More options available if you look at something like the Miche Primato.

This guy doesn't quite do fully custom, but there are all sorts of options. I bought a 12-30T in 11s from here because I wanted smaller steps in the climbing gears for a particular race, and the Shimano option is shit. Works a treat.

The 12-23 for example;
12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-23T

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/...tes-for-shimano-sram

Cheers, Rich.

I run a 11-32

And if you have to stick with the 11, perhaps go with a much smaller big ring?

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http://www.jt10000.com/

This. Just size your chain for the 11-28, so that you can switch cassettes.

Or have a couple different sized chains. I’m taking them off anyway to wax them.

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The problem isn't necessarily the size of the 11, though it is useless. It is the cog spacing compromise. A Shimano 11-25 has several 2-cog jumps in the spacing. By eliminating the 11 and starting with a 12, you eliminate one of those 2-cog jumps. Secondarily, going from a 52 to a 50 big CR is only a 4% change, but going from a 11 to a 12 cog is a 8% jump, so it is bigger than just a CR change.

I have a 10 speed 12-21 tooth on my Tri Bike race wheels. Straight ratio the whole way, so gaps. Paired with 53/39 chain rings, this gives me enough gears for 90% of the Triathlon Courses I race on. For the other 10%, I simply swap in a different cassette.

Because I only use the 12-21 cassette in races (I'm one of those people who use a cheaper set of wheels when I train), the cassette has lasted a long time. Back when I bought it, they only offered that ratio in Dura-Ace, so it was twice the price of the usual Ultegra cassettes I bought, I completely worth it.

For comparison, on my road bike I have a mid compact 52/36 with an 11 speed 11-25 cassette and a spare 11-28 cassette I use when hitting the serious mountains.

No one has mentioned it but my go to cassette is a Sram 11-26 can get it in cheaper versions or Red as I do on my race wheels. Same ratios as the 11-25 but instead of the 23-25 it goes 23-26. That one extra gear doesn't mean much if a 25 is the perfect gear but if you need that bit more it makes all the difference. I run that cassette on most of my wheels and only go to a 28 or higher that I pull out on a hilly day. Works fine on Shimano Dura Ace as I run on my tri bike.

Thanks for bringing my attention to these!
I bought a set of wheels from Malcolm a few months ago but never spotted these on his site or I might have picked up a 12-29 or 12-30 cassette myself. I do use the 11T on my cassette quite a bit but I'd still trade it for higher resolution in the mid range while keeping a large sprocket. I had looked around for a 12-30 cassette before but not been able to find them. While I get on just fine with either 11-28 or 11-32 cassettes on my road bike, I think 12-29 might be the ideal choice. I'm not terribly light and do a lot of hilly rides with 25min+ climbs and sections over 15%. I already have narrow and wide choices for the tri bike. I do change the cassette to optimise for routes from time to time, especially for big events or races, but 12-29 would probably mean I'd never bother swapping the road bike cassette.

Hi Ai_1,

I did a lot of work sorting out the best cassette and front chainring combo for Norseman last year. I was considering what my best option was to get close to my road bike gearing (compact + 11-28) on my TT bike, keeping my 130BCD power meter up front which limited the options for a small ring. In the end I decided to swap the 39 small ring up front for 38 tooth and put a 12-30 on the back. Worked out perfectly.

I worked up these charts showing maximum/minimum gear ratios for the various combos. I've got the full tables for these too, but they are not very interesting. But I also spent some time looking at spacing and the Miche 12-30 was a far better option than the Shimano 11-30, which had way bigger jumps through the mid-range and even worse at the top in the climbing gears. Worth a look (spacing at the bottom).

Very happy with the Miche kit, seems quality and shifts fine.











Cheers,
Rich.

Ha ha, I've done near identical Excel tables to large parts of that myself in the past to decide on chainring and cassette combos.
I also seem to remember doing a table calculating the cadence for each ratio for a range of speeds to get a good idea where the limitations would be when narrowing the range to optimise spacing.

I've done these tables as well and am always surprised at how the cassettes are biased towards the top end of speeds. I am considering the 14-28 shimano cassette as I spin at around 100rpm and average around 35km/h for a flatish long course tri, so this would give me a good range around that speed, whilst still having a low gear for any hills.

I used a 13T small sprocket several years ago on my older 9 speed bike for flatter routes. I don't think it's necessary for me with 11sp. Even on the tri bike on a flattish route, it's rare I won't have occasion to exceed 45km/h for extended periods and I'd rather do it at a comfortable cadence.
My tri bike chainring is 52T, With a 11T sprocket I can maintain 50km/h at around 80rpm, which is a nice cadence for me but I wouldn't mind if I had to go up to about 88rpm which would be needed on a 12T. If I went to a 13T, that becomes about 95rpm which is higher than my preference, still easily ridable but we're only talking 50km/h here. If I went to a 14T sprocket I'd be over 100rpm at 50km/h and for, in my opinion, very little payback. I wouldn't do it. Your preferences may differ.
Also bear in mind that the above figures are in the smallest sprocket so the chainline is far from ideal too. I'd rather be cruising mid cassette on the big ring using 80-85rpm at all speeds from 30-45km/h.

You could also just bolt up a 34 in the front. I'm running this lately with a 25 and get right up the big hills in the saddle and I'm no powerhouse. I was sceptical but now I'm sold on it.

The Miche cassettes are a great option.

For me the TT bike is 56-39 with a 12-25 . Iv got 2 courses I ride where ill put on an 11-28. not for the 11 but the 28T

Road bike 53-39 with 11-28. Give a good spread and at race pace 39-28 is enough.

The issues for me come when training. I run a compact 50-34 and an 11-28. But am thinking of going to a 13-30. THe big issue is when doing intervals out on the road, at times its impossible to keep the Watts low enough on the rest stages. The slightest climb and im bouncing past 200W. Also would keep the legs spinning.

That's the big takeaway from getting a power meter for me, is just how easy easy really is. Like trying to do 130w is almost impossible without very low gearing. Unless you live in Florida!!

So for training its much more important to get a cassette that's low enough range. Or and E bike and it can take care of the recovery stages!!