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Roadie_john.
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September 21, 2014 at 6:57 pm #22426
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?
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Simon E
Bummer that you didn’t
Bummer that you didn’t complete the Etape. There’s still time to enter the Horseshoe hill climb on 5 October here.The previous times it dropped from the inner ring were a warning, it was likely to (and unfortunately did) get worse; often it’s that the mech stop is not set correctly, though there are other possible causes.
I don’t want to unnecessarily ruffle your feathers, but I really do not understand you spinning out with a 50t front ring, I can only manage that on a long descent, when I can freewheel. I have bikes with 50 and 52 and the difference is insignificant. 50×11 is a feckin’ big gear:
50 x 11 = 120″ or 9.6 m
52 x 11 = 124″ or 10.0 mAre you over-thinking the permutations of chainset combinations? If you need the lower gears afforded by a compact then a slightly lower top gear is not such a terrible price to pay. With a suitable rear mech you can try other cassettes e.g. 11-32.
See you at the Ponderosa on the 5th B-)
Yorkshie Whippet
I run one of those oddball
I run one of those oddball 50/36 with a 11/12-25 at back. Gets me up 20% likes of Cow n calf or Langbarr with a fair amount of grunting. As for flat, I’m happy if I can cruise at 20mph.joemmo
To add some persepective: (if
To add some persepective: (if my maths is right) If you are turning a 50×11 gear at a healthy 80rpm then you’re doing 28.5mph – with a 52×11 that’s more like 30mph so it’s not a huge difference.glynr36
MKultra wrote:I ride fixed
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).
MKultra
I ride fixed and the 43×15 as
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?CXR94Di2
Exactly, I don’t see anyone
Exactly, I don’t see anyone other than professional riders using 53-11 for flat-ish routesI personally can travel at 22 – 24mph on the flat with only a compact 50 ring, I don’t have the power to sustain the 11 ring unless going slightly down hill, then I am doing 30+mph but not for long periods
If I am on slow end of cycling with that performance I give up on trying to get faster.
DrJDog
Who are all these people who
Who are all these people who spin out on a 50 11? And does the couple of mph added by a 52 chainring really make any difference?You seem to have two
You seem to have two issues
1. You’ve got a damaged 39T chain ring.
Would need to replace the chain rings, chain and cassette (better to start fresh as it sounds like you’ve got a lot in the current set)2.Then you say you also feel you could go to a mid as you’ve become less of a grinder and more of a spinner, and feel 39-28 isn’t enough at the lower end?
Would need to replace chainset, as well as chain and cassette.Which is the bigger issue to you and of more importance?
How much all of this will cost you depends on what you run.
A relife of my drive chain on Campagnolo 11 will cost me the best part of around £250, you could do a Shimano one for much less I imagine.therevokid
running a “mid mid compact”
running a “mid mid compact” … well 50/36 as I couldn’t get a 34t to replace
the worn out one !!! Coupled with a 12-27 out back it’s pretty much all I need
or want 🙂
My other bike has a 52/36 witha 12-27 but I may just change that to a 50t as
well … 🙂OnTheRopes
I ‘ended up’ with 52/36 after
I ‘ended up’ with 52/36 after buying a new off the peg bike which I needed in a hurry to replace my stolen bikes.
I have only ever used 53/39 and begrudgingly accepted 52/36 as a compromise as I definitely did not want a compact.
Well I have to say having been using it now for over 3k miles with a 11-25 I have to say that this is a great combination. I haven’t needed lower than 36*25 although if I was going to the Alps I may fit a 27 and 52*11 is enough for me. Maybe if I race again I will want a 53 but to be honest I would actually prefer a 12-25 for smoother changing.Nzlucas, good morning there.
Nzlucas, good morning there. Just changed the chain due to this problem. Last one was changed with the cassette last august. Cassette is in good condition with little wear and even wear if any. I was thinking of changing rear mech, cassette and chain in one lot next summer. The problem is not the chain, which I have now changed anyway. It is this chipped tooth. A new crankset is definitely required, so the question is just which one?
