Shimano 11-28 vs 11-32

[singlespeedscott]

If you want to know whether a 39x28 is low enough go and do a long ride with 2500 metres of elevation gain including some climbs with pitches of 20% or more. If you find them doable you know your answer.

I use a 39x30 low and its works for all the sealed roads in SEQ and has been fine for events up to 255 km and 5500 metres of climbing.

I am not super fit but I do try for a 200 km's a week with 2000 metres of elevation gain. You are 12 years younger than me so with a bit of training the 39x28 should be fine. It's certainly a lot lower than the 42x23 I used to use 28 odd years ago when I was climbing hills.

[cyclotaur]

I have no issue with him (or whomever) not liking a compact, but to make such a broad sweeping statement is just wrong and unhelpful.
.

Wot? Broad sweeping statements are not allowed on the BNA forum
All good mate. I did actually also say that its great that we can have a choice of 3 chainsets these days.

food for thought, you can't really get 11 speed cassettes with anything except an 11 tooth cog as the smallest cog. Makes the compact much more attractive ?

I did like DD's suggestion of going 52/36 and ditching the 11t cog.

I did a similar (but oppsite) thing to create my own 11-30 10sp cassette - I used a 12-30 cassette and had to lose one middle cog to add in an 11t from an 11-28. I think I removed the 14t.... ended up with 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-27-30. Worked well. The reason I needed the 11 was that I was running 46/34 on my CX, and just need a little more top end speed, as I used the bike for everything, including longer endurance rides. Got sick of spinning out on descents. 46>11 is actually slightly taller gearing than 50>12., and heaps taller than 46>12.

I even sold the wheels with that combo on to a mate who had no idea until he told me the hills felt a bit better and I gently pointed out he was now using slightly lower gearing across the climbing range.

[BugsBunny]

You haven't mentioned what your preferred cadence is for where you normally do your climbs. If you have long climbs where you are going well below your "normal" comfortable cadence, then go with a lighter gear setup - be it a 50/34 chain ring or 32T cassette.

Whilst it costs more, I reckon the 50/34 chain ring is the "better" setup i/o a 32T cassette as you keep the close gear gaps whilst you will unlikely run out of top end speed on the 50 front/11rear ratio.

[eeksll]

food for thought, you can't really get 11 speed cassettes with anything except an 11 tooth cog as the smallest cog. Makes the compact much more attractive ?

True. Id be happy with the Shimano 12-25 on a mid compact though. Miche make a 12-25, 12-27 and 12-29 in 11 speed. $68.50 on chain reaction. I did give the 11 tooth cog its own home page on here somewhere, but thats a different thread.
You need the 11 on compacts, I agree. The beauty of the mid compact is that you can do away with the 11 and put something on the other end of the cassette. With a decent sized big ring (52 or 53) you dont need the 11.
I stand by my comment about the compacts, so allow me to explain further:
If Im buying a new bike and have a choice, I would not buy compacts because the small ring is no good for general flat riding. You end up with a massive chain angle from the inner ring across to the outer cogs of the cassette (11, 12, 13). The gear most used for general flat riding around at a leisurely easy pace is around 65 gear inches. On a compact chainset thats around the 13 or 14 cog. As soon as you go downhill you have to go up to the 50 ring because the chain is rubbing on the front mech on the 11. Most people just ride around in the 50 to avoid the issue. So whats the 34 ring for? Climbing you say. I need 34 for climbing. I cant climb on a 36.
Yes you can. You just put a 30 on the back instead of a 28. Or a 32. No-one said you can't have a 36-52 with a dinnerplate cassette. You can if you want, or if you think you need it.
Given the choice, mid compact is more versatile in my humble opinion.
But hey, Im not selling the things and dont really care what people choose.

I wasn't sure about the miche cassettes, however, why get the "odd ball" cassette brand when you can just get a normal shimano cassette, all you need to do is use a compact

however, just having a bit of play on those gearing calculator sites, I think a 36/50 would probably be a good combination. Now that dinner plate cassettes are fairly normal.

[Derny Driver]

I wasn't sure about the miche cassettes, however, why get the "odd ball" cassette brand .....

Maaaate ...what brand of car do you drive?
If its not Ford or Holden I'm calling it "odd ball"

[eeksll]

I wasn't sure about the miche cassettes, however, why get the "odd ball" cassette brand .....

Maaaate ...what brand of car do you drive?
If its not Ford or Holden I'm calling it "odd ball"

fair enough.

I do drive an odd ball brand car

[cyclotaur]

It's all relative to how strong a rider you are, of course. And things do change with age - 2012 I did the AACFallsCreek om 36/27. This year I did the AAC200, but would not have made it in good shape without my 34/32.

