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I have acquired a Genesis CdF which is luvverly, except that the gearing is too high for an old overweight slowcoach like me.
The current road chainset is a Tiagra 50/34.
COuld I replace this with a 9-10 speed 2 ring MTB chainset to lower the gearing so its suitable for touring and generally more sedate uphill riding?
Or are there other options for lowering the gearing?
What size rear Cassette do you have currently? A new HG500 10spd Tiagra 11-34 will be with us imminently. CRC are taking pre-orders for them.
It's a 9-sp 11-30 cluster, standard.
A 34T rear sprocket would only give me an 11% lower uphill ratio, whereas if (say) a 28-40 chainset fitted, this would be around 18% better, and I suspect that I'd not notice the lack of top end.
AS the currrent chainset is from a road groupset, I don't think that there is enough room to go to much smaller chainrings at 110mm spacing
This is just my current musing.
Getting a triple, probably sora. And ditching the big ring.
30/40 up front with an 11/30 at the back? - that might even work for a creaky, feeble, slow old giffer like me.
I agree. 50/34 is daft on a bike like a CdF. That's why I changed mine for a Sora CX chainset - 34/46. With the OE 11-32 cassette it's perfect. Good enough for 30mph downhill and it's very rare I need the inner ring in Hampshire. 🙂
That's the way to go IMO
That's the way to go IMO
Except that doesn't get him the lower gears he's looking for.
COuld I replace this with a 9-10 speed 2 ring MTB chainset to lower the gearing so its suitable for touring and generally more sedate uphill riding?
Possibly, although getting a front mech to play nicely may be an issue.
Sugino make a double with a 74bcd inner. Road spaced so none of the issues with MTb chainsets. Ox601D
Middleburn also do one. Allows you to have 30 46 (Classic rando combo) or even smaller.
[i]Possibly, although getting a front mech to play nicely may be an issue. [/i]
An MTB mech would work fine though, shirley? I'm toying with doing something similar with my CX/tourer/gravel/whatevertheyrecalledthesedays
Middleburn also do one
quite expensive though.
You're correct, you won't get much lower than 33t (TA do one) on a 110BCD chainset.
The double mtb chainset will be based around a 73mm bb shell (hence the need to put spacers on for most people on 68mm versions - road is always 68mm) so might throw out the chainline a touch.
Fair chance the sti shifters are double rather than triple specific so it kinda rules out a road triple chainset though nothing to stop you taking off the outer and running 28/40+ only or something.
I alsways thought front mechs had different throws for mtb and road but as you'd just be doing two rings I really can't see it being much of an issue. Might be a bit /slowclunky but depends how many times you're going to be shifting.
If you're still on square taper, Spa are selling their own version of the 'Stronglight Impact' type cranks cheap that are 110bcd triples.