Going Compact

herbie12
herbie12 Posts: 41
edited August 2007 in Workshop
I'm currently running a traditional double chainset on my road bike (Cannondale six13 w/ Centaur, FSA Carbon Chainset) and fancy trying a compact setup.

It is just a case of changing the chainrings, dropping the front mech and removing a few links from the chain, or is my current chainset going to be incompatible in some way?

I originally thought the it would be nice and simple, but I'm wondering whether the spider on the current cranks is going to be too big to deal with a 34T inner ring... the current rings are 130 BCD and most of the compact rings advertised are 110 BCD...

Any thoughts?

Comments

  • craigenty
    craigenty Posts: 960
    Correct, Compacts have a BCD of 110mm so you need to buy a completely new chainset if you want to go smaller than 39T (38 with Shmano)

    There are some really good deals out there at the moment. I've seen FSA carbon compacts for £115.
    Craig


    http://www.veloventoux.com
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  • craigenty
    craigenty Posts: 960
    Also, I wouldn't bother spending money on a compact specific front mech. I've changed to compact on 3 of my bikes. All I do is drop the mech to the right height above the big ring, remove a couple of links from the chain and away you go!

    If your mech is braze on you might not get the mech low enough. However you can gain a few mm with a small round file but be careful.
    Craig


    http://www.veloventoux.com
    Check us out on Facebook
    http://tinyurl.com/6nx8afo
  • acorn_user
    acorn_user Posts: 1,137
    It would be cheaper to get some bigger ratios for your cassette. What are you running right now?

    If you really want a compact, the Stronglight Impact double is cheap, nice and 110bcd. There is a compact version that has nicer rings, and thus, costs more money.

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