Anyone running Campag 52/36 chainset?

jvol

I'm currently on Campag 10-speed, with a modified 50/36 compact set-up, and an 11-25 cassette. I'm soon going to upgrade to Record 11-speed. I live in the Pennines, so need a fairly low gear for the hills. I'd just about decided to go for the Campag Evo mid-compact set-up with 52/36 rings, but then read some forum posts about a 52 ring with 110 BCD making it a bit flexy.

Does anyone have experience of this?

Would I be better to go for a standard with 12-27 cassette instead?

DiscoBoy

What's wrong with your current setup?

jvol

I'm on Chorus, which as 10-speed has the older ergos, which are less comfortable than the new shape (I have newer Centaur on another bike). I'd like the newer levers on my best bike as well, the extra gear 11-speed gives you, and I just fancy an upgrade to Record anyway.

rolf_f

jvol wrote:

I'm on Chorus, which as 10-speed has the older ergos, which are less comfortable than the new shape (I have newer Centaur on another bike). I'd like the newer levers on my best bike as well, the extra gear 11-speed gives you, and I just fancy an upgrade to Record anyway.

Well, if you fancy an upgrade then that's fine. But the lever shape isn't a wholly convincing justification for a groupset upgrade in its own right - just a case of hunting down a pair of Centuar Ultrashift levers. They aren't so common but they do turn up.

The 12-27 is a great cassette. Don't know why it took Campag so long to make it! For the Pennines, I'd have thought the usual 50-34 is perfect. Works for me anyway.....

jvol

Thanks Rolf.

Centaur shifters would be a backward step for me (currently on Chorus). Also, I like the 36t inner ring as I can stay on it longer before having to upshift at the front. 34 is just too low for me, I find.

DiscoBoy

jvol wrote:

Thanks Rolf.

Centaur shifters would be a backward step for me (currently on Chorus). Also, I like the 36t inner ring as I can stay on it longer before having to upshift at the front. 34 is just too low for me, I find.

What about the 50, what's wrong with that?

If your gears are too far apart, you could consider using a narrower cassette.

jvol

I appreciate the various views on ratios, but to bring it back to my original question, does anyone have experience, good or bad, of the Campag 52/36 mid-compact chainset?

Cheers

FatTed

I have used 53/39, 52/36 and 50/34
The 52/36 was great no problems at all, for me it worked well with a 12/25 cassette
no flex that I noticed, but I'm not regularly putting out 500W
I now use a 50/34 Quarq

jvol

Thank you FatTed - very useful