Giro d’Italia leader Alberto Contador sidelined SRAM Red components and opted instead for much more lowly Apex in the mountains of this year’s race for the option of a wider spread of gears. The other members of Saxo-Bank Sungard, Astana and Garmin-Cervélo did the same.
Apex comes with a SRAM WiFLi cassette – wider, faster, lighter. The ‘wider’ bit refers to the fact that you get an 11-32T, and that’s what appears to be fitted here. That’s a big old spread of gear ratios open to you with a double chainset.
When SRAM say it’s ‘faster’ and ‘lighter’, they’re comparing Apex with a triple chainset. We really can’t see El Pistolero ever considering heading into the Dolomites with a triple on board.
A SRAM Red rear derailleur can’t handle that range so the riders all swapped to a mid-cage Apex option at the back. That’s 63 quid’s worth of rear mech instead of the usual £300 one. It’s only about 40g heavier.
43 thoughts on “Giro tech: Contador goes Apex”
I’m seriously considering
I’m seriously considering changing my Ultegra mech for a med cage XT so I can get a 32 tooth sprocket. My problem being only the peak district hills, but then I am hauling 106kg (hopefully at the moment but even if I hit my target I’ll still be 95kg). I can actually get up hills on 34/25 the trouble being my back spasms after too long grinding and so I really need lower gears to restore a spin which I can easily keep up.
I’m sure some one will be along soon to tell me I have not right to be cycling if I can’t ride though the peaks on a 42/21 low gear.
You shouldn’t be cycling at
You shouldn’t be cycling at all if you can’t ride through the peaks on a 42/21. Before you sort out your bike, you must first chainge yourself
I never realised we had Gear
I never realised we had Gear Ratio Nazis hanging around!
You’re ‘fit’, yay for you. Don’t start telling people they shouldn’t be riding if they’re not to your ‘high standard’.
Whatever gear you need to push to get you out on a bike is just fine.
@velo_alex
The Nazis could
@velo_alex
The Nazis could award you the Irony Cross.
shuttie92 wrote:You shouldn’t
I’m taking this as irony.
I really like this story. If elite athletes need this gearing on extreme climbs, then it is a reasonable choice for riders like me on lesser hills.
shuttie92 wrote:You shouldn’t
Well, since it’s worded almost exaclty as the bit in the first post I see no other way but to take this as sarcasm/funny.
shuttie92 wrote:You shouldn’t
I hope you dont mean that…it would be a shame if you did.
1961-
For me I’ve found that
1961-
For me I’ve found that I love the compact with the 34/25 being the easiest gear, I use a 12-25 so still get close ratios which I like. If the 34/25 gear isn’t enough, you might want to try a 27 cassette, the difference is 1.36 to 1.26, so you’ll be moving one tenth of a revolution more for the same distance. (I think my rational is right there but excuse me if not!)
basically that might help and is easy to do as most rear mechs should accept the 27 no probs.
Otherwise it might not be a bad idea to consider a bike with a triple.
1961BikiE wrote:I’m seriously
I do exactly this, except I managed to find a lovely Dura-ace long cage mech. Its great. I expect the ‘mashers’ will all be needing knee replacement surgery in the future!
I have Sram Force/Apex on the
I have Sram Force/Apex on the Salsa Vaya, really like it!
When I upgrade the Serotta, will go with the same system.
Tom
but is he using a compact
but is he using a compact chainset as well or just a regular 39t on the front?
got a 48/34 apex on one bike and a truvativ elita triple (basically same chainset) on another, I’ll admit the double looks cleaner but I prefer the triple for the range and the fact that 80% of the gears I use are on the 39T ring. Idefinitely do more double shifting on the compact
joemmo wrote:the double looks
These are the reasons I’ve stuck with my triple to date.
SRAM are using the ‘triples are dead’ angle for marketing but if a dedicated road wide range cassette gets people riding then I don’t mind. There’s room for both options.
So is only half-filling a water bottle or having a pee before you start the climb. Don’t believe the hype – the reduction in weight (200g?) by losing the third chainring is insignificant, even on big hills. For a 70kg rider on 10kg bike it’s 0.2% of total weight.
The talk of lower Q-factor is marketing speak too, as the the modified pedals on Cavendish’s Giro bike demonstrate.
joemmo wrote:but is he using
SRAM say that Contador was using a 50/34 compact chainset on his ‘climbing road bike’.
Apex. It’s the only thing me
Apex. It’s the only thing me and Bertie have in common. Apart from our love of a good steak.
😀
dave_atkinson wrote:Apex.
with ‘special sauce’ Dave?
The cynic in me wonders how
The cynic in me wonders how much of this is out of necessity and how much is from the SRAM marketing department.
mr-andrew – you might have a
mr-andrew – you might have a point there.
shuttie92 – you don’t.
Quote:with ‘special sauce’
I need all the help I can get 🙂
I think shuttie92 was just
I think shuttie92 was just responding to 1961BikeIE’s apparent invitation…
“I’m sure some one will be along soon to tell me I have not right to be cycling if I can’t ride though the peaks on a 42/21 low gear.”
I’ll bet that ’92’ refers to the size of the gear that Shuttie pushes 😉
Some of the giro bikes are
Some of the giro bikes are also running front mechs from force and rival but are badged up as red – SRAM have the giro and the tour wrapped up for marketing, i don’t think i don’t think i’ve seen a campy lever in there.
stuartpeck1 wrote:Some of the
… apart from the two in the picture at the top of this story.
cat1commuter
Note the ‘some’ in the text ; )
1961BikiE – We all want
1961BikiE – We all want different things from our cycling – that’s why there are so many options out there & not a ‘one ratio fits all’ setup. Solving the cause of your back pain is far more important than people’s opinion of your gear ratios. Good luck with hitting that target.
