Gearing - 12 to 13

Jon_1976

I'm using the ribble bike builder to build a Veloce equipped Sportive. Choice of cassette is 12-25 or 13-29, not sure which to go for At the moment, I'm using a 12-28 Shimano equipped bike, I do this route (or variations of it) on a regular basis http://app.strava.com/activities/47512211 There are a few places where the 28 is a life saver and I'd definately struggle on a 25 (yes, I am a wuss). In your opinion(s) would losing the 12 be a bad idea?

MountainMonster

You probably only use the 12s on descents I'm guessing? I would say lower gears are better if you use the life saver a decent amount.

Jon_1976

There are a few places where you get in the mid 40mph range (depending on wind) so the 12 does get used, not a lot though. Thanks for the reply, I was edging towards the 13-29 but nice to get a bit of help.
I'm not a fan of being forced to freewheel, but I'm even less of a fan of fucking up my already feeble knees.

arthur_scrimshaw

Agree with MM, go for the 13-29 and learn to pedal faster!

slowbike

You could always swap the smallest cog over with the one on the current cassette - it's unlikely to be knackered - it does mean you get a jump though ...
But yes - 29-13 would prob be more advisable ...

rolf_f

It depends on where you are ultimately. FWIW, I do have a 13-29 cassette though I don't use it that often. I do think that the loss of the 12 is rather more noticeable than the loss of an 11. The gaps don't bother me too much as I seem to cope with a wide cadence but it does feel like a compromise cassette that only justifies itself when on really hard days.

There is another option which I tried out this weekend - the new 12-27. This is pretty good. There's only one reduction in the gap but it does feel like a perfectly natural cassette for hilly routes and it never felt like I was missing any intermediate gears. 27 is a lot better than 25 and the retention of the 12 is nice.

The big downside is it is only available in Centaur but buying it with the bike is probably the best way to do it. Ribble do sell them (it's where I got mine) so if it isn't listed in a bike builder option, then maybe it's worth phoning Ribble up and asking about it.

Slowbike wrote:

You could always swap the smallest cog over with the one on the current cassette - it's unlikely to be knackered - it does mean you get a jump though ...

But he'd need a hammer, a file and some glue to fit it though!

flasher

They also do a 12-30 in 10 speed Centaur.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ampcass515

slowbike

Rolf F wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

You could always swap the smallest cog over with the one on the current cassette - it's unlikely to be knackered - it does mean you get a jump though ...

But he'd need a hammer, a file and some glue to fit it though!

Ah - yes sorry - skim read - saw "Shimano" and thought - simple answer ...

oh well ... just another lesson in RTFT!

Jehannum

Ambrosio do a 12-28 in campag spline:

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/17 ... sette.html

J.

Jon_1976

Rolf F wrote:

It depends on where you are ultimately. FWIW, I do have a 13-29 cassette though I don't use it that often. I do think that the loss of the 12 is rather more noticeable than the loss of an 11. The gaps don't bother me too much as I seem to cope with a wide cadence but it does feel like a compromise cassette that only justifies itself when on really hard days.

There is another option which I tried out this weekend - the new 12-27. This is pretty good. There's only one reduction in the gap but it does feel like a perfectly natural cassette for hilly routes and it never felt like I was missing any intermediate gears. 27 is a lot better than 25 and the retention of the 12 is nice.

The big downside is it is only available in Centaur but buying it with the bike is probably the best way to do it. Ribble do sell them (it's where I got mine) so if it isn't listed in a bike builder option, then maybe it's worth phoning Ribble up and asking about it.

Slowbike wrote:

You could always swap the smallest cog over with the one on the current cassette - it's unlikely to be knackered - it does mean you get a jump though ...

But he'd need a hammer, a file and some glue to fit it though!

Thanks Rolf, upgrading to Centaur and getting the 12-27 sounds like a good idea. I was considering the Centaur option last night, but didn't get round to checking the cassettte ranges.

Thanks for the other replies also

The only real 'problem' now is frame size. I'm 5' 10" with a 32.5" inseam. Using Ribbles calculation I need a 52cm, which sounds small (I currently have 2 Specialized Bikes, both 54cm).

I emailed them, and got a reply that I'm between a 52cm and 55cm. I cant figure out geometry sizes, the 7046 curved consists of. I was assuming it was the A2 sloping TT geometry but that goes from 52cm to 54cm No 55.

dabber

I've just gone from a Miche 12-27 to a Campag Veloce 13-29 and so far I'm not missing the 12 too much.

I got the 13-29 because I spend about a third of the year in France and end up with a lot of climbing.
Also I'm an old s*d so need all the help I can get. I was getting up everything fine with the 27 but the 29 gives me that bit of relief if I'm starting to wilt. The lack of a 12 isn't too much of a problem over there as many of the descents are on pretty much single track roads, hairpins and not the grippiest of road surfaces... therefore I often find gravity gives me quite enough speed.