Upgrade or man up?

holybinch

Hello,

Been riding along happilly with the Spesh allez and its 53/39 sora crankset for the last 3 weeks...

I'm having a hard time when I hit a hill that's longer than a few hundred meters, and I'm seriously contemplating a compact...

I know it's all down to personal preference in the end, but would you recommend me to do it?
If I were to, I was thinking a 105 would do the trick (slowly replacing the sora components with at least 105 is the aim in the end), once again, do you think it's a good idea?

Or should I just man up, pass the winter, and see in spring what I want to do with my cycling life?

topdude

Compact is good, certainly helps with the hills.
Sounds like a good idea to start your upgrade to 105 (or higher) with the chainset.
What rear cassette do you have, if the largest sprocket is 23 or25 teeth it would also help to change to one with 27 or 28 teeth (no larger though or you would need an MTB rear mech.

Anonymous

It would be cheaper to get a 12-27 cassette but a compact is grand.

holybinch

Sorry, should have specified.
Cassette's an 8 speed 12-26.

skyd0g

As you've only been riding for three weeks, I'd suggest MTFU and wait until after winter at least before considering a change. As your strength & fitness improves, you'll find week by week that the hills will get easier.

Then, after winter you'll be in a more educated position to decide whether to go down the compact route.

a_n_t

why do people always think that because you have a compact you automatically slam it into the 26/27/28 at the first sign of a hill?

Escargot

LOL @ MTFU

Why don't you grind it out for another month or so and see what happens.

When i started earlier this year I was struggling with my lowest gear (39/28) and wondered how I'd ever be able to climb hills using my 54. However as the months went by I started to use the 39 less and less. In truth I'm no tough guy but up until I sold my old steed was using my 54/28 for most hills and was almost at the point where I was using the cog down. It's probably sad for the 'real' riders out there but you have to start somewhere.

Personally I wouldn't change anything just yet as the extra work will build the necessary leg strength you need. I have a feeling that going to a compact might help in the short term but you might not need it 6 months down the line.

The added benefit is that you don't need to spend any money, which always helps.

Mettan

holybinch wrote:

Hello,

Been riding along happilly with the Spesh allez and its 53/39 sora crankset for the last 3 weeks...

I'm having a hard time when I hit a hill that's longer than a few hundred meters, and I'm seriously contemplating a compact...

I know it's all down to personal preference in the end, but would you recommend me to do it?
If I were to, I was thinking a 105 would do the trick (slowly replacing the sora components with at least 105 is the aim in the end), once again, do you think it's a good idea?

Or should I just man up, pass the winter, and see in spring what I want to do with my cycling life?

It all depends on what type of riding you want to do in the near future - if you're going to race, then you're fine as you are - however, if you're possibly thinking about Sportive's (or similar) next year, then getting a Compact chainset would be a good move (not easy going up 15-30 % with a Double when you've got 75 fast miles in the legs) . Likewise, if its excessively hilly were you are then a Compact might prove useful for day-to-day riding.

James_London

Three weeks? If you've just started riding, it will take longer than this to get used to it. Ditto if you've just switched from compact.

Wait three months and see how you feel as long as your cadence is not so low going up hill that you risk damaging your knees.

dennisn

a_n_t wrote:

why do people always think that because you have a compact you automatically slam it into the 26/27/28 at the first sign of a hill?

Huh????? :? :?

holybinch

James_London wrote:

Three weeks? If you've just started riding, it will take longer than this to get used to it. Ditto if you've just switched from compact.

Wait three months and see how you feel as long as your cadence is not so low going up hill that you risk damaging your knees.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Knees are a bit of concern alright, I've never been a spinner at heart, so I tend to use bigger ratios when possible, but after a 2 to 3 hours ride, they're giving me a bit of trouble (nothing too bad, just a bit tender)

As for my projects, I don't plan on racing (yet?).
Ideally I'd want to do sportives, at the moment, I can do 40-50 miles alright (used to cycle a lot about 15 years ago, could do 100k at about 30kph... gee, seems far now!) and the main aim is London to Paris...

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a very good bargain on a compact, but unless I see one, I'll just stick with my actual crankset.
If I really feel like upgrading/changing things, I might just upgrade the whole bike next spring, when my flexible benefits election period opens and I can use the CTW scheme!

Escargot

holybinch wrote:

James_London wrote:

Three weeks? If you've just started riding, it will take longer than this to get used to it. Ditto if you've just switched from compact.

Wait three months and see how you feel as long as your cadence is not so low going up hill that you risk damaging your knees.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Knees are a bit of concern alright, I've never been a spinner at heart, so I tend to use bigger ratios when possible, but after a 2 to 3 hours ride, they're giving me a bit of trouble (nothing too bad, just a bit tender)

As for my projects, I don't plan on racing (yet?).
Ideally I'd want to do sportives, at the moment, I can do 40-50 miles alright (used to cycle a lot about 15 years ago, could do 100k at about 30kph... gee, seems far now!) and the main aim is London to Paris...

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a very good bargain on a compact, but unless I see one, I'll just stick with my actual crankset.
If I really feel like upgrading/changing things, I might just upgrade the whole bike next spring, when my flexible benefits election period opens and I can use the CTW scheme!

Ahh, didn't realise you wern't a beginner (like me!)

