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Has anyone tried a 34-46 combo upfront?
Is the shifting really bad?
Shimano if it matters
I switch between 36/46 and 36/42 on the cross bike. 36/42 is the slickest shifting combo - I imagine you'll be fine with 34/46
edit - and obviously there is 34/50 as standard on compacts. As you're somewhere in the middle of all that I'm sure it will be OK.
EDIT 2 - I have the front mech set up for the 46t ring and don#t adjust it when the 42 goes on. theoretically the front mech isn't in the optimum position if your spacing it a couple of mm from the ring, but it works great.
Look up the specs for your F and R mechs. A 16T difference (34 to 50) is the most that you can do at the front on my bikes, so less would be fine
Also look at the combined difference, my rear mechs will handle around 31T (one less than and one more than), so 31-16 = 15T difference at the back
Yes, it's fine!