Is 52/36 and 36-11 Possible on a road bike

BikeCrusher
BikeCrusher Posts: 2
edited July 2015 in Workshop
I am a big guy and I am desperate to keep my descending gears but add a huge granny gear so I can get up the big hills without walking. SRAM have a road based 11-36 but they don't seem to promote it with a double, so I was wonder will this work?

Rear Mech (10/11 speed)
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-force-1-rear-derailleur

Cassette (11 speed)
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-pg-1170-11-36-cassette

Shifters (11 speed)
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-force-22-doubletap-mechanical-shifters

Front Mech (11 speed)
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-force-22-yaw-front-derailleur

Crankset (52-36)
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-force-22-crankset

Chain
https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-pc-1170-chain

Comments

  • keezx
    keezx Posts: 1,322
    For decending you don't need gears, just bend yourself over the bars and look sharp....
  • Semantik
    Semantik Posts: 537
    It would probably work but chain length could be an issue as the chain will have to be long enough to cope with the 52 front/36 rear combination but also be able to cope with 36 front/ 11 rear. Chain could end up being longer than ideal for the small/small ratios.
    I would try a 50/34 up front and an 11-32 rear. Lowest gear only an inch or so more than with your suggested choice of components and closer spaced ratios at the rear to make the bike more rideable in most situations
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    For you laddy, I do believe SRAM has addressed the need with its 1 x groupsets for various requirements.
    effective, but hardly pretty.
  • t4tomo
    t4tomo Posts: 2,643
    You need a triple if you want that gear range. End of.
    Bianchi Infinito CV
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  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Which is the correct answer. Triple is the way to go. Unfortunately triple isn't available in most of the higher tiers of road groups these days. Thankfully it *is* still available with Tiagra on the new 4700 groupset.

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-4700-triple-10-speed-crankset/rp-prod137766 looks pretty nice with new style shifters and under tape cable routing.

    Then you'd be able to have 30/30 as your lowest gear.
  • Rightarmbad
    Rightarmbad Posts: 216
    50 x 11 is still a bloody big gear.
    I descend quicker than anybody else I ride with and the secret is to tuck and stop pedaling.
    A quick sprint and tuck will beat anybody pedaling because of aero.

    We were riding a slight downhill on the highway the other day and a quick glance at the GPS showed 66km/h and I still had a gear to go, how fast do you want to go?

    50/34 x 11-32 will get you towing caravans uphill and if you are heavy, a smart tuck will get you to the bottom quicker than anybody else.