Focus Cayo Evo 2.0 gear ratios

Boddo

I like the look of the 2014 Focus Cayo Evo 2.0 but I've noticed that it has a 52/36 front with 11-28 rear. I'm used to riding a 50/34, 11-28 and I wondered if I would notice much difference?

I do a lot of hills where I live and I'm likely to do a lot of bigger ones in France next year so it's quite important to me. As I'd be spending 2k I'd rather not have to be immediately spending yet more on changing things either.

Thanks

keef66

You probably would notice a difference on the steeper hills; your lowest gear would be 6% harder.

if you're happy with the compact + 11-28 cassette and use all the gears, I'd look for a bike which has the same.

denniskwok

Ask the bike shop if they'd be willing to do a deal and swap out the crankset for a compact. If you're spending £2k, i'm sure they'd sort something out for you.

keef66

^ Or this

Boddo

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I've got a test ride soon so I'll see how I go, but for that sort of cash I don't want to have a niggle in my mind that it's not quite right!

ai_1

The Cayo 2 is 11 speed Ultegra which can be got with a medium cage rear derailleur as an option to allow up to 32 teeth at the back (similar to the SRAM WiFli option of the past few years). If you needed to modify the gearing later for a trip to the Alps or similar this would probably be the easiest and cheapest option compared to changing the chainrings. You could try asking the vendor to switch the derailleur when you buy - if you haven't already done the deal. Then you have the option to switch cassettes for big hills or stick with the standard cassette for less punishing routes.