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

Dan777

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....

bikeboy123

i do and i dont just race i compete, winning senior races...

fnegroni

Surely that depends on the course? To race you need a selection of cassettes and chainrings that you can swap based on the course.

bikeboy123

unless your racing national a races etc and they have super steep hills in then no, you can get away with a 25 biggest cassette on most courses...

nolf

I race on a 50/34 with a 12/25 at the back.

I've got a 12-21 casette as well, but I do a lot of sportives and just wouldn't make it up the hills

You have to be really motoring along the flat to run out of gears. I run a high (110+) rpm at high speeds anyway so haven't yet run out.

Down hill you just need balls to go fast...

If you're only doing racing then a standard double is more appropriate, and you'll never really run out of gears, however for long hilly days or very steep climbs it's nice to have lower gears.

freehub

A compact is fine for racing.

Chip \'oyler

A compact is great - if you fit an 11 sprocket then 50x11 is actually higher than 53x12.

andy_wrx

Agreed, don't see the problem.

Just maybe a 36 inner ring might be more appropriate, then there's less of a 'big jump' on changing rings, as sometimes it's necessary to change down to the inner ring but then up to a smaller cog at the back so as not to spin-out, or vv when changing up.

Some people hate compacts because of this and swear by triples, but in practice it's not an issue with a compact in a non-competitive or sportive-type situation where a compact can provide that wider range of gears, and ultimately low gears (maybe 50/34 and 12-27 or 11-28 ) , but it might not be good if it caught you at the wrong time in a race situation and you got dropped off the back or missed the break while fumbling for gears at the bottom of a hill.

Monty Dog

I race on a compact too - using an 11 tooth small sprocket and a 50 chainring means I spend most of the race on the big ring - apart from the hilliest circuits

rabk

Me too, 50/34 and an 11 tooth cassette, ideal for most events staying more or less always in the big ring

markos1963

I don't race but ride TT's on a compact and like others I can spend most of my ride on the big ring. I think that being on the big ring would also mean you're not spinning out at the top of the small rings range and getting dropped. I have fitted a 36 inner as well as we don't have many big hills around here.

Bhima

50x11 > 54x12

freehub

Climbing what gear with a double is 34*24, 34*19 and 21 compared to? Most hills up to about 25% I climb in 34*19 so kind of curious.

rokkala

34*19 is nearly exactly same gear inches as 39*22.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/ <--handy tool so you can compare different gearing yourself

mrchrispy

i reckon im the only one running 46/34 at the front!
I didn't get on with the jump between the 50 and 34 and I like my low gears for spinning up the hills so i went with the 46 (although 48 would probably be better).
Low top gear isn't a problem, i spin out at around 30-32 mph but thats not a problem on the flat and on the down hills I have weight on my side