Don't really think you'd want to put a compact on a 650c wheel. I tried a 50/38 setup on 130 bcd rings I got from Stronglight. Had been running a 55/44 but wanted to try it. Turns out you can spinout a 50/12 too easily on a flat, let alone a downgrade. Tried an 11/21 cogset which helped on flats and downhills, but was a bit of a pain on any decent climb. So I changed over to a 53/39 with a 12/25 cogset. Climbs fine, and only really spinout on good decents. One good thing I will say about trying the 50 on a 650c wheel, you had some good "half" steps in gears. There were time that the smaller change it pedal pressure helped on moderate climbs.

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- Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P. J. O'Rourke

Yeah, I'm not talking about putting an actual compact 50/34 on it or anything, I'm just wondering what the equivalent gearing is. Can you spin up those hills like Slowman wants you to with the 53/39?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Vitus,

I looked into this a couple of years ago. If my memeory is correct I think the info can be plugged in on the analytic cycling site to get the actual gear ratios.

A 53/39 with 650c is not the equivalent of 50/34 with 700.

My wife runs a 50/39 with 650c and it works great for her. The 50 is available from Stronglight. She ordered it from the xxxcycling site. Air mailed from France in a couple of days.