Thoughts/opinions regarding cassette sizing regarding 11-28/11-32/11-34 regarding climbing - hills/mountains? I’m a very average cyclist.
Thoughts/opinions regarding cassette sizing regarding 11-28/11-32/11-34 regarding climbing - hills/mountains? I’m a very average cyclist.
the 11-34.
Thoughts/opinions regarding cassette sizing regarding 11-28/11-32/11-34 regarding climbing - hills/mountains? I’m a very average cyclist.
11-34. Always go big for training - particularly in non-flat areas.
I don’t know what we were doing to ourselves when an 11-25 cassette was the standard with a 53-39 crankset.
Is going 11-34 going to make me a weaker climber because it’s easier?
Is going 11-34 going to make me a weaker climber because it’s easier?
PogaÄar uses a 11-34 (paired with a 54/40), I think you’ll but fine.
Is going 11-34 going to make me a weaker climber because it’s easier?
No!
And if you ever want to do some “strength drills” by climbing in the “wrong” gear, your shift lever is still right there for you.
Is going 11-34 going to make me a weaker climber because it’s easier?
PogaÄar uses a 11-34 (paired with a 54/40), I think you’ll but fine.
for every rider who gets significantly inconvenienced by not having a high enough gear fifty regret not having a low enough gear. more common are riders who miss the correct gear in the middle of the cogset because it’s sacrificed in order to get the low gear. but that was more of a thing when there were fewer cogs. now with 12 speeds that’s rarely a thing.
A tangential question to the cassette size discussion; what is the benefit of running a short cage rear derailleur? I know this is not a questions for those running 12s, but for us running legacy equipment is the cost worth it to switch over to a SS rd to save the 7 grams? I feel like I’m missing something.
If you’re using a narrow range casette, you’ll have better shift performance with the short cage derailleur I suspect.
If you’re using a narrow range casette, you’ll have better shift performance with the short cage derailleur I suspect.
Depends, but from what I can tell both Shimano and SRAM have nailed long cage shifting. Both mechanical and electronic.
I have SRAM Transmission on my gravel bike (10-52 cassette), and Shimano SLX mechanical on my MTB (11-51). Both are outstanding, even getting to the biggest cog. You can do it while applying torque. The action is light and precise.
There is the hard physical constraint that chain wrap takes longer to complete on larger cogs…but I haven’t found that I ever have to think about this anymore while riding. Which wasn’t the case 10 years ago.
I use an 11-42 on my road bike.
A tangential question to the cassette size discussion; what is the benefit of running a short cage rear derailleur? I know this is not a questions for those running 12s, but for us running legacy equipment is the cost worth it to switch over to a SS rd to save the 7 grams? I feel like I’m missing something.
short answer: no benefit to short cage. longer answer and this is my opinion: SRAM found out while casting about or market share - gravel, MTB, 1x - that you can make a lightweight, really good RD with a fluid damper that works in all conditions (1x or 2x, road and offroad, wide or narrow range gearing). the trend is to stop offering cage lengths, just go 1 length for everything and that 1 length is medium/long cage.
So there’s really no benefit to riding a 11-28 cassette on a tri bike when it comes to races/events with significant elevation (5000-10,000 feet)?
So there’s really no benefit to riding a 11-28 cassette on a tri bike when it comes to races/events with significant elevation (5000-10,000 feet)?
The theoretical marginal benefits are very unlikely to outweigh the physiological costs of grinding up 1000s of feet of climbs while undergeared.
Almost all of us in this thread have brought you to the barn door…up to you now. 
So there’s really no benefit to riding a 11-28 cassette on a tri bike when it comes to races/events with significant elevation (5000-10,000 feet)?
I did the Alpe D’Huez triathlon with an 50/34 and11-28. I was very fit. It was not enough.
Having a granny gear close to 1:1 is ideal.
So there’s really no benefit to riding a 11-28 cassette on a tri bike when it comes to races/events with significant elevation (5000-10,000 feet)?
11-34.
When I first started cycling, I remember riding up my first hill and thinking, “Dang, this is hard.” Since then I’ve done all sorts of cycling, but to me, the best kind involves riding over mountains. My dream day on the bike involves two or three passes and 10,000 feet of climbing. I tell you that to explain that I do it a lot and the single biggest mistake most people make when climbing mountains is being overgeared. This is partly the manufacturers fault, as they don’t really spec gearing for normal people that want to climb. And it is a lack of knowledge on the part of the riders.
So here is some perspective. I use 46x30 front rings and a 11-42 cogset on the back. Absurd, you say! Well, I must admit that I don’t use the 42 every ride, but a 42 keeps me at 200 watts when climbing a 15-17 percent grade. That keeps me from burning up too much energy on steep sections when I’m going to be out there for three or four hours of climbing.
If you don’t have a powermeter, the next best thing is to count your rpm and keep it above 60, preferably above 70. Don’t be like the guy I passed last week at 9,000 elevation, feet pedaling at 50 rpm in his lowest gear with a look of abject suffering on his face. That may mean even bigger than 34. Or not, depending on your hills/mountains.
I always ask myself the same question, back in my junior days we would do a 12 km @ 8 % average climb on 39 x 23 or 42 x 25 as the lowest gear so it had to be a hard effort just to grind above 60 rpm.
So there’s really no benefit to riding a 11-28 cassette on a tri bike when it comes to races/events with significant elevation (5000-10,000 feet)?
11-34.
I am running an 11-32 on a Shimano Dura Ace set up on a Cervelo P5D. Do I need a bigger rear derailleur cage to go to 11:34?
11 speed goes to 28, 12 speed to 34.