Canyon cassette 11-28 or 11-25?

patspost

Hi folks a little bit of advice would be great please,

I am purchasing a canyon roadlite 7 and can't decide to get the cassette with 11-25 or 11-28 (mountain gear ratio).
It is a compact crank.
Where I cycle there is a mixture of hilly & flat, but on my current bike, triple I do use the granny gear a bit, so I suppose I should get the 11-28.

Are there any disadvantages in having the 11-28?

tks
Patspost

seamus

What cassette do you have on your current bike?

If you have a triple and you find yourself in the lowest gear at any stage, then yes I would say that 11-28 is the one for you. Give yourself the widest range of gears you can until you know what gears you need.

The advantage that 11-25 has over 11-28 is that the gear jumps are less, which allows smoother, more progressive acceleration without interrupting cadence too much. There's also a weight difference. But you probably wouldn't even notice it.

Lumen

11-28 is gappier, obviously. Annoyingly so, IMO.

cantalach

With a compact, go for the 11-25. If you still can't get up that hill it will encourage you to train more

patspost

Hi Seamus tks for that,
What cassette do you have on your current bike?

I'm not sure it is a specialised sirrus, flat bar
but the current model has this according to spec web site. Shimano Alivio
CHAINRINGS 48 x 38 x 28T w/ chainguard
CASSETTE Shimano HG-40, 8-speed, 11-32t

TinyExplosions

If you use the granny ring a lot, or are undecided, I'd go for the 11-28... it's cheap enough to change it if you find that you're not using the 28 much

TheBlaaMan

With a compact, go for the 11-25. If you still can't get up that hill it will encourage you to train more

If you use the granny ring a lot, or are undecided, I'd go for the 11-28... it's cheap enough to change it if you find that you're not using the 28 much

You should/could weigh up the advantage of having 'easier' gearing in the cassette in order to get the psychological benefit of actually being able to successfully climb tough hills, against the potential that having such an easier time of it will have on your ability to train yourself for climbing in the longer term.

FWIW, I recently swapped out a 12-25 for an 11-28 and its enabled me to get up some hills (Seskin, yesterday:D) that had previously defeated me. I still have the 12-25 to fit back on if/when the mood hits me......

DirkVoodoo

I used to use the "granny" ring a lot when I had a triple, I was terrified when I bought a compact that I would spend a lot of time walking up climbs. It wasn't the case, you get used to it. Heck, I can get up climbs on a singlespeed (44-16) that I can't get up on a 34-21, I think it's all psychological. If you have "bail out gears", you end up using them and not necessarily because you need to but because they are there.

You will be fine!

petethedrummer

If you're not sure, get a 28. When you have worn it out you can get a 25.