (cornfields of Illinois) and never really go past the 15 or 17T when I am on the 50, and I don't really use the 34 that much. If I am starting from a stop, I'll usually start off on the 25 or 27. I originally planned on replacing my crank with an Ultegra 6800 with a BBR60 bottom bracket since my FSA gossamer crank keeps coming undone, and it's annoying me. With that change, I was going to move to a 36/46 or 34/46. However, I completely forgot about changes on the rear cassette with gearing. I did some reading, and it seems like 12/25 is a pretty popular option, would be around $50-60. On the other hand, replacing the crank and BB would be around $150.

I'm not entirely sure whether it's better to just replace the cassette and deal with the loosening crank or if I should just upgrade the crankset + BB. I've spent a ton of time staring at gear charts which makes the change seem to be pretty small. Reading the comments on gearing here seems to suggest that the differences are quite noticeable. Would comboing the 12-25 with a 36/46 (if I ever do that upgrade later) be a bad idea? I am commuting in a town so I'm never really speeding down open roads.

Thanks for the advice.

52telecaster

My main concern would be why is you crank loosening up. Is there an issue with the bottom bracket threads?

SlvrDragon50

I really have no clue. I made another post here about it, and there weren't really any solutions other than keep checking it every now and then. I had mentioned that it had fallen off completely before which I read can damage the threads resulting in always loosening. I also saw FSA has been recommending loctite, but it seems like you have to open up the BB to do that?

GrainBrain

Living just to the west of you I run a 50/39 and 13-23 eight speed, which is almost perfect.

When I go eleven speed I think I'll go for an 11-25, and a 46/36 crank. The eleven cog instead of just a 12 will allow me to use the 36-12 combo, which allows me to stay in the small ring for optimal cadence tackling climbs, and the wind!

Edited to say you might just think about swapping the 34t ring for a 39t and keep the current cassette, that'd be cheap.

SlvrDragon50

Wind is definitely the biggest factor for me, no real hills here but tons of wind. Unfortunatley no 11-25 that I see. Only an 11-28 if I go with the Shimano R7000. I suppose I could pay an extra $10 and get the Ultegra.

I did think about changing the 34 to a 39, but I guess the other reason why I am leaning towards changing the cassette is that I pretty much never use the 34,31 even if it's windy. I also imagine I wouldn't use the 39T that much since I'd be forced to use the 11 or 13T to get higher speeds which would be a pretty severe cross chain, no?

caloso

The flatter the terrain, the tighter the ratios you can go. I'd get a 12-23 if it were available in 11 speed. I remember having one in 10spd, but I'm not sure they still make it for 11.

JoeyBike

Both of my commuters have triple chain rings and both have basically road racing cassettes. My commute is flat as a pancake like yours. My beater has 7sp rear and my touring bike has a 9sp cassette. I switched from the stock touring gearing to the tightest ratio I could find. My 9sp is basically a straight block. One tooth difference each cog. I like 11T as my smallest but 12T would likely work fine.

I do not care about gear inches. So i can't say what I have. It works. It's really not that complicated to gear a commuter.

As for your crank looseness, I have no advice. Seek out a good LBS somewhere.

SlvrDragon50

Awesome, thanks. I will switch to a 12-25 or 11-28 cassette! I definitely didn't pay any attention to the gear inches, only looked at the speed + rpms!

Darth Lefty 

fietsbob

42 is midsize between 34 & 50..

SlvrDragon50

If I lived in an area I would absolutely agree, but the flatness here is insane! I thought Florida was flat until I moved to Illinois, and I'll be here for another 4 years before I can think about moving elsewhere. Realistically, yes I can definitely get away with my current gearing. I just find myself crosschaining quite a bit. I've seen some people say modern bikes are okay crosschaining and other people saying it's not. Not sure who to believe. I'm just getting ready to replace the chain so I figure I'd take this opportunity to considering replacing the cassette.

fietsbob

How about Paris Roubaix Race gearing ? 46 53, and 11-23t or 11-25t cassette ..

SlvrDragon50

I am intrigued by that... but if I'm being honest, I struggle to use my 11, 13, and sometimes 15t when I'm on my 50 already. Granted, it's a lot of stop and go (college campus) so I imagine I'd be on the 46 a lot more than the 53. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever used my 11t with the 50.

I think I'll get the 12-25t cassette first, and then I will revisit the crankset since the only complaint I could see myself having in the future would be not being able to reach a high enough top speed at which I can get a Shimano 5800 39/53.

Thanks so much for all the help everyone!

PaulRivers

This is why I thought the move from 3x setups to 2x setups was not great.

3x you put the front chainring in the middle gear and forget about it for anything except huge uphills or huge downhills.
2x it's always awkward...you're never quite in the right gear.
1x seems great because it eliminates the issue entirely. But it's newish and thus not the cheapest.

Sal Bandini

Drop to a 46 and you will probably be in that most of the time. I'm in similar flat situation. You won't be spinning out with 46-12 combo in college commuting riding.

SlvrDragon50

Hah, if I knew what I know now, I would do a 1x as well. I don't think there were too many 1x options 3 years ago when I bought this bike though. I did think about buying a 1x crank, but I already have the shifters + derailleur so I feel like I'm scamming myself by getting a 1x Stupid logic, I know.

