Cassette change -- 11-30 to 11-32
09-30-19, 11:25 AM
#51
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Crankset swap
I went through a similar analysis for much too long for my Specialized Roubaix. I ended up buying a Sugino 46/30 crankset from Alex in Japan. It was well worth it and there seem to be more and cheaper sub-sub compact cranksets now. And even more so if you know from the beginning that you need an adapter for the bottom bracket--I learned the hard way.
Mike
Mike
Been doing a lot of hill climbing lately and sometimes wish I had one more cog for the steepest hills. Current cassette is 11-30, and chainrings are 52-36. Bike is a CAAD12 with Ultegra mech.
I'm thinking of changing the cassette to 11-32. Going from 30t to 32t is a 7% reduction in effort and costs about $100 in parts (including the chain). Changing chainrings to 50-34 is way too expensive.
New wheels are coming, so there's a bit of a labor savings by not having to remove the 11-30 from the old wheel.
Is going to 11-32 worthwhile, or is it too close to matter?
Thanks,
Robert
I'm thinking of changing the cassette to 11-32. Going from 30t to 32t is a 7% reduction in effort and costs about $100 in parts (including the chain). Changing chainrings to 50-34 is way too expensive.
New wheels are coming, so there's a bit of a labor savings by not having to remove the 11-30 from the old wheel.
Is going to 11-32 worthwhile, or is it too close to matter?
Thanks,
Robert
09-30-19, 11:28 AM
#52
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For me, gaps are only an issue in group rides and most they're most problematic when I'm juuuust hanging on to the group; it's the worst when one gear has your legs screaming and the next gear has them spinning wildly and there's no happy medium in between. Oh, the same applies to intervals on trainers without ERG mode. For solo rides? No problem - easing slightly and slowing .5mph doesn't mean losing the draft and having the group pull away from you.
09-30-19, 12:18 PM
#53
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I went through a similar analysis for much too long for my Specialized Roubaix. I ended up buying a Sugino 46/30 crankset from Alex in Japan. It was well worth it and there seem to be more and cheaper sub-sub compact cranksets now. And even more so if you know from the beginning that you need an adapter for the bottom bracket--I learned the hard way.
Mike
Mike
10-01-19, 08:16 AM
#54
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I just said "Screw It!" and Frankensteined my own cassette. I don't need tiny cogs for high speed, those days are long gone. I need more choices with fewer cadence jumps.
5 of the smallest cogs off of a 14-28 and the six larger off of an 11-34 with the result being
14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34 and a 50-34 on the front. Makes for good choices when doing rides like this...
Old La Honda Loop
5 of the smallest cogs off of a 14-28 and the six larger off of an 11-34 with the result being
14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34 and a 50-34 on the front. Makes for good choices when doing rides like this...
Old La Honda Loop
10-01-19, 09:01 AM
#55
don't try this at home.
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I just said "Screw It!" and Frankensteined my own cassette. I don't need tiny cogs for high speed, those days are long gone. I need more choices with fewer cadence jumps.
5 of the smallest cogs off of a 14-28 and the six larger off of an 11-34 with the result being
14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34 and a 50-34 on the front. Makes for good choices when doing rides like this...
Old La Honda Loop
5 of the smallest cogs off of a 14-28 and the six larger off of an 11-34 with the result being
14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34 and a 50-34 on the front. Makes for good choices when doing rides like this...
Old La Honda Loop
I posted the details here.
It's great for fast flat roads and steep hills. But I spin out around 29 mph, which is acceptable. If I have multiple mile-long downhills on a ride, I swap back to the 11-32, so I can soft pedal the downhills.
The other downside is having to shift 4 or 5 cogs when I shift the front. But that's easy with my Di2.
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10-01-19, 12:35 PM
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Before that I had an Ultegra short-cage on a different bike and it handled the 11-32T just fine. I went from starting out and doing plenty of climbing with a 28T (matched to 50/34 rings) and I felt that I got stronger that way. When I went to the 32T, I might be spinning on the cranks a little better, but I almost feel like my legs are weaker for it.
The trick in getting the 32T set properly, and this trick is necessary with short-cage, beneficial even with medium cage, is to put the B-screw in "backwards" so that head of the screw is actually pressing on the derailleur instead of the screw portion. This does two things: allows you to push the derailleur farther, and to make sure the screw actually connects at all. Usually past a point, the derailleur will end up resting on the side of the screw when it's the normal way and you can't make the derailleur move anymore. Putting it in from the other direction, and letting the screw head itself provide contact with the derailleur, is actually more effective.
10-01-19, 01:07 PM
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Look man, if you are in your twenties, just deal with it. You don't really need that 32 yet. Wait until you get to your thirties. Then you can get it. And you can go 1x with dinner plate cogs when you are in your fifties 
Don't think much about it. We are all headed to the same destination.
Don't think much about it. We are all headed to the same destination.None of these riders use any super low gears, most not even as low as I do.
10-01-19, 02:07 PM
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Have you tried looking for a Ultegra GS replacement cage? I had a 6800 GS cage that I stripped the threads for the upper pulley and was able to get a replacement on Amazon. The SS and GS for the 6800 are identical except for the cage length. It may be the same(but you may want to double check that). It's may be cheaper to change out the pulley cage to a GS and then you would have the ability to get the 11x34 cassette and not worry about the chainrings.
10-01-19, 06:49 PM
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My 2015 Giant Defy had an Ultegra 6800 SS (short cage) and it worked great with an 11-32 cassette. The Giant store swapped out the stock 11-28 to an 11-32 at my request when I purchased the bike. I asked about running a 32T with the SS cage and they said it would handle it no problem and it did.
10-01-19, 10:36 PM
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My 2015 Giant Defy had an Ultegra 6800 SS (short cage) and it worked great with an 11-32 cassette. The Giant store swapped out the stock 11-28 to an 11-32 at my request when I purchased the bike. I asked about running a 32T with the SS cage and they said it would handle it no problem and it did.
