Chainring size question please.

bully74uk

Hi there

I currently do a short commute (5.5 miles) to work on Kona Cindercone MB fitted with wide road tyres.
I believe the chainring on the Kona is Front = 22/32/44 Rear = 11-32
I find that I am always on the large front ring and only really use the last 3 on the back.

I am thinking of purchasing a Cyclocross bike as I want something faster that can deal with the cycle path parts of my commute but will also perform well on the open road because I would like to do more road mileage for fittness.

My concern is that most of the Cyclocross bikes ive looked at still have quite small chainrings on the front.
For example I quite like this Cannondale http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... 8#features however the chainring set up is Front = 46/36 Rear = 12-25

Am I right in my assumption that this set up (only 2 teeth bigger on front) isn't going to give me anything more gear wise than my current Kona and with the reduced weight and smaller tyres will mean I'll be in a worse situation I am now with regards to pushing harder ?

For road use, what would be the recommended or minimum size for the front chainring ?

Thanks in advance.

bails87

The CX will have bigger wheels, which increases the 'same' sized gear.

How fast do you pedal? I think around 80rpm is recommended, which will be a pretty decent speed in top gear.

HamishD

In 46/12 (your top gear) - if you pedal at 100rpm (which is not super fast spinning) you will hit 30mph which many people will say is plenty fast enough, especially on the flat.

The Cannondale Caadx 105 is a fine bike, wouldn't mind one myself.

stuartturbo

I have 50 to 11 on the tricross sport so and still sometimes wise that was larger but i think i need to up my cadence

curium

Just replace the chainrings with something like a 50-39

bully74uk

Thanks for the replies

I tend to ride in higher gears at low cadence as opposed to dropping a gear or two and upping the RPM.

Im sure the Cannondale will be faster than my current set-up, I just didn't know whether I would be better looking for something with a bigger chainring based on the fact I would like to do more road cycling away from my commute.

I have chosen cyclocross over full road because I commute all year round and feel that the slightly wider and treaded tyres will benefit me in the winter. There are also a few drop kirbs and a small gravel path on one of my commuting routes.

I think i'll take a test ride on the Cannondale and see how I get on.

Eyon

speed up your cadence, makes life easy, makes knees happy and makes you go faster! Its a winning situation all round!

80+ rpm is a good point to start at.

Initialised

I switched from 22/34/44 to 28/38/48 definitely better for committing and I could get away with losing the granny ring. Rear cassette is 12-32 7spd

saladdays

I've found this for £19! A lot cheaper than a new bike.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=65426

MichaelW

To compare gearing with different wheel sizes, use Gear Inches. Ill leave it for you to google the formula.