I ordered the 12-25. I'm hoping I will be able to ride the bike a bit more before snow + ice sets in, should come in this week or early next week. I started looking into bottom bracket replacements and what a whole new world of confusion debating between Chris Kings and replacing BBR60s and swapping bearings. Sometimes I wish the system was more uniform, but I simultaneously love to see all the innovation and competition. I just wish it was little bit cheaper to try out things

PaulRivers

That's for sure, I was trying to stay with a triple if possible and skip the double as 1x wasn't expensive as heck.

Come one, if you go to 1x you'll only go from 2 shifters to 1 shifter, so it only counts half as much, right? :-D :-D

1x12 is a mere $380 for a new groupset...
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...etrain-review/

[QUOTE=SlvrDragon50;20649699]I ordered the 12-25. I'm hoping I will be able to ride the bike a bit more before snow + ice sets in, should come in this week or early next week. I started looking into bottom bracket replacements and what a whole new world of confusion debating between Chris Kings and replacing BBR60s and swapping bearings. Sometimes I wish the system was more uniform, but I simultaneously love to see all the innovation and competition.

But I mean...if you're going to replace the whole bottom bracket, and you have the money to go for Chris King stuff...

Ha, yeah, that's for sure. "I want to try 1x12" "Cool, spend $400" "Wait...I mean...I just want to try it...not sure I want to commit to it..."

SlvrDragon50

Oh wow, I had no clue they were that expensive! The ones I saw were around $150-200! I don't get why the 1x cost more when they should cost less material than the 2x I imagine?

If I go for a CK it'll have to a be used one unfortunately! I just haven't quite figured out if it's worth it for a commuter bike, esp with a short commute vs say 10+miles a day. I've seen reports of some BBs going dead in 6 months, but I don't know how hard those are ridden. The other reason why I want a CK is so I can stick with a 44mm external cup tool and not have to buy a 41 and 44mm I'm so cheap that I'd rather splurge on the BB hah.

Darth Lefty 

It's really not hard to make a 1x10 or 1x11 drivetrain for not much (probably less than $150) out of any given modern bike. 1x12, yeah, they are maxing it expensive for now.

davei1980

I have a pretty flat commute with few stops/8 miles. I am on a single speed (free, not fixed) track bike - about 65 gear inches. Not the fastest thing in the world and I do get passed when it's triathlon training season but it sure is fun and reliable (no chain drops - chain is 1/8" and bullet proof) - no drama. Plus my bike is lightweight which makes it nice when they're doing elevator maintenance in my building!


"IF IT WERE ME" which it's clearly not so take this with a grain of salt - You could buy a used bike like mine for less than the cost to convert your bike to the ideal setup (1x, IMHO) and use it to soak up the bulk of your commuting miles and keep your existing bike and use it for longer rides/centruries, etc. That's my goal only in reverse (ie, I need the geared bike).

If you're loving your geared bike, I think a good stretch goal for commuting would be to make it a 1x10 with a 40-42T front ring.

Phamilton

I commute 25 miles/day on vintage 12 speeds in flat Indiana and I most often use only about 4 gear combos (40/21, 40/18, 52/21, 52/18). I'm puzzled that people desire/require more gears, especially for shorter commutes. I've thought about going single speed but my work route is directly in line with prevailing wind and it's most often quite windy, I'd worry about my knees. If my commute were urban and shorter, I'd go SS in a heartbeat.

davei1980

YEP! I commute 8 miles on mostly a tree-lined path which follows a river so it's flat. I have thought about going to a 2 sp or 3 sp internal hub but I always wind up talking myself out of it. For reliability, you can't beat a SS - I also like it for sprinting through intersections/left turns - I don't have to worry about my rear derailleur hesitating or slipping when I am in traffic!

kingston 

I had a 12-25 11 speed with a compact crank and hated it because there was almost no overlap between the chainrings so I was always cross-chained unless I was hammering in the big ring. I swapped the 50T for a 46T, and it's much better now.

How long is your commute? I live in the Chicago suburbs where it is also flat and have been commuting for the past 25 years on a single speed.

SlvrDragon50

It's only a handful of miles. I probably could do okay on a SS, but I haven't been very happy on the SS I've tried. If I were to do it all again, I would just scrap the 2x up front and get a single 1x with a 10 or 11 speed on the rear. I am thinking the 12-25 will solve the problems for me, but I'm still pretty much rarely ever touching the current 11,13, and 15t with the 50T on the front so I am leaning towards an eventual replacement of the crankset. I need to take the bike in and get the BB inspected and see if it's toast. I'll be more willing to replace the crank if the BB needs replacement as well.

Andy_K 

The cheap way to switch to 1x11 is just pick the chainring size you want and never shift out of it. Just because your crank has two rings doesn't mean you have to use them both. An 11-34 cassette makes no sense at all for your terrain. I'd want something like 12-25 or 12-27 with a 42T ring. You can find cheap 110 BCD 42T rings. Ask around on this forum and you might even be able to find someone to swap with. If you don't plan to use the small ring you don't need a fancy chainring with pins and ramps. Keep the front rerailleur as a chain guide.

The crank coming loose is something FSA is notorious for. I've got one that does that. It's a bad design. For those who don't know, the left crank arm is held on to the spindle but a 10mm bolt. It's not a press fit like square taper cranks. If you loosen the bolt the crank arm slides right off. The bolt comes loose pretty regularly. Proper torque ought to prevent this, but it's a lot more torque than most people expect. A bit of blue LocTite on the bolt would probably also take care of it.