CJ C

The bike i am looking to buy has the apex group on it, my worry is with the 12-34 and the 50/34 will have me jumping back and forth on the front shifting.

i am in flat flat flat chicago and my biggest hill is an overpass. i like to spin at 90-95rpm, i ride a 6speed 52/42 now and dont touch the front shift until i hit 20+ mph. the bulk of my riding is very stop and go.

Question for you guys and gals should i not go with apex or maybe switch out the cassette? would rather not buy a new bike and a new cassette.

any help for this newbie is greatly appreciated

Beaker

Given the gearing on your current bike, I'd see if the shop will swap the cassette for you. Any reason you couldn't get a bike with gearing that better serves your needs from the get-go?

milkbaby

Is the bike spec'ed with a 12-34t cassette for sure? Not every Apex bike has the wide ratio climbing cassette on it.

I'm in flat-as-a-pancake Florida, and I would ask the shop if they could switch out a 12-34t for an 11-23t.

CJ C

i really liked the sram shifting thing plus the 105 shimano put me out of my price range, did not like the sora shifters. i didnt ask the guy at the shop about swapping it didnt cross my mind at the time.

Beaker

If you've not used the cassette, he might do you a deal. I'd just be up front with them and explain your situation.

CJ C

its the specialized secteur elite spec sheet says its a 11-32

CJ C

i will call the guy helping me tomorrow and ask if they swap it out. what size should i ask for 11-23 or 11-25?

Drew Eckhardt 

12-23 from Shimano. Harder high gear than 52x13, easier low gear than 42x28, and the first seven gears are a corncob (12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19).

revchuck 

+1. If this is your first road bike and there are no hills where you ride, you'd never touch the 11 tooth cog. Note that Shimano and SRAM cassettes are interchangeable, so it doesn't matter which brand you end up with as long as you have the gearing you want.

JimF22003

In the flats you would probably never in a million years come close to using the lowest gears. I've never used a 34 in back when climbing 20%+ grades.

hollowmen

I would be surprised if your bike shop isn't willing to swap out cassettes for you. I have a bike with Apex, but that came with an 11-23 (I live in Indiana, so no climbing).

I picked up an 11-28 online for when I ride across the country. They're pretty inexpensive, and easy to change if you've got the tools. If not, your LBS can do it no problem.

Bottom line: get the gearing you want, even if it costs you a couple extra dollars.

CJ C

thank guys,

looks like i will stick with the apex and swap out the cassette to a 12-23. just need to call the LBS and see if they are willing, which i think they will without a problem.

this is good to hear as i really liked the sram shifters over the shimano, both are way better than the stem shifters i am riding now just prefer if i am dropping that much coin to get the one i want and not settle.

also if the shimano and sram cassettes are interchangeable and i can pick one up for cheap i may just roll with both, in case i ever find hills. now off the the interwebs to look for pricing on a 12-23.

brian416

The 50t front ring is a good cruising gear. My mom's bike has a compact on it and it works much better, you can pretty much stay in the big ring until you start climbing.

CJ C

called the guy at the LBS, he said no sweat on the cassette.

very happy because my other alternative bike was the GT GTR 5 with microshift 8 speed triple or pay a bit more for a shimano 105 bike. I liked the microshift but wasnt a fan of the triple or 8 speed.

knucklesandwich

I would up the little ring to a 38 or 39 while you're at it.
A 34 in Chicago is pointless unles you're on the lake running against a 30mph headwind.

CJ C

stopped doing anything on the lakefront path years ago, way to crowded. now its streets or streets to Botanic garden trail

bonz50

truth right here, my apex bike has a 12-25 cog set

bonz50

which bike you lookin at?? GTR2?

qcpmsame 

Nothing wrong with Apex level SRAM, at all. I went from 105 to Rival with the same compact crank rings you are talking about but an 11-26 rear cluster (I live in coastal Florida where you can set a marble down anywhere and it won't roll away) coming from a 52-39 road double and 11-28. I can ride the small ring up any "hill" we have easily and cruise well in the 50 ring and the 15-11 small gears. You have the right idea asking them to swap the cluster for you. It should be no problem for them to help you, at all.

TnBama

If it is that flat there- I would think about not getting the Apex because it has that long cage rear derailler. Whatever you do that just wont be as snappy as a short cage when you shift. You may not care though.

I am still riding a 30 tooth in here in hilly Tennessee. I can tell the difference just having a longer chain to sort of wag around back there. My goal is to drop enough weight to get back to the 12-25 cassette. It was just nicer to ride.

CJ C

the way cheaper series 5 with microshift components. the apex bike is the specialized secteur elite. saw the apex gt at performance its just for a $100 more i can get the smoother riding specialized. or for $400 less the gt 5 that has the same frame

CJ C

thanks qcpmsame, i think i may reconsider going apex at all TnBama makes a point that i would have nover known about.


i may not even notice the wide gear range either if i do nothing. I am coming from a stem shift bike and only others were downtube both with wide ranges on 6 speeds so anything will be an improvement

sorry i am being so nit picky guys, thanks for all your help. Just dont want to shell out cash and settle with something thats not right.

ColinL

the nice thing about the wide ratio cassette in non-hilly locales is that you can linger in the big ring. my wife generally rides the small ring in our neighborhood-- frequent turns and intersections, avg rolling speed 14mph-- and big ring on a bike path or open road. with her 11-32 apex cassette, she can easily take off from a stop in the big ring and manuever at 10mph. (50-32 is like 39-25.)

the bad thing is the frequent 2 and 3 tooth jumps. but you can become acclimated to those, or if you ride MTBs you already are used to it.

CJ C

kind of used to the big jumps with the 6 speed now. i think its a 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28 with a 52/42 crank.

question is it bad to cross chain in the big ring? same of for the small ring?

dnuzzomueller

In theory yes Cross chaining is bad. (And in practice it does shorten chain life). I can relate with you experience though because I have one bike with a long cage rival compact (50/34, 11-32) and one with Force (53/39, 11-28). In a flat scenario I almost always find myself cross chaining the 34 in the three smallest cogs, not really the best move. On my 39/53 I find myself much more apt to ride middle of the cassette with the 39 and I kick the 53 into gear when I am really cruising, on the 50/34 I find myself shifting into the 50 much more(Not a good thing IMO) then I shift into my 53 on the other bike.

Moral of my soap box: You would probably be better off asking about swapping the 50/34 into a 38/52 or 36/52 and going with a cassette that does an 11t gear (I personally recommend a 11-25, I find myself rarely using anything larger then 25 and I DO go up hills every now and then). Before you buy I would recommend asking about swapping out those chainrings if possible. Or at least swapping your 34 to something a little bigger that is what I would have done.