Gear Ratios

chipandpin

Hi,

I have ordered a road bike today from Ribble cycles and have specified the SRAM Apex groupset - I have gone for a 34-50 chainring with an 11-32 cassette and long cage derallieur, and now am having second thoughts. It is quite hilly where I live, but I wonder if this setup would be right for me? Any thoughts? The other options are 39-53 and cassettes of 11-23, 11-25, 11-26 or 11-28

Thanks

danowat

34 - 32 should be fine, its lower than the other combos you posted.

chipandpin

oops sorry i meant would that set up be too low. I pressume that the compromise on having low gearing is that the jumps between gear changes become far more noticeable, and perhaps I would be better with say 11-28?

jc-bike-person

11-28 would be OK (so would a 12-27)
With a 20 speed set up, you should be able to find something that suits - plus you say it is hilly!
(I know you can't use all 20 gears - cross chaining and all that...)

niblue

Sounds like Apex with the 11:32 cassette would be a good option. I'd have done the same myself if the Rival mech on my bike didn't restrict me to a max of 28t on the back!

The lack of some of the middle gears on the cassette doesn't seem to be an issue for me, and 50:11 is more than enough at the top end for most people!

John.T

If you have any doubts about hills then stick with the Apex set up. You can always get a closer cassette later if you need it. You can also fit bigger chainrings. If you get the 53/39 (probably Rival) you can not go for more than a 28 sprocket and less than a 38 chainring. The Apex gives you more options. The only down side is the longer cage rear mech which does not look as 'racy'.

mattshrops

you shouldnt really need a 32 if youre using a compact aa well. unless youre seriously out of shape, but its not really that big a deal - in a few months you could always change the cassette for 40-50 quid. youd still have a long cage rear mech on but i cant see that making any real difference.
waiting for your bike to come is stressful, did i get the right size/saddle/wheels/colour/ blah blah . Deep breath - and relax. by the way you havent said which bike youve ordered- Enjoy

dennisn

FWIW an 11 tooth rear cog is not something that is useable, even with a compact(50-34)
crank. However it seems that component suppliers have, for whatever reason, decided that people need it(proably just a marketing ploy). I have an 11-21 on the rear of my bike and a 50-36 crank. Got a really good buy on the cassette but in the end never have had cause or reason to use the 11 tooth. Then again it's getting hard to buy a cassette without one. In any case lots of people will probably tell you they use their 11 all the time.
Bullsh*t.

rake

dennisn wrote:

FWIW an 11 tooth rear cog is not something that is useable, even with a compact(50-34)
crank. However it seems that component suppliers have, for whatever reason, decided that people need it(proably just a marketing ploy). I have an 11-21 on the rear of my bike and a 50-36 crank. Got a really good buy on the cassette but in the end never have had cause or reason to use the 11 tooth. Then again it's getting hard to buy a cassette without one. In any case lots of people will probably tell you they use their 11 all the time.
Bullsh*t.

i concur. It will sit out there on its own.

Erudin

If you are used to the gearing on the hybrid, something like 48/36/26 chainset 11-32 tooth cassette, then I think the gearing you have chosen is good.

I find spinning a low gear up steep hills at high cadence better for the knees/endurance and no slower (for me) than grinding a harder gear, you can always change to a closer range cassette if needed in future.

rake

its a good job they cant fit 9 or 10 tooth rear sprockets over the splines :roll:

Mr Will

rake wrote:

dennisn wrote:

FWIW an 11 tooth rear cog is not something that is useable, even with a compact(50-34)
crank. However it seems that component suppliers have, for whatever reason, decided that people need it(proably just a marketing ploy). I have an 11-21 on the rear of my bike and a 50-36 crank. Got a really good buy on the cassette but in the end never have had cause or reason to use the 11 tooth. Then again it's getting hard to buy a cassette without one. In any case lots of people will probably tell you they use their 11 all the time.
Bullsh*t.

i concur. It will sit out there on its own.

Do you guys never pedal downhill?

John.T

Mr Will wrote:

rake wrote:

dennisn wrote:

FWIW an 11 tooth rear cog is not something that is useable, even with a compact(50-34)
crank. However it seems that component suppliers have, for whatever reason, decided that people need it(proably just a marketing ploy). I have an 11-21 on the rear of my bike and a 50-36 crank. Got a really good buy on the cassette but in the end never have had cause or reason to use the 11 tooth. Then again it's getting hard to buy a cassette without one. In any case lots of people will probably tell you they use their 11 all the time.
Bullsh*t.

i concur. It will sit out there on its own.

Do you guys never pedal downhill?

Not very often. I was over 40mph several times on Sunday. Pedaling seemed rather unnecessary. I can get to 35 quite easily on 50/12 and up to 40 on 53/12. I'll just sit on your wheel and let you work.

Bealach na Ba

John.T wrote:

If you get the 53/39 (probably Rival) you can not go for more than a 28 sprocket and less than a 38 chainring. The Apex gives you more options. The only down side is the longer cage rear mech which does not look as 'racy'.

The 2011 Rival gruppo now has an optional mid cage rear derailleur that handles up to 32 teeth. Personally I wouldn't touch Apex with a bargepole - the reviews haven't exactly been gushing in their praise. To the OP - swap the Apex shifters and rear mech for the new Rival versions if you really need such low gearing.

Mr Will

John.T wrote:

Mr Will wrote:

rake wrote:

dennisn wrote:

FWIW an 11 tooth rear cog is not something that is useable, even with a compact(50-34)
crank. However it seems that component suppliers have, for whatever reason, decided that people need it(proably just a marketing ploy). I have an 11-21 on the rear of my bike and a 50-36 crank. Got a really good buy on the cassette but in the end never have had cause or reason to use the 11 tooth. Then again it's getting hard to buy a cassette without one. In any case lots of people will probably tell you they use their 11 all the time.
Bullsh*t.

i concur. It will sit out there on its own.

Do you guys never pedal downhill?

Not very often. I was over 40mph several times on Sunday. Pedaling seemed rather unnecessary. I can get to 35 quite easily on 50/12 and up to 40 on 53/12. I'll just sit on your wheel and let you work.

I find myself shifting into my top (50/11) at just over 30mph normally, and there are a couple of hills on my daily ride which are that kind of speed. I probably could cope without it by spinning a 12, but I don't like running out of gears, I like trying to beat my vmax.

Your 53/12 is probably a better ratio, but I don't think I have the legs for a 53 crank yet.

chipandpin

That has set my mind at rest. I will probably stick with this set up and if necessary swap the cassette at a later date. I.was under the impression that the apex groupset was more or less the same as the rival with the exception of carbon levers? I used the money saved on the rival groupset to upgrade the wheels. (By the way the bike i ordered is the sportive)