Anyone swap from a 12x27 to an 11x28 and notice a difference while climbing?
Also, anyone have any issues with the gear “jumps” where the cogs skip. I’m worried about losing my sweet spot due to skipped cogs.
I currently ride a 12x25 for training and then race hilly events with the 12x27 as a bail out and keep the legs a little fresher for the run.
I’m racing Quassy 1/2 and IMLP so I’m considering the 12x28. I have don’t IMLP W/the 27 with no issues but 1 more spinning gear could have been helpful.
There’s so much wind and rolling terrain crating variability that I’m not sure there is a sweet spot for me. Which is perfect since there probably won’t be one at Kansas or IMWI my 2 A races with similar terrain and conditions.
I just picked up a 11-28 but haven’t tried it yet. I’ve ridden a 12-27 and 11-25 on my 9 speed road bike with compact crank, which would have similar jumps in RPM and never noticed any issue. I can make power pretty comfortably from 88-100 RPM. At zone 2 (IM effort 85-95 is probably my sweet spot since it’s a relatively easy effort… just long.
I run 11x28 for hilly races, and if I keep it on for less-hilly training rides, I definitely notice a mid-gear-position gap that’s larger than I would like (i.e. 50W jump between gears). Not the best, but you learn to deal with it.
reminder: switching to 11x28 needs a different rear-D for most people. Most don’t swing that big of a range.
What size crank chainrings? Also is this 10 or 11 speed. I’m assuming 10-speed below.
Quassy is so rolling that you won’t miss the 16-tooth cog nearly as much as you would on more gentle terrain. On the other hand, the downhills don’t tend to be long enough that you really wish you had that 11-tooth cog too much, particularly if you are running standard chainrings. There’s really only one big long descent where you’ll miss it more than briefly. I don’t think the 28 vs 27 tooth will make any noticeable difference.
I did it last year with a compact crank and – well come to think of it, I can’t remember if I ran 11-27 or 12-27. Anyway I was having such a terrible day on the bike it didn’t matter…
I generally run a 12-25 for flat or rolling events. I go to an 11-28 for hillier rides.
For me, the 11 is as important as the 28. I don’t wanna run out of gears climbing, or descending!
I don’t really miss the missing cogs, particularly on a hilly course when you’re shifting a lot anyway. I’m not much of a cadence diva, though.
I wasn’t a cadence diva until I started riding on a trainer indoors a lot. In fact it’s the only negative I can think of from using Trainerroad. Thanks a lot trainerroad!
Here in central Illinois, the biggest hills we have are overpasses, so I typically run an 11-25 or even a 12-23 (the cassette I bought for the trainer). For hillier races, I’ll stick with the 11-25 if I can, but for very hilly events like the Hilly Hundred in Indiana, I’ll run an 11-28.
Anyone swap from a 12x27 to an 11x28 and notice a difference while climbing?
Yes, it is easier. It’s the difference between changing down a gear. I use both depending on what the course is like although i think mine are 12-28 and 11-27.
Also, anyone have any issues with the gear “jumps” where the cogs skip. I’m worried about losing my sweet spot due to skipped cogs.
Yes, although it’s fairly hilly where I live so finding something flat enough to have a sweet spot in the first place in unusual. That said, on my roadie I my cadence can change by 10rpm for the same power by changing one of the gears, I don’t know which one. I never really know what gear I am in i just go up and down. If you are going from 12-27 and spreading further to a 11-28 then (if they are not 11 speed) you inevitably will find a larger jump. It’s the trade-off. I just try and be flexible with my RPM and not simply try to change gear and chase the previous RPM, which could result in a hefty increase in power required.
Almost no perceivable difference between a 27 and 28. So really the decision should be based on the type of crankset you have up front. If it is compact, then you probably wan to stay with an 11 tooth.
Almost no perceivable difference between a 27 and 28. So really the decision should be based on the type of crankset you have up front. If it is compact, then you probably wan to stay with an 11 tooth.
If it is a 50T compact chainring. With a 52 you probably don’t need the 11
Another option would be to pick and choose the different ranges from each cassette that you want to ride with. Normally, only the bottom few (12,13,14 or something like that) are connected as one piece. For instance, you could put the lower part of the 11-28, mid section of the 11-25, and throw on the 28 at the top for the hilly stuff. This is not something I’d do, because it seems like a real pain but you might avoid those “jumps” you were talking about. Just make sure to keep the spacers inbetween each cog.
Having the 28 instead of the 27 is a 3.5% lower gear, so yes, there is a little difference, it may not be huge like going from 25 to 28, but there is a slight difference. Like mentioned above, 11-28 is perfect for routes with terrain, you have the 28 to bail out on the ups, and you have the 11 to bomb descents, and all you lose is the ability to fine tune your cadence which you typically don’t need if the grades are constantly changing. On the flip side, I used my 12-23 this year in Galveston, and it was great to be able to fine tune my cadence up or down by 5rpm, plus when you need to go 20 miles at a time on a flat with the same cadence, finding that perfect gear is more critical.
As far as making Frankenstein cassettes like mentioned above, I’ve done it, and it does give you the gears you want, but it also creates rough shifting. The middle gears are cut specifically to jump either 1T or 2T, (i.e. shimano has 2 different 17T cogs) and having the wrong one makes shifting suck.
After doing a little research I discovered this in regards to the cogs:
12x27
12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,27
11x28
11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,28
So, at 28, you get a little more but 17-24 are exactly the same. On the other end you still have the same 12-15. Really unless your sweet spot is exactly at 16 it’s a no brainer to go with the 11x28. I think my sweet spot is between the 17-19 depending; as I tend to spin a bit more then I grind.