Racing on a compact 50/34.. possible? stupid?

Dan777
Dan777 Posts: 49
edited September 2009 in Amateur race
any opinions please? i am looking for a new bike and a lot of ones that interest me, felt f4 with ultegra sl, felt z25 with dura ace in a local sale. however both come with compact chainsets, 50/34. I was normally of the opinion that 53/39 was essential for racing. would you agree? disagree?

thinking it through surely 53/12 is the same as 50/11.......? so in that case in racing it shouldnt really matter....
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Comments

  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    It wont matter.
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Dan777 wrote:
    any opinions please? i am looking for a new bike and a lot of ones that interest me, felt f4 with ultegra sl, felt z25 with dura ace in a local sale. however both come with compact chainsets, 50/34. I was normally of the opinion that 53/39 was essential for racing. would you agree? disagree?

    thinking it through surely 53/12 is the same as 50/11.......? so in that case in racing it shouldnt really matter....

    50-11 is slightly bigger than 53-12. If you don't care for the 34 ring you can get a 35 or 36.
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    Dan777 wrote:
    any opinions please? i am looking for a new bike and a lot of ones that interest me, felt f4 with ultegra sl, felt z25 with dura ace in a local sale. however both come with compact chainsets, 50/34. I was normally of the opinion that 53/39 was essential for racing. would you agree? disagree?

    thinking it through surely 53/12 is the same as 50/11.......? so in that case in racing it shouldnt really matter....

    I race with a compact and just a 12-25 on the back, I have only once ever been searching for another gear in a race - as I was being dropped on a slight downhill with a tailwind - and the road switched up before I was actually dropped.

    I'm only a 3rd cat, but I race 2/3 road races by preference, and have had no problem bridging up to breaks in E/1/2/3/4 handicaps. Maybe it would be different at a higher level.

    Until I knackered my other frame in a crash that had 52/38 chain rings, but that was more about getting a closer ratio whilst still having the 12-25 on the back (I need the 25 for the hills round here when not racing)
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • sward29
    sward29 Posts: 205
    Cycling Weekly interviewed Adrian Timmis a few months ago about his views on the Tour and training. In it he said that he had been racing Premier Calendar races on a compact chainset since his comeback.

    I know he hasn't won one but I reckon it proves that you're unlikely to be left behind on 50/11.
  • henderson_mk
    henderson_mk Posts: 637
    been racing all this year on 50/34 with 12-25 on the back... haven't yet found a case where i've missed anything bigger.

    there have been a few descents where i've been spun out... but I also didn't really want to go any faster, otherwise I would have required a pitstop for brown trousers :D
    ========================================
    http://itgoesfasterwhenitmatches.blogspot.com/
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    A 50 with an 11/21 would probably be fine. However having a 53/39 is just cooler.

    FACT! 8)
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • joshposh
    joshposh Posts: 673
    Juniors race on a 52, 14 so count yourself lucky to even have that!
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    joshposh wrote:
    Juniors race on a 52, 14 so count yourself lucky to even have that!
    It was 52x16 when I was a lad!
    .....I'll get me coat...... :oops:
    so many cols,so little time!
  • joshposh
    joshposh Posts: 673
    Yep 52,16 for youths and 52,14 for juniors!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    A 50 with an 11/21 would probably be fine. However having a 53/39 is just cooler.

    FACT! 8)

    +1.

    You have to be cool.
  • nolf
    nolf Posts: 1,287
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    A 50 with an 11/21 would probably be fine. However having a 53/39 is just cooler.

    FACT! 8)

    So true.

    It's not that you can't, it's just that you should expect to be humiliated and ashamed.
    "I hold it true, what'er befall;
    I feel it, when I sorrow most;
    'Tis better to have loved and lost;
    Than never to have loved at all."

    Alfred Tennyson
  • felgen
    felgen Posts: 829
    I did just fine on a compact when racing - my bike came with a compact, and I used it for 10 months, only just changing to a racing double as it was lighter than the compact, and frankly, a bargain too. As mentioned above, 50x11 is a pretty long gear, and should be more than enough.
    Steeds:
    1)Planet X SL Pro carbon
    2)Nelson Pista Singlespeed
    3)Giant Cadex MTB
    4)BeOne Karma MTB
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    joshposh wrote:
    Juniors race on a 52, 14 so count yourself lucky to even have that!