If you used to be able to ride 100k at 30kph (faster than I can imagine ever doing) then surely it's a case of being a bit patient and building up your strength again (not sure how old you were 15 years ago tho).

Can't be that bad if you're already doing 40-50 miles 3 weeks in so at this rate you shouldn't have too many problems IMHO.

holybinch

Escargot wrote:

Ahh, didn't realise you wern't a beginner (like me!)

If you used to be able to ride 100k at 30kph (faster than I can imagine ever doing) then surely it's a case of being a bit patient and building up your strength again (not sure how old you were 15 years ago tho).

Can't be that bad if you're already doing 40-50 miles 3 weeks in so at this rate you shouldn't have too many problems IMHO.

15 years ago, I was 17, and I weighted about 55kg for my 71 now
I don't want to lose more than a couple of k's though, don't want to be a scrawny teenager again

At that time, hills were no problem, even pretty big ones, but then, I had a triple as well

I think I just want it all, and I want it now. And to be perfectly frank, I might also be using the hills thing as an excuse just to get better kit :oops:

As I said, if a bargain presents itself I might just go for it, but in the meantime, it's more miles and hills for me.

Escargot

holybinch wrote:

15 years ago, I was 17, and I weighted about 55kg for my 71 now
I don't want to lose more than a couple of k's though, don't want to be a scrawny teenager again

At that time, hills were no problem, even pretty big ones, but then, I had a triple as well

I think I just want it all, and I want it now. And to be perfectly frank, I might also be using the hills thing as an excuse just to get better kit :oops:

As I said, if a bargain presents itself I might just go for it, but in the meantime, it's more miles and hills for me.

LOL. Go for it then. A bit of retail therapy never did anyone any harm

Merlin often do good deals and they have a 105 compact for £109 which is not bad although for £399 the full 105 group sounds even better

Best of luck !

a_n_t

dennisn wrote:

a_n_t wrote:

why do people always think that because you have a compact you automatically slam it into the 26/27/28 at the first sign of a hill?

Huh????? :? :?

I mean you can climb in 34:18 or so on a compact, you dont have to be right up the top end of your cassette do you?

My 34:23 is more "manly" than a 39:27 for all you "MTFU" 'ers.

dennisn

a_n_t wrote:

dennisn wrote:

a_n_t wrote:

why do people always think that because you have a compact you automatically slam it into the 26/27/28 at the first sign of a hill?

Huh????? :? :?

I mean you can climb in 34:18 or so on a compact, you dont have to be right up the top end of your cassette do you?

My 34:23 is more "manly" than a 39:27 for all you "MTFU" 'ers.

You're damn right. I can be as manly as the next guy. I think, well, maybe sometimes.

holybinch

Escargot wrote:

LOL. Go for it then. A bit of retail therapy never did anyone any harm

Merlin often do good deals and they have a 105 compact for £109 which is not bad although for £399 the full 105 group sounds even better

Best of luck !

Mmm, that's the problem, I've seen that too :roll:

And if I think about the whole groupset upgrade, I've also seen the sram rival at 430...

That's the problem with all that bike malarky, it's worse than the mafia! Once you're in, you're in deep!

eh

Hang on isn't a compact upgrade to 105 a change of BB, chainset, and front mech, that can't come out cheap.

Just ride a for a good few months then decide when fitter, a 39x26 is a pretty low gear anyway, and if your profile is right you live in London, which ain't the hilliest place in the world.

Be better off saving up the money and buying some decent wheels if you want retail therapy, far better performance increase.

holybinch

eh wrote:

Hang on isn't a compact upgrade to 105 a change of BB, chainset, and front mech, that can't come out cheap.

Just ride a for a good few months then decide when fitter, a 39x26 is a pretty low gear anyway, and if your profile is right you live in London, which ain't the hilliest place in the world.

Be better off saving up the money and buying some decent wheels if you want retail therapy, far better performance increase.

Actually I checked that, and only change of BB and chainset, my front mech seems to be OK based on what my LBS said.

But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for me to just ride my bike as it is, and stop drooling over fancy gear.
We'll see next spring if I want to change a couple of things

aberdeen_lune

Escargot wrote:

LOL @ MTFU
When i started earlier this year I was struggling with my lowest gear (39/28) and wondered how I'd ever be able to climb hills using my 54. However as the months went by I started to use the 39 less and less. In truth I'm no tough guy but up until I sold my old steed was using my 54/28 for most hills and was almost at the point where I was using the cog down. It's probably sad for the 'real' riders out there but you have to start somewhere.

.

I used to use my gears like you Escargot. IMO it's better to drop to the smaller chainring and go to the middle of the cassette to get a better chainline than moving to the biggest or second biggest cog on the big ring. Same goes for the smallest cog on the little ring. Always better to change over on the front and stick to the middle of the cassette mainly. Except obviously when you need the extremes of gears like the 54 or 53 X 12 or the 39 X 27.

t4rmac

I also considered (up/down?)grading to a compact earlier in the year when signing up for my first sportives...It certainly involved a new chainset ( - being a noob I thought I could get away with just a 34t but then found out about BCD...).

Careful if you do consider a different rear cassette - mine's a 10spd ranging from 11- 28 - the downside can be that you're searching for the right gear at times as the differences between gears are too large. Although if you're normally in the granny ring like me this isn't a huge issue - there's no where to go!