Change cassette?

BoardsMember

I struggled up Cruagh Road & across to the lookout the other day a couple of times. I got up both times but found it pretty tough.

I seem to be out of breath before legs feel totally wrecked, but in truth both are pretty near maxed out, at the pace I tried to do it in anyway. In certain spots I could not have spun any slower and kept moving forward.

I have an Ultegra 11-28 cassette at the moment. So I am wondering should I look at changing my cassette so that I can spin a bit easier on uphills? Would an 11-32 be a better idea?

I am prepared to put in some work to get stronger, but I am looking at doing the Wicklow 100 or 200 this year, and wonder would it be better to have the 11-32 so that it is easier to just keep going?

07Lapierre

What chainset do you have? is it 53x39? I assume your on a road bike?

quozl

A 32 will make a big difference compared to the 28. I used a 12-32 in the Wicklow 200 last year. Great for spinning up things and I didn't even feel like I'd done any climbing the next day Which is what I wanted. If you're not happy with the cadence you can maintain on a 28 then a 32 will help, IF your derailleur can handle it.

Whether the 32 is faster or not would depend for me on how steep the incline is. I think I'm faster up Kilmashogue lane on my 32 than on my 28 but I'd guess that I'm faster up Stocking lane if I use the 28 and just power through the few steeper bits where my cadence drops.

The 32 can make a big difference to how tired your legs are after a day with a lot of climbing. Oh, and if you do get a 32, then I'd suggest a 12-32 rather than an 11-32, so that it's no more gappy than your 11-28.

BoardsMember

Sorry, should have included the chainset info. I am on a compact double, it's a shimano ultegra 6800, I think that its a 50/34. Does that sound right? It's a road bike, yes.

Thanks for the input quozi. It's good to hear your experiences.

With WW200 in mind I think it might be worth considering going 12/32. I'd really like to give it a go, and if the 32 means I arrive at the top of the hills a little less in tats then it might be worth it.

(I'm reluctant to go for the 11 on the big ring as I like hurtling downhill as fast as I can, though I understand the logic of it...)

Brian?

Your rear derailleur may not work with a 32. you'll need a lon cage mech for anything over a 28, according to Shimano.

C3PO

With a Compact you really shouldn't need anything bigger than a 28 on the back. I would stick with it for a while and see how you get on. 11-32 will be horribly "gappy" in my opinion!

BoardsMember

Ok, for those two latter posts, I'm sticking with the 11/28.

And thanks for not telling me to TTFU I know you were thinking it...

Wishbone Ash

BoardsMember wrote: »

....(I'm reluctant to go for the 11 on the big ring as I like hurtling downhill as fast as I can, though I understand the logic of it...)

An 11 will allow you to keep pedalling longer than a 12!

50/11=4.5 rotations
50/12=4.1 rotations

BoardsMember

Excuse my ignorance, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Surely the 11 is harder to push, so in theory you could pedal for longer with a 12 rather than an 11...or have I got it totally @ssways??

smacl

BoardsMember wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Surely the 11 is harder to push, so in theory you could pedal for longer with a 12 rather than an 11...or have I got it totally @ssways??

No you've got it right, but longer in this case is how long you can apply power before spinning out on a descent. For a given maximum cadence, the 11 allows you to apply power for longer than the 12 before spinning out.

Brian?

BoardsMember wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Surely the 11 is harder to push, so in theory you could pedal for longer with a 12 rather than an 11...or have I got it totally @ssways??

I think his point is that the difference is marginal.

Wishbone Ash

BoardsMember wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Surely the 11 is harder to push, so in theory you could pedal for longer with a 12 rather than an 11...or have I got it totally @ssways??

On a long descent you'll spin out quicker on the 12 (i.e your legs won't be able to rotate fast enough to apply and pressure to the pedals to increase speed). The 11 will allow you to continue to push for a bit longer.

quozl

I don't miss the 11 in many places and having the 12 as your smallest cog instead means smaller gaps somewhere else in the cassette.

For example, one place that I do slightly miss the 11 and have spun out is the Wicklow Gap descent into Larragh. I'm still 90th out of 1062 for that strava descent while using a 50x12, averaging 105 cadence, 125 max cadence, and a peak speed of 72.4 kph.

https://www.strava.com/activities/177697897#4150855788

So, how much will you personally miss the 11 and is it worth missing out on a cog around 14, or perhaps larger gaps at the low end of the cassette? Some lads would probably be spinning out all the time on a 50x12 as they descend that bit faster than me. If you don't descend faster then perhaps you can just improve your cadence if that's the limiting factor. A decent max cadence is nice to have anyway.

All very much personal choice but for me I'd rather 12-32 than 11-32.

Koobcam

BoardsMember wrote: »

I struggled up Cruagh Road & across to the lookout the other day a couple of times. I got up both times but found it pretty tough.

In fairness, Cruagh is a tough little climb at the best of times, so no matter what gear you are using, you probably will find it a challenge. I've been up it a few times this winter on my winter bike with a low gear of 36x32 and it still is tough. Personally, I would go for the lowest possible gear available as it's always good to have an option to go to when you're completely f**ked.

07Lapierre

BoardsMember wrote: »

Sorry, should have included the chainset info. I am on a compact double, it's a shimano ultegra 6800, I think that its a 50/34. Does that sound right? It's a road bike, yes.

Thanks for the input quozi. It's good to hear your experiences.

With WW200 in mind I think it might be worth considering going 12/32. I'd really like to give it a go, and if the 32 means I arrive at the top of the hills a little less in tats then it might be worth it.

(I'm reluctant to go for the 11 on the big ring as I like hurtling downhill as fast as I can, though I understand the logic of it...)

A 32 won't fit. you'll need a new cassette, New rear Derailler and depending on how old the existing cassette is, you'll also need a new chain....
The WW200 is 4 months away, you've plenty of time to get ready for it. If you get out regularly, there's no reason why you can't do the WW200 with your current setup.

smacl

Koobcam wrote: »

Personally, I would go for the lowest possible gear available as it's always good to have an option to go to when you're completely f**ked.

+1, particularly for your first W200 where you hit some tough climbs 120k into the day. As a slower rider, I've seen a lot of people pushing their bikes up Slieve Mann and have always been well pleased to have my 30/28 lowest gear at that point.

NeedMoreGears

You might get away with 11-30 (which gives you 7% more gearing) without having to change the rear derailleur. I've done that with an old eight speed.

BoardsMember

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

You might get away with 11-30 (which gives you 7% more gearing) without having to change the rear derailleur. I've done that with an old eight speed.

I might look into that, seems like a good compromise. all that I would need would be to change the settings on the rear derailleur then presumably.