Help I need smaller gears - what can I do? A GUIDE

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  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    I've now found the right area to post .....

    I've currently got a 13-25 but I think its going to be too much for next years mountain trip. Have seen a 11-34T but not sure if thats going to be too much the other way. I'll be in good shape in time for the climbs but want to hepl myself as much as possible.

    Any recommendations would be helpful - also whats the 'T' for ?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    First are you on Shimano or Campag as I don't think Shimano do a 13/25 and I am sure that Campag do not do 11/34. The T is probably just Teeth.
    Also what chainset and mechs have you got.
    My Fleet.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    Maybe I counted it wrong ? I've got Shimano 105's on everything, ideally looking to just change the rear cassette and chain. If it doesn't seem right I'll have another count in the morning.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Double or triple.
    My Fleet.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    Double. Triple's cheating !
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    12/27 is recomended max for your mech. It will take a 28 with care. SRAM do an 11/28 that will fit. The 11/34 will be 9sp so if you are on 10sp it is no use to you. Your next move would be a compact chainset.
    My Fleet.
  • rickhotrod
    rickhotrod Posts: 181
    A 9 speed 13-25 is an ideal candidate for modification.

    Dump the 14 and 16 sprocket and replace with a 28 and 32 from an 11-32 HG50. Change the rear derailleur to a short cage MTB one such as XT and fit a new longer chain. A 39/32 bottom gear is equivalent to a 34/28.

    If you go compact, just dump the 16 and fit a 28 from the 11-32 HG50.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    wow thats deep, my technical knowledge i think allows me to buy a new one complete and then try to stick it on !

    Thanks for the advice tho, so could i fit a 11-34 without changing anything other than the chain or will i need to go slightly smaller ?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Platti wrote:
    Thanks for the advice tho, so could i fit a 11-34 without changing anything other than the chain or will i need to go slightly smaller ?
    No. First you have not said if you are on 9sp or 10sp. If you are on 10sp then you can not use a 9sp cassette which the 11/34 is. If you are on 9sp you can fit the 11/34 but it leaves wide gaps between gear ratios. You would also need to go to a MTB rear mech and a longer chain. A medium cage XT version would do the job fine.
    If you were to read the earlier part of this thread you will find all your options in there.
    My Fleet.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    Its a 9. I'll have a read through again, cheers.
  • Cranks
    Cranks Posts: 129
    IRD produce wide ratio cassettes, in some cases you will need to buy a long cage rear derallieur, speak to www.roadacecomponents.co.uk as they are very helpful.
    The benefit of the wider ratio cassette help me up the french Alps this year :)
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    Why use wide space ratios?
    All you need is either a compact or tripple with a 12 or 13 to 27 on the back.
    Who needs an 11? Just freewheel down hills, probably don't need a 12 either, I have never found myself needing a 11 or 12 unless racing where you may need it on fast flat bits but not on tour rides.
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • rickhotrod
    rickhotrod Posts: 181
    Cranks wrote:
    IRD produce wide ratio cassettes
    IRD make a useful 9 speed 12-28 for around 40 notes. I expect Shimano will eventually get around to making an HG50 quality one in this size too as it's ideal for using with a 50/34 compact.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    Will a SRAM go with a Shimano Chainset ? ....or is kinda like Campag a whole different set up ?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    edited November 2009
    Platti wrote:
    Will a SRAM go with a Shimano Chainset ? ....or is kinda like Campag a whole different set up ?
    A SRAM what. You can usually use any make of chainset with any of the main groupsets. It is the rest where compatability issues present.
    My Fleet.
  • Platti
    Platti Posts: 130
    Sorry newish to this.....I meant a SRAM cassette, I I now know it will - have opted for a 13-26, just need to get my lungs & heart ready for the climb.
  • Alibran
    Alibran Posts: 370
    I have a Trek 1.2 WSD, 9-sp Tiagra, 50/39/30 triple, 11-26 cassette.

    It served me well in Cornwall, but now I'm living in the mountains of southern Spain, everything is such a struggle, and I have to walk so often that I haven't been out on it for over 2 months.

    I've been trying to figure out my options and it's looking like a MTB cassette, rear derailleur and new chain is the only really viable option. Is this correct?

    The other thing that I'm wondering about, and hasn't been mentioned here, is it possible to put a smaller granny ring on a triple? My MTB has a 24 tooth granny ring, and there isn't a hill that's beaten me on that (on the road, anyway!). That looks like it could make a more noticeable difference than changing the cassette.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Give these people a ring. They should be able to sort something out.
    http://www.spacycles.co.uk/
    You could also look at something like this. They do 26/36/48 which would be better for road use than the 44/32/22 ones.
    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40496
    My Fleet.
  • Alibran
    Alibran Posts: 370
    Thanks, John. The 26/36/48 looks like a very good option.

    I assume losing 2 teeth off the big ring won't make much of a noticeable difference, whereas losing 4 off the small ring will make things a lot easier, and the road bike has other climbing advantages over the mountain bike if I can get the gearing low enough. (There's still plenty of off road stuff to do, so the mountain bike won't get put away altogether. I've discovered I love mountain biking and getting dirty since we've been here, but you still can't beat that rush of speed!)