    My highest ever speed (50.9mph) was with 52/14 on my crappy steel bike. The hill gets me to about 43-44mph and some furious (~175rpm) pedalling gets me over 50.

    I do prefer the 53/12 on my good bike though!

    Matthew
  • thejesusandsedischain
    thejesusandsedischain Posts: 195
    i have raced on a compact this season after coming back to racing after a long break.11,25 50,34 find the 34 inner ring useful living and racing in nortumberland,its all very well 53,39 ,11 block being cool but you dont put F1 gears in a family saloon
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    joshposh wrote:
    Yep 52,16 for youths and 52,14 for juniors!
    52x16....for Juniors,in the 80's
    so many cols,so little time!
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Why lower gears for youths/juniors?
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    Bhima wrote:
    Why lower gears for youths/juniors?

    So they don't blow their knees out.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • freehub
    freehub Posts: 4,257
    I'd have thought if that where the case the difference would be in the chainsets?
  • andy162
    andy162 Posts: 634
    freehub wrote:
    I'd have thought if that where the case the difference would be in the chainsets?

    Back in those days it was a 52/42 & that was pretty much it. No compact option back then. The block was the easiest thing to alter.
  • freehub
    freehub Posts: 4,257
    If you where going to alter the block, why 16? Not 28+?
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    Bhima wrote:
    Why lower gears for youths/juniors?

    So they don't blow their knees out.

    :? In my experience, pushing high gears doesn't wreck your knees, it's poor bike setup.

    2 weeks ago, I did a 65 mile ride in uncomfortably high gears the whole time just to see what would happen. My knees were fine.
  • joshposh
    joshposh Posts: 673
    Yes but it could damage young knees especially u18's. It also encourages high cadence which is only good!
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Can't argue with that.
  • joshposh
    joshposh Posts: 673
    Although it is difficult to sprint in such small gears. As i find out at the end of every race!
  • lfcquin
    lfcquin Posts: 470
    Im not sure Juniors use lower gears to protect the knees, I always thought it was just about ensuring you spin a gear rather than grind one, thus allowing the muscles to develop more naturally. Could be wrong though, I am definately no expert!

    I remember riding a 52x15 block as a junior at Aintree in the Eddie Soens and getting blown out the back every time we had a tailwind and catching up again into the headwind. It was tough work as a junior on that course!

    I have just come back from a race at Darley Moor race course and I wouldn't have fancied that on a compact today, the main straight was smooth and flat with a tailwind and 53x13 took some spinning to stay in touch on some laps!

    I would say that a compact is fine for most races, the only time you might struggle is flat smooth roads with a tailwind or on a descent if it is long and straight.
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    Bhima wrote:
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    Bhima wrote:
    Why lower gears for youths/juniors?

    So they don't blow their knees out.

    :? In my experience, pushing high gears doesn't wreck your knees, it's poor bike setup.

    2 weeks ago, I did a 65 mile ride in uncomfortably high gears the whole time just to see what would happen. My knees were fine.

    In your experience, you're not an enthusiastic 14 year old racing 2 or 3 times a week. You're a 21 your old lad, your knees should be fine.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • felgen
    felgen Posts: 829
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    Bhima wrote:
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    Bhima wrote:
    Why lower gears for youths/juniors?

    So they don't blow their knees out.

    :? In my experience, pushing high gears doesn't wreck your knees, it's poor bike setup.

    2 weeks ago, I did a 65 mile ride in uncomfortably high gears the whole time just to see what would happen. My knees were fine.

    In your experience, you're not an enthusiastic 14 year old racing 2 or 3 times a week. You're a 21 your old lad, your knees should be fine.
    Correct - to avoid Osteochondritis Dissecans, Sinding-Larsen Johanssen dsease or Osgood-Schlatter's - in which persistent traction/overloading of the quads/patella/patella tendon mechanism result in problems. Therefore probably best to avoid overloading the knees with closed chain exercises until skeletal maturity. You only have one pair of knees so they should be looked after. Besides, developing proper technique is a good thing, right?
    Steeds:
    1)Planet X SL Pro carbon
    2)Nelson Pista Singlespeed
    3)Giant Cadex MTB
    4)BeOne Karma MTB
  • huggy
    huggy Posts: 242
    How strict is this junior gearing? I've never been told off for using a 53x12 in races.
  • joshposh
    joshposh Posts: 673
    Pretty strict and at national races and most regional events you have to get your gears locked out if they dont comply!
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    How exactly would one "lock out" gears?

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