What is an ideal double crack for standard road bikes? I’m building a bike with SRAM Rival and the crank options are puzzling me.
would a 54T be too much for hilly terrain just as Virginia, penn, and tenn?
What is an ideal double crack for standard road bikes? I’m building a bike with SRAM Rival and the crank options are puzzling me.
would a 54T be too much for hilly terrain just as Virginia, penn, and tenn?
When did they start selling crack for standard road bikes? Why dont you just get a standard 53/39 geared with a 11-25 or 12-25 Im sure thatll be more than enough.
Point of reference: Stadler did a 4:18ish on 53/39, 11-21. Train on an 11-21, race on a 12-25 for hilly terrain.
For racing road, it’s about the cadence. 54’s for TT, not for road. I run 53/39, but I’ve been tempted to switch to compact for road racing. I haven’t because:
a) I live and race in the flats.
b) At around 4.5W/kg I climb relatively well.
c) Switching costs money.
If I were building a bike up new, though, I’d seriously think about running compacts. Really. Cadence = acceleration.
Edit: except maybe you weren’t asking about racing road, just riding a road bike? If so, 53/39 is fine, just so you don’t get teased by wannabe roadies who think smaller chainrings are weak sauce.
I meant crank!! Haha.
Right now my tri bike is a 50/34 so I didn’t know if a larger ring than that would be pointless.
Sorry about the typing mistakes. I’m on my phone because work is for scrubs.
For racing road, it’s about the cadence. 54’s for TT, not for road. I run 53/39, but I’ve been tempted to switch to compact for road racing. I haven’t because:
a) I live and race in the flats.
b) At around 4.5W/kg I climb relatively well.
c) Switching costs money.
If I were building a bike up new, though, I’d seriously think about running compacts. Really. Cadence = acceleration.
What is the appeal of the compact to you? Cadence = acceleration what?
I ride in my 53 a majority of the time, I just put on 11-25 cogs. The chain ring size you get you might want to base on whether you ride high cadence or masher.
What is the appeal of the compact to you? Cadence = acceleration what?
The appeal is being able to respond to attacks on climbs. I’m usually in the front group in a hilly race, but people are able to gap me by attacking me, and when I’m churning away at a lower RPM, I can’t spin it up quickly enough to respond. With a compact, I can be going at the same rate with a higher cadence, and therefore be able to respond to attacks.
Ah gotcha
.
I’m in a pretty hilly area and I’m using a 50/38 up front, 11-28 in the rear. That gives me a plenty big enough gear and gets me up everything. Plus I never have to worry about switching cassettes for different terrain.
I used a 50/34 and 50/36 but didn’t like the big jumps between the two front rings. One big advantage to the 50 up front with a wide spread in the back is that you can just leave it in the big ring on rolling terrain–and if you do shift the front, it shifts quite quickly with a 12T difference.
The only reason you might want a ring bigger than your current 50 is if it’s important for you to be able to accelerate and push the pedals down hill.
I love 110 bcd (compact cranks) and use several different setups depending on the race. You can run 52/38 with an 11/23 and have all you need for flats/crits or 50/34 with an 11/26 or so and never be wanting for the long/steep stuff. I really like a 50/36 with an 11/25 - will get you through most anything. Can leave it in the 50 for most all rollers. 36 and in the middle of the cassette for climbing and attacks/accelerations. As another poster mentioned, it is all about cadence and reacting quickly.