    Anyway, I figure I'll need a new chain and the front derailleur adjusted as well, so I'd better start looking for a decent bike shop - there's no-one mechanically minded in my house!
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    Alibran wrote:
    I have a Trek 1.2 WSD, 9-sp Tiagra, 50/39/30 triple, 11-26 cassette.

    It served me well in Cornwall, but now I'm living in the mountains of southern Spain, everything is such a struggle, and I have to walk so often that I haven't been out on it for over 2 months.

    I've been trying to figure out my options and it's looking like a MTB cassette, rear derailleur and new chain is the only really viable option. Is this correct?

    The other thing that I'm wondering about, and hasn't been mentioned here, is it possible to put a smaller granny ring on a triple? My MTB has a 24 tooth granny ring, and there isn't a hill that's beaten me on that (on the road, anyway!). That looks like it could make a more noticeable difference than changing the cassette.

    i did this on my triple. I went from a 30 front to a 28 front. Makes a small difference but was good enough for me. Now I just need to make my legs stronger
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    You will not notice much difference in the top gear. 48/11 is still a big gear.
    Are you sure about which cassette you have. I can not find a Shimano 11/26 9sp. Could it be a 12/25 or 12/27. Both these are standard cassettes. The 27 is the largest sprocket you can use with a Shimano road mech. (Shimano recommendation, It can be pushed a bit).
    My Fleet.
  • rickhotrod
    rickhotrod Posts: 181
    You only need a new chain if it's more than 1% stretched. Buy a chain checker and check it every 200 miles or so.
  • Alibran
    Alibran Posts: 370
    John.T wrote:
    You will not notice much difference in the top gear. 48/11 is still a big gear.
    Are you sure about which cassette you have. I can not find a Shimano 11/26 9sp. Could it be a 12/25 or 12/27. Both these are standard cassettes. The 27 is the largest sprocket you can use with a Shimano road mech. (Shimano recommendation, It can be pushed a bit).

    Sorry, I should have been clearer on the cassette.

    I've counted the teeth because my original thought was to change the cassette, but I could have miscounted. Equally, it might not be a Shimano cassette. The bike was 8-sp Sora as standard when I bought it, but I'd heard the shifters were fiddly to use, so had it upgraded to Tiagra. The mechanic who did it said he'd try to keep the same gear range, but I didn't know what he meant at the time!
  • Alibran
    Alibran Posts: 370
    rickhotrod wrote:
    You only need a new chain if it's more than 1% stretched. Buy a chain checker and check it every 200 miles or so.

    But won't the existing chain be too long for the smaller chainrings?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Alibran wrote:
    rickhotrod wrote:
    You only need a new chain if it's more than 1% stretched. Buy a chain checker and check it every 200 miles or so.

    But won't the existing chain be too long for the smaller chainrings?
    Easy enough to shorten a chain.
    My Fleet.
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    SRAM have announced a new groupset that includes an 11-32 cassette as an option.

    This will be handy for anyone on 10-speed compact double who's already hit the existing 34/28 limit. An MTB rear mech would be required, but they are cheap enough.
  • rickhotrod
    rickhotrod Posts: 181
    andrew_s wrote:
    SRAM have announced a new groupset that includes an 11-32 cassette as an option.

    This will be handy for anyone on 10-speed compact double who's already hit the existing 34/28 limit. An MTB rear mech would be required, but they are cheap enough.
    The SRAM 10 speed 11-32 (11,12,13,15,17,19,22,25,28,32) is a marketing tool and best avoided. The gap from 19 to 22 is far too wide especially on the big ring.
  • Downwardi
    Downwardi Posts: 132
    My Roadie compact has SRAM PG-950 11-26, 9 speed.

    Any cassettes out there that will go on which are lower ? 11-32 9 speed maybe ??

    Ta
    FCN 8 Hybrid
    FCN 4 Roadie
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    This has all been covered before in this thread. Go back and read it.
    My Fleet.
  • ash1098
    ash1098 Posts: 3
    Hi all, long time browser here, finally decided to join up! I'm currently running Ultegra SL with 52/39 at the front and 12/23 at the back, and am struggling to keep the cadence up on the steeper hills, so am thinking of buying a 6700 11/28.

    I've been through this thread, and it seems it is in theory possible to go from 23 to 28 at the back, however I may require a longer chain and some tweaking of the B screw. My question is basically can an ultegra sl rear derailleur actually take 28 at the back, as I've read it's only the new 6700 that can take over 27?

    Also it seems there may be an issue with the cage length, I think mine is a short one as it's defintely shorter than on my other bike, if it is does this mean it would need replacing, unless I just stay out of the short-short combination?

    Finally those of you that regulary swap cassettes, do you also have two different length chains to swap at the same time? Would I be right in saying you need a chain removal tool in addition to the chain-whip and lockring tool?

    Sorry about the number of questions! Cheers :)

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