Drivetrain upgrade

mgoo
mgoo Posts: 6
edited March 2015 in Road buying advice
All,

On my road bike, I currently run a 105 12-25 cassette and a SRAM rival 50/34 up front. The drivetrain is worn so I am going to replace the chain, rings and cassette. I thought I would use this time to upgrade the components but also tweak the ratio to give me a more top end which I sometime lack as I also use the bike for triathlons.

I am thinking of either a 11-25 50/34 or 11-28 52/36.

Do you think the later is too much of a jump?

Also, does anyone know where I can get SRAM Force replacement chain rings from ....... it all seems to be Force 22 stuff and I don't really want to go the whole hog and upgrade the cranks too.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

Comments

  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    I like the mid-compact (52/36) much more than a full compact as the lower ring is more useful. I run with nearly the same back block (12-28 as I'll never use the 11t). The 36/28 bottom gear is almost the same as your 34/25 so your hill climbing should not be compromised.

    But 52/11 is a long way from 50/12 - I'd be surprised if you used that ratio very often unless you're a real powerhouse.
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  • mgoo
    mgoo Posts: 6
    Good advice, and good point re more use of the lower ring. What model is your 12 - 28 block? I assume it is 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,28 ?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    mgoo wrote:

    I am thinking of either a 11-25 50/34 or 11-28 52/36.

    Do you think the later is too much of a jump?

    Only you know how much you are spinning out.
    Its not really a jump anyway, its just spreading your gears out more if you don't use the 11t much.
    As above, just get a 12-28 or similar to bring the ratios closer again if need be?
    Getting a 52/36 makes far more sense to me.

    PS. Is this a troll thread?
  • mgoo
    mgoo Posts: 6
    Troll thread?

    I want to go Ultegra for the cassette where there is no 12-28 option so will go for the 11-28 and live without the 16 cog...... thanks DesWeller for your help
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Yep I went for Tiagra...can't see the point of compromising the useability of the transmission for a couple of grams. Plus it was very cheap.
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  • londoncommuter
    londoncommuter Posts: 1,550
    Maybe a silly question but can you run a 52 on your chainset? "Older" stuff is either 110bcd or 130bcd so you might not be able to.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    londoncommuter wrote:
    Maybe a silly question but can you run a 52 on your chainset? "Older" stuff is either 110bcd or 130bcd so you might not be able to.

    You can get aftermarket 52T chainrings, e.g. Stronglight.
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    On Strava.{/url}
  • mgoo
    mgoo Posts: 6
    I can't see why not as long as the spider and ring are 110 BCD. I hope so anyway. Went for an Ultegra 11-28 and SRAM Red 52/34

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