Increasing road bike gear ratio
Hi,
I recently bought boardman road pro carbon slr 2014 second-hand. Unfortunately, the bike comes with quite a limited gear ratio, running 53/39 on the front and 11-25 at the back, and it has an ultegra 6800 short cage rear derailleur (whole groupset is ultegra 6800). I am basically looking for a relatively cost effective way to increase the gear ratio.
In terms of what I want from gears, I live in London and ride regularly but only casually. Obviously the hills are not bad here at all, however on the last few rides I've been on, on steep sections the burn has been pretty considerable on 39/25! Outside of lockdown I would usually do approx fortnightly 100km rides to Kent, which is obviously more hilly but not exactly the Pyrenees. I would just quite like a ratio that would permit me to stay in the seat more and maintain a higher cadence.
So from what I've read, these are my options - although I'm no expert at this, so please correct me if I'm wrong anywhere:
1) Buy an 11-30 cassette - the short cage derailleur I believe can only handle up to 30 teeth (I think Shimano technically says 28, but apparently 30 should be doable) - price approx £35
2) Buy an 11-32 cassette and medium cage derailleur - I think from what I've read the shimano medium cages can handle a 53/39 and 11-32 at the back, although I'm not 100% on this. Price approx £70. This is with buying the 105 R7000 medium cage rear derailleur. I would love to maintain all ultegra, but feel it is a little expensive, however any advice on the differences between them, and any limitations of mixing would be appreciated.
3) Buy a compact crankset and a cassette and possibly a medium cage derailleur - I can get the 105 R7000 compact crankset for around £90 and then would be obvs be the cassette/derailleur cost on top of this. Again any advice on ultergra/105 differences/compatibility.
I know there's not really a question in there, but any advice you guys could offer would be very much appreciated!
Cheers
I recently bought boardman road pro carbon slr 2014 second-hand. Unfortunately, the bike comes with quite a limited gear ratio, running 53/39 on the front and 11-25 at the back, and it has an ultegra 6800 short cage rear derailleur (whole groupset is ultegra 6800). I am basically looking for a relatively cost effective way to increase the gear ratio.
In terms of what I want from gears, I live in London and ride regularly but only casually. Obviously the hills are not bad here at all, however on the last few rides I've been on, on steep sections the burn has been pretty considerable on 39/25! Outside of lockdown I would usually do approx fortnightly 100km rides to Kent, which is obviously more hilly but not exactly the Pyrenees. I would just quite like a ratio that would permit me to stay in the seat more and maintain a higher cadence.
So from what I've read, these are my options - although I'm no expert at this, so please correct me if I'm wrong anywhere:
1) Buy an 11-30 cassette - the short cage derailleur I believe can only handle up to 30 teeth (I think Shimano technically says 28, but apparently 30 should be doable) - price approx £35
2) Buy an 11-32 cassette and medium cage derailleur - I think from what I've read the shimano medium cages can handle a 53/39 and 11-32 at the back, although I'm not 100% on this. Price approx £70. This is with buying the 105 R7000 medium cage rear derailleur. I would love to maintain all ultegra, but feel it is a little expensive, however any advice on the differences between them, and any limitations of mixing would be appreciated.
3) Buy a compact crankset and a cassette and possibly a medium cage derailleur - I can get the 105 R7000 compact crankset for around £90 and then would be obvs be the cassette/derailleur cost on top of this. Again any advice on ultergra/105 differences/compatibility.
I know there's not really a question in there, but any advice you guys could offer would be very much appreciated!
Cheers
0
Comments
-
You've set out the options pretty well.
I guess a new cassette is the cheapest and easiest option to start. I never bother with anything more than a 105 cassette; there are only a few grams in it vs Ultegra and you'll never tell the difference.
After that, I'd be tempted to say get a compact chainset if you want lower gears still. You'd probably be able to get a good deal on Ebay for a 6800 Ultegra one if you keep your eyes open.
No reason not to mix and match between Ultegra and 105 though, and the previous and new versions should all be cross-compatible.0 -
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your help. That had been my inclination also, so good to hear it from someone else. Yeh didn't really want to commit to a new crankset right away, when this one is in perfectly good shape - unless I absolutely need to.
Thanks for clarifying with ultegra/105.
Cheers
0 -
Personally I'd go 11-30 and if that still wasn't enough buy a 36 inner ring which, although designed to be paired with a 52, isn't so far out that it won't work with a 53.
Cost of just the inner ring isn't much (about £20).
And yes I know it's a bodge and front shifting won't be quite perfect etc. but its worked OK for me and you can always pick up a 52 ring at a later date if you want to match properly!0 -
Cheers, that's not a bad idea - I'll probably look to purchase a semi-compact at some point anyway, so it'd be worth giving it a go with the 36.0
