[Leviathan]

Anyone use a Mid-Compact 52/36 crankset? As opposed to a Standard 53/39 or Compact 50/34. I am thinking of changing my range, I currently use a 11-28 10speed cassette and have no more room on the back. I won’t say anymore as sometimes when I ask questions like these people will start coming up with solutions to problems I don’t have, so I will just let you wax lyrical; mid compact best of both worlds? Anyone gone mid and won’t go back or regretting it?

Topic

[Roadie_john]

Welsh boy wrote:

Welsh boy wrote:

I ride a compact with 50 and 38 tooth rings with a 13-25 cassette. The drop from the 50 ring to a 34 was way too much and if I cant spin 50×13 fast enough I freewheel for a few seconds until the 1 in 5 hill levels off slightly. I live in hilly south Wales and 38×25 is low enough for anything I come across and also means that I dont have big jumps between gears.

 

this. I have ridden fixed lots. Once spun out on 39×15 at 42 mph. I was seeing double my head was bouncing. I use 12 top max – the extra cog is more use in the middle of the cassette. 16t difference on the front is too much and needs three or four shifts on the back for the shift on the front. Used to race on 53/42 and train on 48/38. Now I pootle on 52/36 or 50/34 but the triple shifts are a pain in the butt and I’m buying a 46 for the winter bike and a 39 for the summer bike. It’s easy to spin out 50×12 or 50×13 on a steep hill,  but in winter I’m not going flat out down steep hills. 

[Canyon48]

Bought 52/36 11-28 for my new

Bought 52/36 11-28 for my new 105 groupset last year.

Feel like I would have been better off with 50/34 or even 50/36. I simply don’t use much of the higher end of the cassette when I’m in the big ring. I can happily cruise along at 22 mph with a few gears still left to use.

No problems at the lower end however, 36 28 as the lowest gearing is tough on the REALLY steep inclines, but more than manageable.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Re-reading this, I

Re-reading this, I contributed to it 2 years ago when I had a bike with a 53-39 and 12-27.  I think changed it to a 12-29, as it helped me stay closer to my mates with compacts on the climbs.  

I then got a new bike which came with a mid-compact and 11-28.  Within a year I was booked on the Fred Whitton so changed up further to 11-32 (you need a longer cage derailleur too).  I wouldn’t go back now, the range of gears is perfect for me – living in the SE of the UK, the toughest hills are Barhatch or Bignor and nothing takes 10 minutes to climb.  If I was in hillier country I would go for a proper compact.

I think the main benefit of a mid-compact is you can tailor your gearing without breaking the bank – you can do whatever at the back plus I think you can change the chain rings on a mid because they have the same bcd as compacts?

[Leviathan]

Revenge of the Thread

Revenge of the Thread Notification.

[Jimthebikeguy.com]

52/36 with an 11-32 cassette,
52/36 with an 11-32 cassette, because faster at one end and… More… Climb-y at the other. Maybe.

[Rich_cb]

Not sure I get that ‘cadence
Not sure I get that ‘cadence zone’ theory.

Your cranks and wheels are directly connected, if your cranks are rotating at a particular cadence then your wheels must also be turning at a particular rate therefore you will be travelling at a particular speed (assuming you’re not going downhill).

If you are wobbling all over the bike you will be wasting power but as long as your cadence remains the same it won’t affect your speed.

[sjcruiser36]

Great information and

Great information and explanation. This will help me out alot with understanding my cadence and pedaling technique. 

Leviathan wrote:

Re – spinning out: This is actually a quite subjective term. If you are going downhill fast sure you can spin out on anything. But if you are on the flat with a compact what some people mean by spinning out is slightly different. If you have a low cadence but find yourself in a gear and terrain that requires a higher cadence you can find your legs spinning around in a higher cadence than you are used to. You might not feel that you are effectively delivering pressure to the pedals. Your cadence might be high but your power is low. I call this over-rotation. I often pass city riders spinning and bouncing along in low gears. Similarly under-rotation means grinding away at a low cadence in a high gear. There is a cadence zone for each gear that delivers power. I have found that by improving my pedaling style I can still deliver power at a higher cadence where before I would have just been moving my legs. In other words, you can push up to 60 rpm on a 50/11 =34kph but once you are there the only way to go faster is to increase cadence, but if you are not used to delivering 80-90rpm you will just be wobbling all over the shop and not going any faster. Thanks to everyone here who has one; you all seem quite happy so I will give it a try. I had my new chain on today and had the familiar chook-chook of slippage from the back. Slow acceleration and the Labour Party conference made me two minutes late for work. So new cassette too; ah well another full rebuild. And yeah, no, I won’t be going near any Horseshoes or Passes any time soon until my components arrive and everything comes back together. The War Horse just has to get me 9.3km to work and back. Oh to live in a world were all components were shiny and new and not a frayed gear cable end in sight!

[Simon E]

bikeboy76 wrote:There is a

bikeboy76 wrote:

There is a cadence zone for each gear that delivers power. I have found that by improving my pedaling style I can still deliver power at a higher cadence where before I would have just been moving my legs.
In other words, you can push up to 60 rpm on a 50/11 =34kph but once you are there the only way to go faster is to increase cadence, but if you are not used to delivering 80-90rpm you will just be wobbling all over the shop and not going any faster.

