I’ve been giving the whole 1x11 thing some serious though lately, among other things, as I’m trying to find that happy medium of being a cadence snob and a power snob. I’ve come to realize after talking with my coach that I just don’t have the leg strength to pull off a 1x11 set-up as I run best off the bike when my cadence stays around 90-105. I’ve tried the compact 50/34 set-up in the past and hated the 34 as I spent a lot of time cross chained to get the gearing I wanted. It was better with the 52/36 but still not totally happy with the 36 as around here, I really don’t need anything lower than a 39x25 for climbing. With the 52 and 53 chainrings, I find that I really don’t use anything smaller than the 15t cog on my cassette and that is on a descent. With the new Shimano 110bcd a 50/39 is now possible and that would allow me to stay in my sweet spot for virtually the entire ride.
Before I give this a go, I’m wondering if anyone has tried it, and if there are any issues I may run into with shifting on the front derailleur?
I did for a little while. A 50/39 was always possible on 130 BDC. I put a 50 on because I wanted to stay in the bigger ring for sprint races. I switched to 50/34 recently.
Not quite a 50/39 but I run a 52/39 and like it. You shouldnt have any shifting issues- should actually shift better to the big ring as you have less range to cover with the dérailleur
A little slow at the office this morning so I put this together. I could actually run a 46t chainring and 11-32 cassette for a 1x11 set up and cover all of the gear ratios that I predominately use. This would make for a very simple set up.
my race bike has 51/40 but I change out the 40 to 38 for Wildflower LC, Auburn Worlds Toughest Half, and will for IM Tahoe. Cassette is 12-23 (10 speed) - I will go 12-27or28 for Tahoe though.
I’m likely not a watt “monster,” do like to spin @ 90-95 (in a race). Lot’s of years of riding; call it experience. In my AG, usually have fastest bike split.
Honestly though, a tooth or two up front shouldn’t be a deal breaker because, we humans are more adaptable then we give ourselves credit for.
I ran a 50\39 on my old TT bike with a standard crank and it was pretty good. I’m like you, don’t have the sustainable power to spin a 53 chainring for 40Km, so the 50 was better. Most of the race courses here are hilly so the 39 was ok.
My new TT bike has a compact, I replaced the 34 with a 36 and It’s working great.
my race bike has 51/40 but I change out the 40 to 38 for Wildflower LC, Auburn Worlds Toughest Half, and will for IM Tahoe. Cassette is 12-23 (10 speed) - I will go 12-27or28 for Tahoe though.
I’m likely not a watt “monster,” do like to spin @ 90-95 (in a race). Lot’s of years of riding; call it experience. In my AG, usually have fastest bike split.
Honestly though, a tooth or two up front shouldn’t be a deal breaker because, we humans are more adaptable then we give ourselves credit for.
I’m not a watt monster either, at 5’6" and 140 lbs. a 221w FTP works just fine for me. My coach loves to shout “Spin to win” whenever I’m in the lab doing a TT on the Computrainer with a cadence around 110.
