50/34 vs 53/39

mcowan77

Looking to upgrade chainset

What's the difference between these 2?

I currently have a 50/34 on my other bike

nammynake

50/34 has 50 teeth on the outer ring and 34 on the inner ring.

53/39 has 53 teeth on the outer and 39 on the inner.

HTH.

sloppyschleckonds

Brilliant

buckles

Can't get the link to work properly, simply copy the below and paste it into your browser

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/search.php?keywords=compact&terms=all&author=&fid[]=40059&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

nochekmate

Use the search key for 'compact chainset' - been discussed many, many times in the past and in fact if you care to look just a few posts below, you will see a similar query

The chap who posted above just before me appears to have given you the clues

DiscoBoy

This is asked multiple times per day. We really need a sticky which simply says:

If you need to ask, buy a compact.

diamonddog

If you can easily spin out the 50 in the hardest gear then go 50/39 otherwise stay with the 50/34 IMO.

farrina

DiscoBoy wrote:

This is asked multiple times per day. We really need a sticky which simply says:
If you need to ask, buy a compact.

There is a sticky of sorts here http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12583566
In a nutshell if you want lower (easier gears) for hillier terrain a compact is normally the way to go.

cougie

A new chainset isn't really an upgrade unless the old one is broken.

If you like compact - stick with it.

If you're strong - maybe get a conventional one - but it's not really an upgrade.

cycleclinic

The gear ratio's you need will allow you to keep a cadance of 80-90 on that terrain you ride on. that is the starting advise.

There was a time people who cycled joined a club and that how they learnt by talking to experienced cyclists. Now instead there are forum were the most basic questions get asked. If you ride alot for sport join a club in the process of riding you will find the experienced old timers and they will explain some of the basics if you ask.

The difference between compact and standard though is down to the gear ratio's it give's which in turn is dependent on the rear cassette you use. Also a compact given the 16T tooth difference can mean some riders like me have to flip between large and small ring.

Compacts get fitted to make the bike useable on the hills without the supplier forking out for a triple groupset.

Having said all that if there if nothing wrong with your chainset they why change and I would not change anything until you understand a bit more about you bike, this is how the wrong buying decisions are always made.

No one should be telling you what gear cassette range or chainset ring sizes you should be riding you should be able to work this out by yourself. It was designed by a human so it can be understood by another human, for the OP you can and should make the effort to understand this. Any proper understanding will need some maths so get that calculator out.

Here is some reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_gearing
http://philsroadbikingblog.blogspot.co. ... -gear.html

You know a quick search has found many links. You need to read.

slowbike

thecycleclinic wrote:

There was a time people who cycled joined a club and that how they learnt by talking to experienced cyclists. Now instead there are forum were the most basic questions get asked. If you ride alot for sport join a club in the process of riding you will find the experienced old timers and they will explain some of the basics if you ask.

Yet time and resources move on - making places like this an excellent place to gain knowledge and gather opinions on a subject.
Oldtimers are quite capable of answering on a forum as well as in a club - if that's what they desire ...

unixnerd

Also worth looking at 52/36, a newish standard and one I want for my next bike.