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My son doesn't like the jump from 50 to 34 on a compact chainset, Would a std 52/39 chainset & mtb cassette be a better option, or is he likely to still find the jump too big and best to opt for 50/39 chainset?
Triple sounds like it would be better if he's sensitive to big jumps.
Is he actually using 50:11? Can't you just put a smaller outer ring on it?
Triple sounds like it would be better if he’s sensitive to big jumps.
Was my first thought, then I realised it'll likely mean new shifters and front mech so might not be as practical even if it's the best paper solution
Triple is ideal & that's what I have, but brifters are ££ so just trying to find a budget way around that.
He is also more Chris hoy than Chris froome and loves mashing it down decents, so a smaller outer ring won't do.
A 13 or 14t difference between the rings is much nicer than the 16t change on a standard compact (and the 10t difference on a std cx chainset even nicer) but I'd much rather have the bigger jump on the front than having to stick a mtb cassette on with big jumps between sprockets. You soon learn to shift a cog or two at the back when shifting on the front.
CX rings (46/36) might be an easier/tidier solution.
Is he actually using 50:11? Can’t you just put a smaller outer ring on it?
this
Depends what you mean by mtb cassette - road cassettes (11spd) go upto 34T these days if used with a medium cage. Beyond that would mean an mtb mech which does not play with road levers.
The jump is not massive. Knock it from big to small and then got up one at the back and you have effectively just dropped a single gear. Any less change and you might as well go 1X. Which in itself is not a bad plan if he just wants simple.
My son doesn’t like the jump from 50 to 34 on a compact chainset, Would a std 52/39 chainset & mtb cassette be a better option, or is he likely to still find the jump too big and best to opt for 50/39 chainset?
You didn't mention age or use, but the big downside of running a wide-range cassette on the back will be the larger jumps between ratios, so you'd be exchanging a bit jump between chainrings, for big jumps between every sprocket.
My own son runs a 34t 1x on his road bike (youth gearing makes a 2x setup nearly pointless at his age), but we have a load of different cassettes for different rides - 12-30 or 11-32 for club runs, 12-25 for circuit racing. He tells me that running the wide-range cassette in races is very annoying as it's harder to match cadence than with the smaller block, so we'll tend to use the smallest cassette he thinks he can get away with, depending on how hilly the route is.
Considered a CX ratio? Shimano do a 46/36 ratio, if you don't need the top-speed.
what doesn't he like about the jump? if you shift down a couple of gears on the rear shifter as you shift up on the front (and visa versa) there's almost no jump at all - is he doing this or leaving the rear alone and just changing the front? There's a decent amount of gear overlap on nearly every setup
Yeah, 10sp tiagra so either 11/32 or 11/34 cassette is what I was thinking, can't beleive they are considered as road these days 🙄 really just after advice on difference between 52/39 and 50/39 before I fork out for a new chainset, the cassette I can change later if he finds the Chilterns too challenging..
He's 25yo just getting into road biking, 6ft 3" & 90kg of mostly muscle
He’s 25yo just getting into road biking, 6ft 3″ & 90kg of mostly muscle
Ah, a bit older than my son then 🙂
Each to their own, but having such a tight ratio at the front combined with a very wide range cassette just means you get a huge amount of overlap with big gaps between gears unless you constantly switch back and forward between chainrings. e.g. 50/39-11/32 compared with a much more standard 50/34-11-28 which has the same high/low ratio:
If he's just getting into the sport, perhaps it would be worth giving it a few months to get used to the new feel of a road bike before starting to chop things around?
Surely just buy a 46t-ish big ring?
I run a compact with a 13-28 (or might be 14-28) in the winter, and TBH don't ever miss the top gears, even going downhill it's either too steep for a group to work or not steep enough to really spin out*.
On that basis I'd just stick 48t (4% lower) or even 46t (8%) chainring in place of the 50t. Even the 46t is only the equivalent of loosing the 11t (assuming the sharp end of the cassette is 11-12-13).
*Throwing some numbers in here https://www.gribble.org/cycling/power_v_speed.html it's an average of -4% gradient and maintaining ~250W / 35mph. At that point gravity is already doing about 3.5x more work than you are 9in other words a tuck is probably going to be quite beneficial if it reduces your frontal area by ~1/3.5).
52/36 any use as a front pairing?
52/36 any use as a front pairing?
That's almost the same annoying jump as 50/34 is.
48/36 would be my ideal on the front - I too hate the big jump that necessitates shifting at least two cogs at the back to maintain cadence. Paired with say an 11-30 cassette you'd still have a decent top gear.
Another vote for 46 chainring. I use a 46/36 x 11-30 cassette.
You could always try a 46/34 that way you only need to buy an outer ring to try it.
He’s 25yo just getting into road biking, 6ft 3″ & 90kg of mostly muscle
On that basis, tell him to stop being such a princess, he'll get used to what he has in a short enough frame of time and won't miss what he's never had.
If he persists set it up single speed for a few weeks and take him up a few hills.
If he still persists send him a few links to some dura ace di2 kit, explain it'll shift properly for him so he won't notice and if he's that bothered to crack on and buy it.
He's 25. Don't pander to him like he's 12.
You could always try a 46/34 that way you only need to buy an outer ring to try it.
Just a note, if this is a Shimano chainset, there are supposed rules about which outer and inner chainrings can work together and, in theory at least, the 46 only "works" with the 36t inner. The reasons for this are to do with teeth positioning on the two chainrings. No idea what would happen if you put a 46t with a 34t - perhaps that's what caused this global pandemic in the first place - but might want to be aware of the potential problems if intending to run it in the long run.
Worth having a read here: https://www.thetallcyclist.com/2013/01/the-truth-about-the-shimano-a-and-b-type-chainrings/
He’s 25. Don’t pander to him like he’s 12.
😂 Thing is he's not lived with me for nearly 10yrs so I'm probably stuck in that overly protective stage, plus my willingness to help him beat his step dad on strava 😜
plus my willingness to help him beat his step dad on strava
Ebike; it's the only way to be sure.
Daern; I use unramped stronglight rings and haven't had any issues so far. Good point about Shimano a/ b rings tho.
Since the invention of STI levers, this surely just isn't a problem? When you press the big lever on the left, do two clicks with the big lever on the right. When you press the little lever on the left, do two clicks with the little lever on the right. Hey presto, small jumps.
48/34 or 46/34 depending on how high he needs, and whether he needs a shimano ring.
He’s 25yo just getting into road biking, 6ft 3″ & 90kg of mostly muscle
On that basis, tell him to stop being such a princess, he’ll get used to what he has in a short enough frame of time and won’t miss what he’s never had.
This, he just needs to learn to drop to the little ring sooner. Click up a couple on the sprocket when you go down at the front.
Definitely don’t try 39/50 on the new Shimano rings, in theory it’s my perfect gearing around here so I tried it and it has an annoying habit of feeding the chain between the two rings and jamming it up solid.
With a traditional 52/42 chainset you have the equivalent difference of roughly 1 1/2 cogs at the back. With a compact 50/34 chainset you have the equivalent of roughly 2 1/2 cogs at the back. Both figures vary slightly because you have to have a whole number of teeth per cog so the actual ratios will change.
So with a compact you need to have a little more forethought when moving between big and small chainring.