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Compact or Semi

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  • March 3, 2015 at 11:14 am #23392
    Must be Mad

    About to replace worn out chain rings, chain and cassette, and have been thinking if I should change from a Compact (34/50) to a Semi-compact (36/52) cogs at the front.

    I currently run a 28-11 cassette with a 34/50

    My reason for looking at the bigger cogs is nothing to do with spinning out of the top gear – its that I am finding that I am spending more and more time in the ‘right hand side’ of the cassette.

    With a 36/52, I’m thinking that for my regular cadences, I should spend more time with the chain a bit more central in the cassette. For about 75% of my riding, the 36/52 seems like a step in the right direction.

    However the problem is the other 25%. I live in a hilly area (with a lot of steep slopes), and I do find myself in the 34(front)-28(back) gear quite a lot.

    On my current setup, this gives me a ratio of 1.21:1. Stepping up to a 36-28 would give me a ratio of 1.28:1

    Has anybody made this this change, and how noticeable did it feel when grinding up the climbs?

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  • March 3, 2015 at 9:29 pm #834351
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    Coodsta

    I’ve been running 50/34 &
    I’ve been running 50/34 & 11-28 but found I was mostly in the big ring & the top half of the casette, with all sorts of cross chaining horror. I replaced the 50 ring with a 46 which brought me into the middle of the cassette & works nicely, I still have a 46/11 top gear which gives me 33 MPH at 100 rpm. I’d probably go to a 44 if I was doing it again.

    This is where I first came across the idea

    In praise of the smaller "big" ring

    45 Chainring – part 2 (of 45?)

    recently I’ve gone even further & replaced the 46/34 with a single narrow wide 38 chainring. Yes I ocassionally run out of gears down big hills & have to get out of the saddle on some climbs but everthing looks lovely & clean & runs silently

    i would qualify all this by saying that I ride fixed/singlespeed much of the time any way & only my road bike has gears, so I get a bit confused with 20 gears!

    sheldon Browns gear calculatror is great for working out what gears would work for you: http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

    March 3, 2015 at 6:16 pm #834349
    0
    Must be Mad

    Quote:I was surprised at the

    I was surprised at the difference the 2 extra teeth made.

    Thank you. I’m only looking for a small step at the moment – so feel sticking with current setup the way to go. But this was the sort of feedback I was looking for.

    [quote]remember, kids – there’s no such thing as ‘spinning out’. It’s just shorthand for ‘I don’t know how to pedal quickly’…[quote]
    I did say at the top my question was not about spinning out. But there is a physical limit for the max cadence you can peddle at

    March 3, 2015 at 5:42 pm #834347
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    andyp

    remember, kids – there’s no
    remember, kids – there’s no such thing as ‘spinning out’. It’s just shorthand for ‘I don’t know how to pedal quickly’…

    March 3, 2015 at 5:40 pm #834345
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    andyp

    remember, kids – there’s no
    remember, kids – there’s no such thing as ‘spinning out’. It’s just shorthand for ‘I don’t know how to pedal quickly’…

    March 3, 2015 at 4:19 pm #834343
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    lolol

    I was surprised at the
    I was surprised at the difference the 2 extra teeth made.

    March 3, 2015 at 4:17 pm #834341
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    Must be Mad

    Thanks for the thoughts. I
    Thanks for the thoughts. I will probably stay with the compact for now.
    Whilst there are options for going for an even wider range cassette, I don’t really want to spread out my current range any further

    What I *really* need is n+1…

    March 3, 2015 at 2:16 pm #834339
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    lolol

    I recently changed mine from
    I recently changed mine from a 36/50 to 36/52, because of the spinning out. I’m thinking of going back though, I find the jump between the inner and outer is annoyingly disparate compared, it feels like a much smoother transition with 36/50 and that I’m now changing between the rings more often. I reckon I can live with the odd spin out.

    March 3, 2015 at 1:49 pm #834337
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    nopants

    I’ve just made the change
    I’ve just made the change from a compact to a 52/36. I’m definitely spending more time in the middle of the cassette now.
    A lot of my riding is also in a pretty hilly area, and I have no problems at all with the 52/36 an 11-28 (11 speed) on the back. I have moved from an 11-25 (10 speed) on the compact though. I do notice a couple of bigger jumps between rings on the flat.

    March 3, 2015 at 11:54 am #834335
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    sergius

    Turns out I can’t do maths,
    Turns out I can’t do maths, it’s about the same at the bottom end 39/32 as a 34/28.

    But I have a lot more at the top end – I do find myself spinning out a lot when descending .

    March 3, 2015 at 11:51 am #834333
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    sergius

    I’ve just ordered a new bike
    I’ve just ordered a new bike with a standard front 53/39 and a 11-32 rear. I’ll let you know how I get on with that compared to my current bike which is a compact front 50/34 and 11-28 rear.

    I figure I’ve got more to play with at both the top and bottom end with this setup, albeit with a slightly bigger jump between gears at certain points.

    March 3, 2015 at 11:49 am #834331
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    McVittees

    I run 36/50, the 14t gap
    I run 36/50, the 14t gap makes swapping between inner and outer ring much more pleasant. I’d say this is much more useful ‘mid compact’ than 36/52. Won’t help with that nasty 25% though…;)

    March 3, 2015 at 11:43 am #834329
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    bashthebox

    I’d suggest that the 25% of
    I’d suggest that the 25% of the riding where you need your 34/28 is the 25% of your riding where you really need it the most. The benefits of having 52 up front are tiny – How often are you spinning out for longer than a minute or two? But I can bet you’re spending a while grinding up those steep slopes in your granny gear, desperately pushing the shift lever across, hoping against hope there’s another cog to hop onto.

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