Those distances were just to give an idea of how far I ride. Quite a bit, though not compared to some others on this forum. I still don’t quite have the money for spare drive trains hanging around for marginally different set ups, and no mechanic to swap them at the weekend for me. (Why not just have two bikes, a compact climbing bike for Derbyshire and a standard ranger bike for Cheshire? oh choices like a sweet shop.) Now that I have discovered there is a middle way. I am just looking for a bit of validation in case anyone has a reason not to go for this.Nzlucas
Quote:
chain sept 14
chain sept 14 5000km in 2012 and 6000km in 2013, over 5000k 2014
Are you saying you have 3 chains or 1 chain that has done all that milage?If its one chain then its probably worn out which will not have helped the shifting. It will also have worn the chain rings teeth and cassettes. The chain ring especially starts to shift horribly once they start getting worn. If you change your chain more regularly then you have to change the cassette less (change at say .75mm stretch for instance) and the chain rings last longer.
secondly, on most popular crank sets standard is 130mm BCD and compact (including 36/52) are 110 BCD meaning you are going to have to buy a new crankset. So why not have both and swap them when you need them?
Not bought anything yet…
Not bought anything yet… well I guess I can say a little more: I did the Etape Cymru last Sunday and got 95km into it before having a disaster. This summer I have had a maybe half a dozen instances of the chain dropping off the front ring when climbing. I just popped it back and wasn’t too concerned, however on the first big climb of the etape I got down into 39/28 and it dropped off a further 4 times in quick succession. I tried to avoid my lowest gear but had to resort to it again on some of the big stuff. After dropping twice on Horseshoe pass and with my gloves getting dirty I started to count. By the time I got to the base of World’s End it had dropped 12 times. I turned the corner onto the steepest slope and ‘clunk’ it dropped again but this time the chain jammed and the hanger bent into my wheel. I pulled the hanger out and ‘ping’ it snapped. I had to walk down the hill after some kind direction (and no I didn’t have the right tools to fix it.) I got some sympathy on the way down and one lady who I must have overtaken several times said ‘Oh dear, It’s given you hell all day.’ A good Samaritan mountain biker with a greasy transit van [Ian?] gave me a lift back to my campsite near Wrexham on the way back to the start to collect his mate and I had to scoot back to the train station. DNF, they call it the toughest sportive, at least I didn’t crash into the ford.Damage so far 1. Pride, 2. New Hanger, 3. New Chain.
I have now diagnosed the problem is a chipped tooth on my 39 front ring. It is terminal and will drop off on any of my three smallest gears. I am stuck to the big ring, which is fine for commuting and getting plenty of rolling miles in but no hills.Here is my kit rota
cranks dec11
rearmech dec 11
cassette aug13
bottom bracket nov 13
tyres dec13
brakes aug 14
hanger sept 14
chain sept 14 5000km in 2012 and 6000km in 2013, over 5000k 2014So I need something new. When I got my current bike and three rebuilds ago in 2009 it was a compact. I quickly changed this as I didn’t like spinning out on the flat like Scrufftie and was used to a standard on some earlier bikes. At the time I though 30km was a good bit of exercise and was mostly sprinting around urban areas. I have since expanded my horizons and venture into the countryside and increased the range and type of riding I do. After struggling with the London 100 last year in 39/25, I got a 28 for the back and is the most I can fit on there. This definitely helped but I still didn’t want to loose the standard. Over last winter I tried to improve my pedaling style and cadence and found I now need to use the highest gears less often. I can now ‘afford’ to give away some teeth on the crank due to improving my riding. But it is only this week I have found out I am not stuck with a compact or same again, which leads me back here…
Daveyraveygravey
Currently run standard with
Currently run standard with 12-27, think a mid-compact will be perfect for me. Haven’t been beaten by any of the hills in Sussex or Surrey but notice buddies with compacts stay seated for longer than me and generally spin away and pull out a gap on longer harder hills such as Whitedown and Barhatch. I think a mid-compact will be a better all round combination – might try the Fred next year or one of the tougher rides in Devon or Cornwall and know the standard would be hard work.Simon E
Purchase justification?
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