And I'm 'riding, not racing', and 'completing, not competing'.

I ride long, hard, and high at times, but there's no way I can push the big ring all around Melbourne. This is especially true if you spend any time at all on the lumpy, winding cycle-path network. So I spend a lot of time in the smaller ring be it 36 or 34.

However, I agree that 50/36 > 11-32 would be perfect for all but a small % of regular road bike riders.

[P!N20]

This is all too complicated; 42 up front, 16 down back, ride anywhere you want.

[cyclotaur]

This is all too complicated; 42 up front, 16 down back, ride anywhere you want.

Yeah, I did that until I was about 35yo... when I got my first ever bike with gears. Fair dinkum I had to ask the guy in the shop how to use them !!

[P!N20]

This is all too complicated; 42 up front, 16 down back, ride anywhere you want.

Yeah, I did that until I was about 35yo... when I got my first ever bike with gears. Fair dinkum I had to ask the guy in the shop how to use them !!

Did he tell you to never shift out of the big ring?

[cyclotaur]

This is all too complicated; 42 up front, 16 down back, ride anywhere you want.

Yeah, I did that until I was about 35yo... when I got my first ever bike with gears. Fair dinkum I had to ask the guy in the shop how to use them !!

Did he tell you to never shift out of the big ring?

It was an early hybrid bike and had a triple !!

[Kronos]

If you want to know whether a 39x28 is low enough go and do a long ride with 2500 metres of elevation gain including some climbs with pitches of 20% or more. If you find them doable you know your answer.

I use a 39x30 low and its works for all the sealed roads in SEQ and has been fine for events up to 255 km and 5500 metres of climbing.

I am not super fit but I do try for a 200 km's a week with 2000 metres of elevation gain. You are 12 years younger than me so with a bit of training the 39x28 should be fine. It's certainly a lot lower than the 42x23 I used to use 28 odd years ago when I was climbing hills.

Yes, being off the bike for the last week hasn't helped me, having a bad strain of Influenza B has kept me off the internet (among other things so sorry for the lack of replies There is not much time to be thinking of being out on your bike when you're practically dying from influenza. I woke up this morning and my eyes were practically bleeding. You would have though I had pinkeye.

Some more training would definitely help me. I've been trying to push my Ks up and I've had a few weeks in the last couple of months doing over 200km. What I need now is just to push those weeks up where I'm doing 75km runs up to 100 and build from there. my goal this year is to get up to doing a 160km classic. I was fit a couple years ago, but then life had a way of getting me off the bike and focusing on study goals. This bike came in and it got me more interested in riding again and getting there.

Now why I'm setting it up for DI2 gear is basically for reliability and actually having a bike that's race fit. The more I'm out riding again regularly, I've realised I could get used to a 28 and that I was probably definitely more out of shape than what I thought I was. A 32 might will likely be too slow and too easy. Its just the thing, you see so many people riding compacts and mid-compacts these days you wonder what it is they're actually doing riding that kind of bike here in Australia. I guess its one of those things like disc brakes at the moment. Every other person is doing it so why don't I.

There are a few hills here on the Sunshine Coast, but none of them that you would ride regularly that you couldn't get up with a 52-39/11-28. It's not like I live in the Alps in Victoria or New South Wales, and it's not like I would regularly ride Mt. Nebo, or Glorious down in Brisbane either.

[TheWall]

There are a few hills on the Sunny Coast that make the 39 brigade weep. Postman's is reportedly simply not possible and those on lower gearing have a distinct advantage when it comes to some of the other steep stuff.

Did a test with a friend on some of our testier climbs last week with him on a 39/28 and I was on a 34/28. I lazily (relative!) spun up the hills and he could only just grind away. I was significantly quicker and had noticeably fatigued less after each one.

[Mububban]

I'll freely admit to being weak as (bleep), I ride a compact and 11-32 and on a recent hill ride I had to concede defeat and turn around halfway up one particular short sharp road (Allestree Rd in Darlington for the Perthies), and Coulston Rd climbing up to rejoin Gt Eastern hwy damn near did me in too.

I love cycling, but I'm rubbish at it I find a perverse pleasure in torturing myself in the hills, but I simply wouldn't be able to move forwards without my granny gears. I do not need and can not ever spin out 50-11 (I don't want to hit 80+ on descents), but I regularly use all the easy end of my cassette.
That 11-34 cassette available on Ultegra R8000 is tempting

[cyclotaur]

^^ Good thinking.

A man's got to know his limitations...