Gearing questions
 

I have a Giant TCX Advanced Pro 2 that I use for road riding as well as some light cross type riding. I'm not in love with the 46/36-11/28 gears tho. Has anyone swapped out chainrings and rear cassettes? Would it be worth it? A 50/34-11/32? I would also need a medium cage derailleur, yes?

It depends on what you want to do with your bike. I swapped my 46/36 to a 48/34 to give me a higher end while also providing some good gearing for the hills we have here in the North East. In both cases, I used the 11/28 Cassette. I ran it this way for two years - and here's my verdict: first - it sucked for racing - so if that's your intention stick with the 46/36. It was great on the road and in group rides - however, I recently switched back to the 46/36 (I got the Cx70 by Shimano to be exact). The reason was that most of the time - the 48 was a bit too high of a gear for normal riding (plus it sucked on trails). with the 46/36 - I can ride in the larger crank a lot more and the 36 seems about right for all but the steepest hills. When I need to replace my rear derailleur - I will probably opt for a medium cage to allow for a 12/30 or 32 rear cassette which will be plenty for the hills.

Overall - the jump from a 34 to a 50 is quite a lot - so you shifting might be an issue. If you wanted to change things, I would go with a 48/34. I used FSA cranks and chainrings and shifting was flawless.

As I mentioned - unless you are doing some serious group rides - I think the 50/34 would limit your overall usability for your Cross bike.

If it makes the riding more fun/enjoyable, then it's totally worth it. You would probably want a new derailleur to be safe, all though the short cage one might work. Don't forget a new chain either :thumb:

try 46/34. Do you really spin out 46/11? that's 36mph at 110rpm cadence

Don't forget you have to know arm length, chain stay length, and tire diameter.

I use 48/33 with a custom 12-32 cassette by using TA Specialite chainrings. For the cassette, I took out the 11t cog and put in the 15t cog. It's a great drivetrain with lots of smooth transitions throughout the cassette and no big jumps. 32/33 gets me very close to 1:1 as a hill grinder gear.

A lot of times I can ride on either the big or small chainring for long durations like it's a 1x11 speed, depending on the terrain. Using a 48t and 33t chainring was largely a product of using the 16t range of the derailleurs, then the 11t cog becomes very unnecessary. So I cleaned up the big space between the 14 and 16 in the cassette.

Maybe super powerful riders, and primarily on road, will find the 50t chainring useful, but for me it was a waste of gear range.

i use a CX50 (46/36) chainring and a SRAM 1070 cassett with a SRAM long cage RD.
this works well for CX and road/group rides. 1:1 for those steep climbs and 11t for the flats.

I use my CX rig for some club CX races - more just a bit of muddy fun around and 1km circuit - as well as commuting, plenty of solo gravel-grinding and some bunch rides - with 52/36 chainrings & 11/28 cassette - works well enough for me!

cheers

What is the Course Terrain? Question..

CX courses are Loops , often In Parks .. the terrain is maybe not really challenging , it is doing it as fast As possible ,
after lap, that Is.

FWIW the 50-34 / 11-32, 34 will get you across the Continent ..

48/34 12-32 has proven about perfect for about everything that a CX bike geometry allows