Jayson17

I picked up cycling earlier this year and got myself a Giant Road bike 8-speed 11-34 cassette. I think I have outgrown my bike but also want something new with all the bells and whistle. I’m looking at upgrading to a Canyon CF Ultimate 11-speed 11x30 but since I live next to hills and all my routes require some type of climbing. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if by me going to an 11x30, is it equivalent to what I have now? Worse? Better?

79pmooney

I trust you understand the chainrings makes just as much of a difference. (Your gear ration is the chainring teeth divided by the cassette teeth. The ratio is all that matters, not the cassette size.)

Tell us how many teeth on your small chainring and on the bike(s) you are looking at.

Jayson17

Sorry still a little new with all the gear ratio to fully understand. But my old bike is 34/50 and the bike I want to get is 36/52.

Beach Bob

OK.. so a 36/52 is going to be a gear or two harder to push uphill than a 34/50, and a 11-30 will be one or two harder than a 11-34 cassette... sounds like you're going to lose 3 or 4 gears for the hill climbs (and have extra for the descents and flats).... in simple math...your old bike gave you an easiest gear of 34/34 and what you're looking at is going to give you 30/36.... so about 16% harder on the slackest gear.

Jayson17

Thank you for the detailed explanation! Looks like I’ll just have to change the chainring to a 34/50 to close the gap of the lost gears. Was planning on upgrading the new bikes group set anyways. Now I have a better idea of what to get. Thanks a bunch! Appreciate it!

Chi_Z

chainrings are very expansive to change and the smaller you go the less efficient your drivetrain will be

jaxgtr

if you stick with a 50/34 - 11-34 config, you should be able to swap cassettes without changing chains or removing links, so if you want to ride the 11-30 one day, then you can just swap out the cassette from the 11-34.

Jayson17

Do you suggest upgrading the cassette to a 11-34 instead? I think it depends on the rear derailleur what the max teeth you can have on the cassette and might need to change the whole drivetrain anyways. Looking for any tips or suggestion of what I can do to get the best drivetrain possible for climbing. I’m fortunate enough to have a buddy that works for popular bike part manufacturer where I can get the parts for a fraction of the cost. So that’s another reason why I don’t mind upgrading.

Cyclist0108

You are doomed, front and rear, unless your current bike is geared too low for your hills.

I have a 34T cassette paired with a 46/30T crank, and make use of all the low gearing. A second wheelset I use primarily off-road has an 11-36T cassette.

surak

What RD is on the Ultimate? If it's Ultegra Di2 GS, it will do 34t. Other Shimano RDs might officially support fewer max teeth, but can usually fit 2-4 more than spec.

You would be losing weight on the bike, so 36-34 front/rear wouldn't be too much worse than what you have. Of course if you don't mind the cost of smaller chainrings, then that's always an option.

diphthong

op says "hills.." are said hills connected to bigger mountains or ridiculously steep? where exactly is this riding area in question? makes a difference as
well as how often you're using that easiest gear to spin on the steepest/longest uphills...? every ride or rarely? on the steepest part(s), wishing you had
an easier gear to spin or just standing for a spell up it?

CAT7RDR

Maybe I'm missing something but why consider the Canyon if the gearing is not what you need right out of the box? Seems there could be better options new than absorbing additional costs not necessary?

Moisture

I seriously don't see the point in upgrading, unless your current bike doesn't fit you comfortably. That would be the only reason to want to switch it up.

buying a new bike and changing out the cassette and front crankset is even more silly imo.

FWIW, my current road bike has 40/54 chain ring and a 14/34t freewheel in the back. 2x5. I don't have any issues climbing, although I do find myself using the lowest gear often up the hills and I'm sure that many people would be better off with some more climbing ratios than me.

Moisture

Fitting onto your bike properly is more important than any fancy feature you can get on a modern bike.

waters60

If your RD can handle it go with 11-32 or 34
You will like the 52 up front. The difference in 2 teeth up front is minimal compared to 2 or 4 in back.

shelbyfv

They don't have to be mutually exclusive you know. Besides which, there have been some pretty bizarre configurations recently touted on BF as "proper fit." OP, consider the source when you evaluate BF advice.

shelbyfv

OP, another thing to consider is that bikes are often sold with gearing the manufacturer considers appropriate for intended use. For example, a bike that comes with 52-36 and 11-30 will also likely have a "race" or more aggressive fit. A bike with 50-34 and 11-32 might have more of an "endurance" fit. Since you have a source for parts, switching out a crank may not be a big deal. However, if you get a frame with too much saddle to bar drop than you are comfortable with, you'll be stuck with a huge stack of spacers or some other kludge that you will regret.

Bah Humbug

It's funny that not that long ago 52/36 and 11-30 was very easy gearing and "race" bikes came with 53/39 and 12-25.

seypat

Even longer ago they came with 52/42 and 5 or 6 speed straight block corn cobs. Keep going back and the smal ring sometimes was in the 45-47T range.

shelbyfv

Yep, my first "nicer" bike, a Raleigh Comp, came with 52-42 and maybe a 23 largest cog. Almost 50 years ago.... World seemed much flatter back then!

waters60

Ah yes, the days of my youth, when I bent a Regina 23 on my 42 tooth front going up Smugglers... To be 21 again! What impresses me most are fellow 60 year olds or better still using those gears. I’m not proud, I’ll take my 36-32!

Bah Humbug

Yes, but the timeframe I've been riding is especially funny to me no just because it's the part I've seen, but that when I started "nice" bikes came with gearing harder than I could use. Now they come with gearing easier than I want. And for the few years in the middle they came with the gearing I want, I was marathoning. Awesome.

grizzly59

(36/30)/(34/34) = 1.2

The lowest gear on the Canyon is 20% higher than the lowest gear on your bike now. Assumed same size wheels.

seypat

I still have 52/42 on all of my bikes.......
............with a 30T granny included.
More often that not, I'm on the 52/42, but the granny is there if I need it. The main benefit is reduced shifting. Where I live the terrain is up/down/up/down. Instead of shifting 5-7 with the front/back then returning the other way in a minute or two, I can shift the front once or twice and cover the same range. Over a multiple hour/all day ride that helps a lot. Otherwise, my right forearm muscles get extremely tight. I eventually lose the ability to shift, brake or even grip the handlebar with that hand. Safety becomes an issue.

genejockey 

The Endurace might be a better choice, especially if you've been riding less than a year. I don't know the geometry of the Giant, but the Ultimate will have a fairly low Stack, which may either put the bars lower than you're comfortable with, or require running a lot of spacers. The Endurace has 1.1 cm higher stack for the same size bike, which might not sound like much but in bike fitting a cm of difference can be HUGE.

The Endurace comes with an 11-34 cassette and 52/36 crankset, so your lowest gear will be 36 x 34, a bit larger than your current 34 x 34, but not as bad as 36 x 30!

EDIT: I bought an Endurace myself in July. and have been very happy with it. Living in an area with lots of hills, I find myself using ALL the gears, although the 34 tooth cog, not as much as I thought I would.