I ride a Campy setup and for
I ride a Campy setup and for Alpine Sportives. A Compact Chain set (50/34) with an 11-29 cassette …. the cassette being an amalgamation of the stantard 11-25 and 13-29 as campy don’t make that wide a range. Interestingly though the standard short/medium rear mech cage copes with the range very well! It’s a lighter option than a triple.
I wouldn’t have got up
I wouldn’t have got up Hardknott without my trusty Apex rear saucer 🙂
Whether it’s SRAM’s marketing
Whether it’s SRAM’s marketing dept or not, it seemed to work in the ITT yesterday.
Dirty Bertie was really spinning away up that climb, and for me (and Dave Harmon on EuroSport) I really didn’t think he looked like he was going as fast as Nibali and Scarponi.
You know, if that’s what smaller gears does for you, I might stick an XTR crank/cassette/mech on my race bike. Everyone watch out!
😕
Matt_S wrote:You know, if
Funny you should say that: http://road.cc/content/news/36222-giro-tech-millar-goes-all-mtb
Mat Brett wrote:Funny you
Yes, but I meant with a 26/38 XTR chainset, not a 42/52 osymmetrics like DM was using. 😉
Mat Brett wrote:Matt_S
Funny you should say that: http://road.cc/content/news/36222-giro-tech-millar-goes-all-mtb— Matt_S
He also uses rotor chain rings, probably set up full tilt
Mat Brett wrote:Matt_S
Funny you should say that:
Millar has rotor on the front mind, set up full tilt i’d imagine
Are the Shimano 10 speed MTB
Are the Shimano 10 speed MTB and Road shifters and rear derailleurs compatible? (I know SRAM are.)
If the gears work for you,
If the gears work for you, then get out and ride your bike.
If your gears don’t work, then you’re probably either at the velodrome or being a fred!
You wouldn’t only drive your
You wouldn’t only drive your car up a hill in 5th gear because you’re hard, so why insist on riding a big gear on your bike?
The most appropriate gear is the one which gets you to the top the quickest.
“The most appropriate gear is
“The most appropriate gear is the one which gets you to the top”
fixed that for you. 🙂
k
Greetings from the Republic
Greetings from the Republic of Boulder, CO. I don’t think I am a gearhead, bikesnob or gearNazi but thought I’d offer my 2 bits. I’d echo keefus as I used to have a 55/46 and 12-25 set for my daily commute (all into big ring pushing) on rollers. The first group ride I did was up one of the steepest short climbs we have in our area (10-14% ramps). Needless to say that a) I did it at 3mph standing up in the 46/25, 2)yes, my tongue was dragging on the asphalt, and 3)weighed ~90kg. So yeah, I made it to the top but it was …hard.
Now, I’m a bit lighter (60-65kg), have a compact double with similar rear gearing but can climb in the big ring for much of that climb. I did use an XTR cassette for awhile and found that was a nice choice as well. I opted for the CD vs a triple because of redundant gearing. I also didn’t want to get into a bit of crosschaining as well which I’d experienced when demoing bikes with triple rings.
Last summer I did a ride over much of the higher mountains out in CO and found a compact double worked fine, definitely thought I did better/as good as the conventional 52/39 stuff that a lot of folks were riding.
Bike Cru rides a BIG gear for
Bike Cru rides a BIG gear for 1 in 4 & 1 in 5 hills around the peak district, or is he staying on the rolling hills – more likely!!!
I assume Contador is still
I assume Contador is still running a 54/39 with his new 11-32? I use a standard compact 50/34 with a 12-27 for hill work. In respect of meters development 39 x 32 yields the same meters development of 2.6 than my 34 x 27. A standard triple of 50/39/30 with a standard 12-25 cassette yields 2.5 meters development when turning the 30 x 25 gear. At the low end, all three solutions yeild almost identical results.
who cares as long you are
who cares as long you are enjoying cycling(thats the point of cycling havin fun)ride what ever gearing you like…:) as cyclists we should be encouraging people to ride,not telling them they shouldnt,get on your bike and smile..
well said, it’s the evil :O
well said, it’s the evil motorists we should we shouting at, not each other
When my bottom gear was 34/25
When my bottom gear was 34/25 I did feel a bit embarassed so changed to a 34/21. Then I began to feel a little embarassed by the 34 front ring so invested in a 39. After getting up King Alfreds the other day without too much distress on my new 39/21 when previously 34/21 had been a struggle I began to think I might be arriving in the world of cycling at last. I am dissapointed to see 42/21 is now the benchmark. I am now off to see if my butcher has any mexican beef in stock.
whizzkid wrote:When my bottom
As has previously been said, the best gear is the one that gets you up the hill in the quickest time. If you feel a 39/21 is the best gear for you then go for it. There can be no denying that it is a big gear as far a lowest gears go. Others, me included prefer to have a lower gear and achieve this by running a 34 chain ring. Quite frankly the thought of mashing up an 18-20% hill with a 39/21 low gear sends shivvers through my knees. My previous post emphasised that three different chain ring – cassette set ups yeild almost identical meters development results for the lowest gears. It’s a personal thing, run the chain ring-cassette combination that suits you best. This subject all too often turns into a dick swinging competition, it’s the not size of your gear that counts, it’s what you do with it! Do we subscribe to this view though. Ha!
I’ve been running my existing
I’ve been running my existing 105 50/34 chainset and medium cage mech and an Apex cassette for a while now and it works well. It will cover all gears without any problems – I have it on my commuter which I plan to tour on. A cheaper option than converting fully to SRAM if you happen to already have shimano!
strange how millar and co.
strange how millar and co. are using big rings with lots of teeth on the back. when weight weenies are so bothered about every single gram but wouldn’t using a small chainset and small rings at the back use less materiel than two big rings