Should I or shouldn't I?

ketsbaia

About 18 months ago, I switched my chainset to a compact on my winter trainer (as it was my only road bike at the time) in order to be able to get up hills. Since then, it's done me proud and helped get me into decent enough shape to tackle the Dragon, Magnificat and Marmotte last year.

While digging through some old bits yesterday, I found my old Veloce 53/39 chainset, which got me thinking. Should I refit it? I now use said winter trainer on my commute and it'd be nice to have some slightly bigger gears. I've also got a 11-23 cassette that I could stick on it to replace the 14-28 I've got on there at the moment (it's a heavy bike, OK, so I used to need the granny gear).

If I do this, it'll mean my winter training becomes way harder and I might not be able to get up the hills I used to climb with ease. On the other hand, it might add a few more mph on to my commute and will almost certainly help to boost the awesomeness of the power once I get used to it. And it'll certainly make riding the Sunday best bike feel a whole lot easier.

So, do I do it? I'm erring on the side of yes at the moment.

MonkeyMonster

run with just one of the changes for a bit to get used to it then do the other a few months down the line?

asprilla

Think of it as resistance training.

I shall be attempting the Dragon on a double next year since my only other options will be a single speed or an Alfine.

EKE_38BPM

Faster is good, so make the change. You'll just have to MTFU on the hills (says the bloke riding a triple).

bigmat

I'd just change the cassette first. If you still need a bigger gear (which I doubt) you can always put the double on.

cjcp

MatHammond wrote:

I'd just change the cassette first. If you still need a bigger gear (which I doubt) you can always put the double on.

+1. Baby steps, so to speak.

Just focus on getting the miles in over the winter rather than ragging yourself.

ketsbaia

Fair points. Plus it'll be easier to change the cassette, I guess.

Only sticking point is, the rear mech is a long cage (to cope with the 28-tooth granny). Will that still be OK to use with the much smaller cassette?

cjcp

Should be fine as you already use it on the 23 (and other sprockets) on the existing cassette.

ketsbaia

cjcp wrote:

Should be fine as you already use it on the 23 (and other sprockets) on the existing cassette.

True. Only thing is, the smallest cog is a 14-tooth, whereas the new cassette's smallest is 11-tooth.

MonkeyMonster

ketsbaia wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Should be fine as you already use it on the 23 (and other sprockets) on the existing cassette.

True. Only thing is, the smallest cog is a 14-tooth, whereas the new cassette's smallest is 11-tooth.

one tooth changes at the back can make a massive difference - ask the ss/fg peeps.

bigmat

If its a Campag bike (?) you'll need a new lockring as they use different ones for 11t sprockets. I might even have one knocking about.

ketsbaia

Yeah, it's a Campy groupset. Nine speed. I'll definitely need a Campy cassette removal tool.