Cassette advice
05-13-22, 07:53 PM
#26
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And if after a few months of struggling, even with the 34, an option would be to switch out the 34/50 crank to a 30/46. You'd need a new bottom bracket likely, but they are cheap. This is a common crank on gravel bikes and they they are great for hills.
05-13-22, 08:04 PM
#27
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What I often observe on events involving significant climbs are loads of people grinding away at ridiculously low cadence, who would be far better served with much lower gearing. It's not just a case of getting up the climb, it's also a case of maintaining a reasonable cadence to make it more efficient. Road bike gearing has only just woken up to this simple fact in the last few years and I still think it's a bit behind the curve set by the mtb crowd. I find even a compact 50/34 and 11-34 cassette can be a bit marginal at times and I'm a reasonably strong climber. But our local UK climbs are very steep (often north of 20% gradient in places).
For sure the OP will get stronger with practice, but will still almost certainly gain efficiency from a lower gear. The difference in cadence for a given speed between a 30T and 34T is approx 10 rpm. So if you are bogged down to 60 rpm with a 30T, you would be at 70 rpm on a 34T and likely feeling much more comfortable.
For sure the OP will get stronger with practice, but will still almost certainly gain efficiency from a lower gear. The difference in cadence for a given speed between a 30T and 34T is approx 10 rpm. So if you are bogged down to 60 rpm with a 30T, you would be at 70 rpm on a 34T and likely feeling much more comfortable.
This. For some reason a lot of roadies seem to think running appropriate gearing is a sign of weakness. My road bike does double duty as my gravel bike so I run a 11-32 cassette to keep my gaps somewhat close for the road but I run a 46/30 sub-compact crankset so I can climb those steep gravel climbs. I use that 30f and 32r way more often than I thought I would on the road. I climb just as fast if not faster on the steep stuff as I did running a standard 50/34 crank but now I can keep my cadence up and when I reach the top my legs are fresher.
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05-14-22, 09:40 AM
#28
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This. For some reason a lot of roadies seem to think running appropriate gearing is a sign of weakness. My road bike does double duty as my gravel bike so I run a 11-32 cassette to keep my gaps somewhat close for the road but I run a 46/30 sub-compact crankset so I can climb those steep gravel climbs. I use that 30f and 32r way more often than I thought I would on the road. I climb just as fast if not faster on the steep stuff as I did running a standard 50/34 crank but now I can keep my cadence up and when I reach the top my legs are fresher.
Nice bikes with general purpose gearing - but not the best for those who need a solid lower gear range or the opposite for quite flat riding (including 'wind')...
Knowing what your ride plan is, and having the gearing to best match, seems put behind 'bling', 'weight' and 'aero'... LOL!
Worrying about your deep section aero, when you have 5,000+ ft of climbing ahead...
"A rider's got to know their limitations' - /eastwood
Ride On
Yuri
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05-14-22, 09:50 AM
#29
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I think it might be worse. Many riders incorrectly believe that a wider range is better. (Although that obviously does not apply to those above who have participated in this thread.)
05-16-22, 11:42 AM
#30
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I have an 11-34 HG800 cassette, mated to a 50-34 crank on my Lynskey. My biggest distaste for this combination are the 2-tooth gaps in the starting through cruising part of the cassette, the 13-19t section. If I'm cruising in 15T and the road goes from 0% to 1%, I'd love to switch to 16T, but I have to select 17T and spin more than I'm comfortable with. Likewise, any headwinds result in bigger gear shifts than really necessary.
One of my other bikes has a SRAM 11-28, with single tooth jumps between 11-17, which is useful for relatively flat terrain. That bike is paired with a 48-32 Praxis crank, so while the low-end isn't quite as low as the 1:1 on the Lynskey, I'm not giving up too much - and I actually almost never use the 34T on that bike anyway. 48x11 is most definitely slower than 50x11, but I'm up there so infrequently that I think it's a better tradeoff.
Of course, these two bikes are on fairly flat terrain - the steepest climb on my routes is 9.4%, but only for 0.3 miles; otherwise I'm rarely above 6% grade where I am.
