Chainring & Cassettes
I'm riding a Specialized Comp Tri with an 11-28 cassette and a 50-34 chainring. The EN article called How to Tame the HIliest Bike Course says: In general, Endurance Nation recommends that you run a compact crank on the front, with 50/34 front chainrings, and a 25/12 or 11 cassette on the back, so that you have the flexibility to handle all sorts of terrain.
I was thinking of upgrading to an 11-32 cassette to provide maximum flexibility on the hills.
Thoughts on this or should I stick with the 25/12 recommended by this article?
Thanks!
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Comments
Roseanne, an 11-32 is going to give you a really low gear for climbing hills but I would ask do you really need that low of gearing? What kind of a course are you thinking about to need it? There are some issues with a cassette like that. The first is can your rear derailleur handle it? I don't think that many stock derailleurs on road or tri-bikes have a long enough arm to handle all the chain you would need. I would check that out before buying the cassette. The other issue is you have more spread between the gears, i.e., instead of a lot of sprockets with 1 tooth difference between them you will have more that have a 2 teeth difference between them. That means that you might not be able to find the sweet spot where your cadence can match the terrain in flatter areas.
In the end it comes down to your power and the hills you have to tackle. If you need a low gear like that to ride the hills you have to do and keep your power or heart rate in the proper zone then that's what you need. If you only need it every once in a while then I would stick to the 28 tooth top end and just gut it out occasionally.
I ride a Specialized Alias comp. and went from an 11-28 to 11-32 BUT i have a medium rear derailuer. The question isn't whether you should but if your rear deraileur will handle the spread. Specialized has 2 different ones. A small and a medium, You will need the medium to handle the gear spread.
Going from a 11-28 to 11-32 made climbing much easier for me.Nothing around here is flat except my trainer so being able to climb is really important if I am going to get any distance at all. It all depends on how much you want to "hammer" the hills.
Hope this helps a little.
(1) You find yourself grinding at 40-50 RPM in your easiest gear for minutes at a time while climbing;
(2) You cannot climb without spiking your power way above your FTP.
Also, the only reason to go with an 11 rather than 12 as your highest gear is that you find yourself spinning out for long periods.
If you are able to climb the hills you face regularly, or anticipate facing on race day, with a reasonable cadence and without hugely spiking your power, I would keep the current cassette. Unless your watts/kilogram are really low and you routinely face 8-10% grades of half a mile or more, I wouldn't bother.
Do you feel like you're running out of gears while climbing with your current setup and what races are you prepping for in the upcoming season?
What you have is fine. If you wanted to add a cassette, the 25/12 would be good to have for flatter courses. An 11-32 + compact is overkill. I have a setup like that that I bust out only for epically crazy climbing days. Like, >14k gain in one ride, for example. But it requires me to install a mtn bike rear deraileur and longer chain. Again, overkill. You don't need this.
- course(s) you plan to ride - how many hilly courses are on your agenda - shorter rolling hills aren't the same as long grinds (10-15 min) (Lake Placid/Whistler/etc.)
- what is your w/kg (FTP/weight) ratio ...on my best day i"m sitting @ 2.97 ....I struggle to keep my goal watts below target on the long grinds....even using the 10% over goal watts for hills ....I'm guessing if you're below 2.8 w/kg the 11-32 is preferred....
You can easily swap cassettes for the flatter courses
FWIW - if I remember correctly Al T runs 11-32 for exactly the reasons you presented
I notice all the men are saying the 32 isn;t necessary, but the distaff response says go for it. As I age and lose more and more testosterone, I have switched to SRAM's 11-32 on my road bike, and Ultegra 11-32 on my tri bike, both with compact cranks (50/34). I live in an area where, just to get out of my neighborhood, I routinely encounter 10-12% grades, and ride a lot in the mountains, where the grades aren't so steep, but can go for literally hours. Spinning away in my 32 rear cog has made my world a lot easier as my w/kg drifts slowly downward.
OTOH, if you are a power biker, with wkg north of 3.4, then, by all means, stick with a tighter rear cassette.
What is the steepest % grade hill(s) that you ride on a regular basis, if you know the percentage. What is your cadence on this hill(s)?
Thank you to everyone who replied. I live and train in a very hilly area of northwestern New Jersey. I have tried to attach a screenshot of the elevation changes on a typical 100 mile ride near my home (8,200 ft gained)... not sure if the picture can be seen but I'm hoping. MY Garmin does not track the the elevation percentages (or if it does, I don't know how to find it). I am riding a size 44 bike because I am only 5' tall and have a difficult time climbing these hills, that is why I was considering the 11-32 cassette. I am training for my first IM (Canada - 8/16/15), which is rolling hills and not nearly as hilly as where I train.
Coach Rich: I don't have ave cadence for the bike. I just got my cadence and speed sensors so all I can tell you is pace (this 100 mile ride below was awfully slow .... 11 mph ave)
Howdy everyone. I know whereof she speaks. I live in an area that isn't nearly as bad and I have many places that have hills well above a 15% grade. Several are 20% or more. I don't know exactly how steep the climbs in her area are but I have several friends who race out in Sussex County and they tell me the hills are longer and harder.
All that being said, I'd want to look at what your numbers are this spring. After a winter of dedicated hard work things may be different. You might have a whole new outlook on things and may find you have a good comfort level with a 28t cog in the back as your easiest gear paired with a compact 34x50 crank. Do you use a power meter or train solely on HR/PE? If you get enough information from your tools already try to do some comparisons. If the weather holds, get out there for a couple tests on a hill or two and make each attempt a 'lap' so it isolates the data. Write down some notes on how it felt, etc. Check back with that data and notes when the snow clears and you may be surprised. You just might be able to climb without spiking your power too much.
If not, then consider getting fixed up with that 32t cog. You'll have plenty of time to get used to the new gearing around home. Then, there's analyzing the kind of terrain you'll be racing on. Your hometown conditions might be much worse than your race destination.
Hey, Rosanne, maybe use Valley View Drive (by the elementary school) as a bench mark hill? Or maybe Hoffman's Crossing?
Welcome to the Jersey crew, by the way.
For racing cananda, at least the 11-28. Probably 11-32. Do not belittle the canda course. Hardest bike i have done.
Wife, who has approached 3w/ kg, likes the 11-32 always.