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Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd
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Hey everyone. Right now on my road bike I'm currently running an 10 speed 11-28 on the rear cassette. It's mostly my commuter but sometimes a hill climber. I'm looking to go with an 11-30 or 12-30 maybe even up to a 11-32 but not sure if I can go this big. At what tooth count can I go without running into a derailleur problem ?

Front is a 53-39.

Any other info you need ?
Last edited by: Marc I: Mar 4, 21 19:51
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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Go compact up front.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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How often do you use the 11t in the rear? I second the recommendation to go compact in the front.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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As mentioned, consider a 50/34 compact.

The Ultegra short cage RD is rated for 30T by Shimano, but lots of folks use a 32 w/o issue.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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I'd either switch to a compact at the front, or replace the rear derailleur with a compatible mid/long cage version.
A compact front (34T small chainring) would be give you an almost identical change compared to a 32T sprocket and would probably be my preference except it may be more expensive than a cassette and derailleur, or maybe not.

39/28=1.393
39/32=1.219
34/28=1.214
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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Which model rear derailleur? 6700 was updated about 2012 to accept a 30 (officially) prior to that was 28 max. But it (the update) will accept a 32.

Updated type may have 6700-A stamped on the inner parallelogram plate.
Last edited by: MattyK: Mar 5, 21 4:01
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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It sort of depends on the bikes in terms as the hanger geometry can subtly impact the absolute clearance in the largest sprocket. A 30 is totally fine. A 32 should also be fine and a 34 is going to be more bike dependent. If you move up to a 34 though you can run into issues with total chain length with a wide spaced front rings.


Because I like closely spaced gears I have 11-25 and 11-28 cassettes on a bike that at various times I have set up 52/36, 52/34, 50/34, 46/36 and 46/34. I would guess that you can go 53/34 even though this is well outside the official spec sheet from Shimano. Would front shifting suffer? Yes although the absolute quality is massively dependent on getting it all carefully setup. Would you be more prone to dropping the chain off the small ring doe to the cage not being large enough? Probably although I never found it to be a major issue as long as you keep the limiter screw set properly.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [scott8888] [ In reply to ]
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If the OP is using 53/39, then I presume he requires a 130BCD small chainring to avoid replacing the rest of the assembly.
I think most 34T chainrings are 110mm BCD.
Is it possible to fit a 130BCD within the footprint of a 34T chainring? If so, are they available?

I presume the bike you're talking about had a standard compact 110BCD, but 53T are usually 130BCD so I think there's a big practical difference.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Ai_1] [ In reply to ]
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with 130bcd crank you can't go smaller than 38t
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Ai_1] [ In reply to ]
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You are correct about BCD but last time I checked it was cheaper to buy a brand new Ultegra crankset then buy a new set of Ultegra chain rings. The outer ring is stupid expensive so it was only like ÂŁ30 difference between the outer ring and a whole crankset which included that ring.

Just buying a new cassette would be cheaper but cassettes aren’t super.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [scott8888] [ In reply to ]
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I thought you were suggesting he just change the small chainring on a standard (130mm) double. Thus my comment.
I agree a full crankset swap would probably be more sensible.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [jollyroger88] [ In reply to ]
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jollyroger88 wrote:
with 130bcd crank you can't go smaller than 38t

^^^This.

The 11-32 is the cheapest way to expand the gearing range. ($80 for an Ultegra one on AMZN, $35 for all-steel generics like Sunrace)

IMO, the 50/34 crankset would be very helpful, but means getting a 110BC 50/34 (so a whole new crankset).

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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I use a 12-30 all the time now and love it.


You can put a 30T cassette on almost any bike and it will work fine - just need to adjust the B-screw carefully. Tried an 11-32 on several bikes and worked on only one of them. Don't expect a small derailleur to work on a 32T unless you get the chance to test beforehand.

I managed an Everesting on the 12-30 cassette, I did change the little ring to a 38T though. Didn't own a compact at the time and didn't want to spend any money. I was lucky.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [carlosflanders] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry for the delay on the response :)

New/used cranks are not in the cards. I checked on the rear mech and it's an RD-6700 short cage. Looks like a 30T is my best solution for now.
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Re: Shimano Ultegra have 11-28 now , want to go bigger. What one ? 10spd [Marc I] [ In reply to ]
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I've used a 32 with that rear derailleur on several bikes
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