One of my other bikes has a SRAM 11-28, with single tooth jumps between 11-17, which is useful for relatively flat terrain. That bike is paired with a 48-32 Praxis crank, so while the low-end isn't quite as low as the 1:1 on the Lynskey, I'm not giving up too much - and I actually almost never use the 34T on that bike anyway. 48x11 is most definitely slower than 50x11, but I'm up there so infrequently that I think it's a better tradeoff.
Of course, these two bikes are on fairly flat terrain - the steepest climb on my routes is 9.4%, but only for 0.3 miles; otherwise I'm rarely above 6% grade where I am.
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05-16-22, 11:57 AM
#32
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I have an 11-34 HG800 cassette, mated to a 50-34 crank on my Lynskey. My biggest distaste for this combination are the 2-tooth gaps in the starting through cruising part of the cassette, the 13-19t section. If I'm cruising in 15T and the road goes from 0% to 1%, I'd love to switch to 16T, but I have to select 17T and spin more than I'm comfortable with. Likewise, any headwinds result in bigger gear shifts than really necessary.
One of my other bikes has a SRAM 11-28, with single tooth jumps between 11-17, which is useful for relatively flat terrain. That bike is paired with a 48-32 Praxis crank, so while the low-end isn't quite as low as the 1:1 on the Lynskey, I'm not giving up too much - and I actually almost never use the 34T on that bike anyway. 48x11 is most definitely slower than 50x11, but I'm up there so infrequently that I think it's a better tradeoff.
Of course, these two bikes are on fairly flat terrain - the steepest climb on my routes is 9.4%, but only for 0.3 miles; otherwise I'm rarely above 6% grade where I am.
One of my other bikes has a SRAM 11-28, with single tooth jumps between 11-17, which is useful for relatively flat terrain. That bike is paired with a 48-32 Praxis crank, so while the low-end isn't quite as low as the 1:1 on the Lynskey, I'm not giving up too much - and I actually almost never use the 34T on that bike anyway. 48x11 is most definitely slower than 50x11, but I'm up there so infrequently that I think it's a better tradeoff.
Of course, these two bikes are on fairly flat terrain - the steepest climb on my routes is 9.4%, but only for 0.3 miles; otherwise I'm rarely above 6% grade where I am.
05-16-22, 12:09 PM
#33
Senior Member
So tying this back to the OP - a wider range can be useful, but know that you're giving up tighter ratios, as well.
05-16-22, 12:47 PM
#34
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But tangential and off-topic discussions are the lifeblood of Bike Forums!
05-16-22, 01:10 PM
#35
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[QUOTE=SoSmellyAir;22508725]Cheapest here: SRAM PG-1170 11-28 11-Speed Cassette (planetcyclery.com)
Nice find, thanks!
I just looked up that Dura-Ace 12-28T. 12-17T in single tooth jumps: fantastic. $280, with relatively short lifespan due to titanium cogs? Not so much!
Nice find, thanks!
I just looked up that Dura-Ace 12-28T. 12-17T in single tooth jumps: fantastic. $280, with relatively short lifespan due to titanium cogs? Not so much!
05-16-22, 02:59 PM
#36
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I am riding a 12-25 now because I had tried but failed to build my own by combining a 12-25 and a 11-28. At least my legs got stronger.
05-27-22, 07:19 PM
#37
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This. For some reason a lot of roadies seem to think running appropriate gearing is a sign of weakness. My road bike does double duty as my gravel bike so I run a 11-32 cassette to keep my gaps somewhat close for the road but I run a 46/30 sub-compact crankset so I can climb those steep gravel climbs. I use that 30f and 32r way more often than I thought I would on the road. I climb just as fast if not faster on the steep stuff as I did running a standard 50/34 crank but now I can keep my cadence up and when I reach the top my legs are fresher.
back in the 90's I attended some pro road races in the US - including the Thrift Drug Classic held in Pittsburgh PA which was a grueling 120 mile race that featured a lot of climbing
the second or maybe third year of the race (can't recall) the Motorola team used off-road cogs with 28t big cog; they used the lower gearing to their advantage as they spun their way up and past the other competing teams
Spin to Win !