Working on your pedalling technique – and not just the speed – and how you hold your upper body will do more for you than 2 chainring teeth. Like any other technique, it takes a considerable amount of time and dedicated practice (this is not the same as just riding around) but it’s worth the effort. A good pianist does not require an expensive grand piano to play beautiful music but they will have practised for many, many hours.

[MKultra]

glynr36 wrote:MKultra wrote:I

glynr36 wrote:

MKultra wrote:

I ride fixed and the 43×15 as that is what size chain ring was in the bit’s box and the LBS only had 15t sprocket in stock. Any gentle incline will let you spin it out at 36mph. Who on earth thinks a 50t is too small?

Assuming you’re on a 700c wheel and running 23’s thats a cadence in excess of 150rpm (34mph is 152rpm and tharts as far up as the calculator I used goes!)

That’s more than just spinning out, even on my fixed with 48×16 I find 30mph to be on the limit of spinning (128rpm).

It is the fastest I have had it up to on an incline, on the flat or gently rolling terrain the cadence and top speed is more sensible/realistic

I must admit that when it creeps up past 30 it gets a bit scary to say the least so I would not wish to repeat the experience of 36mph which I have only reached a few times, on the old mine access road it’s a lot safer as it’s uninterrupted for several miles down the valley, on other busier routes there is no way you are going to stop it if a vehicle pulls out on you

Don’t try this at home kids

[Welsh boy]

I ride a compact with 50 and
I ride a compact with 50 and 38 tooth rings with a 13-25 cassette. The drop from the 50 ring to a 34 was way too much and if I cant spin 50×13 fast enough I freewheel for a few seconds until the 1 in 5 hill levels off slightly. I live in hilly south Wales and 38×25 is low enough for anything I come across and also means that I dont have big jumps between gears.

[Leviathan]

Re – spinning out: This is
Re – spinning out: This is actually a quite subjective term. If you are going downhill fast sure you can spin out on anything. But if you are on the flat with a compact what some people mean by spinning out is slightly different. If you have a low cadence but find yourself in a gear and terrain that requires a higher cadence you can find your legs spinning around in a higher cadence than you are used to. You might not feel that you are effectively delivering pressure to the pedals. Your cadence might be high but your power is low. I call this over-rotation. I often pass city riders spinning and bouncing along in low gears. Similarly under-rotation means grinding away at a low cadence in a high gear. There is a cadence zone for each gear that delivers power. I have found that by improving my pedaling style I can still deliver power at a higher cadence where before I would have just been moving my legs.
In other words, you can push up to 60 rpm on a 50/11 =34kph but once you are there the only way to go faster is to increase cadence, but if you are not used to delivering 80-90rpm you will just be wobbling all over the shop and not going any faster.

Thanks to everyone here who has one; you all seem quite happy so I will give it a try. I had my new chain on today and had the familiar chook-chook of slippage from the back. Slow acceleration and the Labour Party conference made me two minutes late for work. So new cassette too; ah well another full rebuild.

And yeah, no, I won’t be going near any Horseshoes or Passes any time soon until my components arrive and everything comes back together. The War Horse just has to get me 9.3km to work and back. Oh to live in a world were all components were shiny and new and not a frayed gear cable end in sight!

[Must be Mad]

I’m running a 50/34 compact
I’m running a 50/34 compact with a 10 speed 28-11 cassette.
With that, I spin out at about 42/43mph… but these speeds are (for me) gravity assisted. (and its also not the sort of cadence I could sustain for that long either)

I live in a hilly area with plenty of 20-30% gradients to get up, and would not wish to go ‘harder’ then my 34:28 ratio. However if i could swap the big ring for a 51…

[Must be Mad]

I’m running a 50/34 compact
I’m running a 50/34 compact with a 10 speed 28-11 cassette.
With that, I spin out at about 42/43mph… but these speeds are (for me) gravity assisted. (and its also not the sort of cadence I could sustain for that long either)

I live in a hilly area with plenty of 20-30% gradients to get up, and would not wish to go ‘harder’ then my 34:28 ratio. However if i could swap the big ring for a 51…

[McVittees]

50/36 for me too. What I
50/36 for me too. What I like is the smaller jump between 52/36 or even 50/34, in both cases 14t gap…yuck! Can’t push 50/12 on flat yet anyway so don’t really need a bigger front ring yet.

[alexjones5]

Having ridden both standard
Having ridden both standard and compact I think to 52/36 is a great combination.

Like has been said above, the jump down to a 34 does feel too big and I tended to spend most of the time on the 50 (even though the difference between 52/36 and 50/34 is exactly the same!!)

I regularly ride quite steep gradients (I live on the Stage 2 TdF route so train over Strines often) and have ridden the Fred the last 3 years. I have 11 speed so a 12-28 gets up and down anything (although I’ve only used the 28 on Hardknott).

A lot of this is down to the type of rider you are though. A lot of old school riders like to feel a gear and push rather than spin. It’s also down to where you are going to be doing the majority of your riding.

It’s the individuality that makes cycling the sport it is but also means we all have an opinion on everything!!

I’d say the 36/52 gives you more usable gears which is what’s most important.

[Author]

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