Change the gearing ratio or throttle ?

omri

I'm currently running 39-53 and 11-25 cassette and its still a bit of a struggle or rather a struggle (though I'm capable of doing more than what I was 1000km ago). Which I admit must have been a bit optimistic when I was placing an order for the groupset - my mindset at that time was at 70kg and 10k km per year in my legs and conditioning, where the reality was 4yrs of driving my arse in a car and +30/40kg. Now Im around 102kg at 6'4".

Having said that I am bit inconsistent with how much Ive been cycling in recent weeks. And it was first day in the clear after suffering the tummy bug which we shared with our son and daughter.

I went up to test my legs on the little climb in Dalkey - not sure whats the name of that road it ends with an arched gate and roundabout - possibly Vico Rd then downhilled to Military Rd came back past Killiney Dart station and then back onto Vico Rd and it was a struggle - first at the end before the arch I was going 39-25 and off the saddle, my HR was at 182 which means everything is blurry at this point. But I made it then. The second time was past Killiney Dart station in an uphill part before I was back going downhill it made me grind to a halt. Took 30 sec rest and managed to end the last uphill section before getting back on Vico Rd again.

So for most parts of the "climb" Im in the saddle grinding slowly on 39-25 but it does get put some strain on my lower back and my cadence is very low, off the saddle periods are usually very short - I'm just not strong enough to sustain this for longer periods.

So do I throttle in a hope of becoming Froome or do I go the easy way and change my cassette ?

comete

omri wrote: »

I'm currently running 39-53 and 11-25 cassette and its still a bit of a struggle or rather a struggle (though I'm capable of doing more than what I was 1000km ago). Which I admit must have been a bit optimistic when I was placing an order for the groupset - my mindset at that time was at 70kg and 10k km per year in my legs and conditioning, where the reality was 4yrs of driving my arse in a car and +30/40kg. Now Im around 102kg at 6'4".

Having said that I am bit inconsistent with how much Ive been cycling in recent weeks. And it was first day in the clear after suffering the tummy bug which we shared with our son and daughter.

I went up to test my legs on the little climb in Dalkey - not sure whats the name of that road it ends with an arched gate and roundabout - possibly Vico Rd then downhilled to Military Rd came back past Killiney Dart station and then back onto Vico Rd and it was a struggle - first at the end before the arch I was going 39-25 and off the saddle, my HR was at 182 which means everything is blurry at this point. But I made it then. The second time was past Killiney Dart station in an uphill part before I was back going downhill it made me grind to a halt. Took 30 sec rest and managed to end the last uphill section before getting back on Vico Rd again.

So for most parts of the "climb" Im in the saddle grinding slowly on 39-25 but it does get put some strain on my lower back and my cadence is very low, off the saddle periods are usually very short - I'm just not strong enough to sustain this for longer periods.

So do I throttle in a hope of becoming Froome or do I go the easy way and change my cassette ?

Change your cassette for an 11-28

omri

comete wrote: »

Change your cassette for an 11-28

Will it work with short cage derailler? Ultra 6800.

Explosive_Cornflake

comete wrote: »

Change your cassette for an 11-28

11-28 is very gappy and 53-11 is a big gear. I think I've only used it 2 or 3 times where I felt I needed a higher gear.

Shortcage probably not an issue, but I'd get something 28-12 or whatever has a closer ratio. 12-27 probably would be my choice.

Plastik

Buy a compact chainset.

omri

Plastik wrote: »

Buy a compact chainset.

Probably cheaper to go with new cassette rather than chainset.

comete

Only one solution, new bike

Plastik

omri wrote: »

Probably cheaper to go with new cassette rather than chainset.

Probably. But you could sell one to fund the other. You would be better served with a compact chainset though which would be of more use to you more of the time than switching to a cassette with bigger gaps between the cogs and maybe just one extra bail out gear which you will likely default in to, by the sounds of things.

mp31

omri wrote: »

Probably cheaper to go with new cassette rather than chainset.

Buy a 2nd hand chainset in good nick (you see them popping up for sale every now and then), keep the original cassette and you may not be spending that much more than a new 11-28 cassette.

xxyyzz

omri wrote: »

So do I throttle in a hope of becoming Froome or do I go the easy way and change my cassette ?

Froome can spin up to 120RPM on a > 10% climb, it's safe to say he's not doing that on a 39-25

Brian?

xxyyzz wrote: »

Froome can spin up to 120RPM on a > 10% climb, it's safe to say he's not doing that on a 39-25

Dead right, I think he has something like a 36-30 for high Alpine stages.

ford2600

comete wrote: »

Only one solution, new bike

Tiara 12/30 cassette. €20 sorted.

Shimano tech documents say it won't work with a short cage but it does. Cut new chain to allow for 53/30 in case you put it that gear.

Tiagra compact chainset if needs be.

If you have added the weight you say paying for ultegra parts or whatever is nonsense. It's probably nonsense for 99% of lads

omri

So what you're saying compact chainset and my current cassette will sort me out for whatever Ireland can throw at me ? Could I not change just the chainrings ?

Alek

Depends on the engine.

omri

Alek wrote: »

Depends on the engine.

I'm tweaking the engine. Just came back from same spin - managed it without any dramas, though still was hard.

Alek

Actually, when I think of it, it is down to preference.

I cycled Evil 200 mostly with another guy (a boardsie of course), who is definitely stronger than me but was nice enough to keep the company My lowest gear was 34x27 and I had no problem going up any hills Daragh has thrown at us.

Being stronger, he could have gone 39x25 no problem - thats what he has on normal rides. But he decided to for 34x32 (or 36x32?) and was spinning like crazy to maintain the same speed - yet at the end of the day I was getting nasty cramps while he was still fresh enough

I know it is anectdotal evidence only...

omri

Alek wrote: »

Actually, when I think of it, it is down to preference.

I cycled Evil 200 mostly with another guy (a boardsie of course), who is definitely stronger than me but was nice enough to keep the company My lowest gear was 34x27 and I had no problem going up any hills Daragh has thrown at us.

Being stronger, he could have gone 39x25 no problem - thats what he has on normal rides. But he decided to for 34x32 (or 36x32?) and was spinning like crazy to maintain the same speed - yet at the end of the day I was getting nasty cramps while he was still fresh enough

I know it is anectdotal evidence only...

So can I just change the chainrings or do I have to go with new crank arms too ?

DirkVoodoo

omri wrote: »

So can I just change the chainrings or do I have to go with new crank arms too ?

Yes, new Shimano such as your Ultegra 6800 has done away with 110/130 BCD and uses the same across the board.

You can swap out the chainrings for compact or semi-compact ones!

omri

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yes, new Shimano such as your Ultegra 6800 has done away with 110/130 BCD and uses the same across the board.

You can swap out the chainrings for compact or semi-compact ones!

And semi-compact are ?

oconnpad

omri wrote: »

And semi-compact are ?

52/36

clog

comete wrote: »

Change your cassette for an 11-28

This really is the answer;
Changing the chainrings is uneconomic as for the price of them you may as well buy a new crank.

This change will give tou nearly the same ratio as changing the cranks to a compact (2.8 as compared to 2.7).

It will fit easily with what you have already and you may not even need to change the chain.

Brian?

Change the chain rings to 50x34 and get an 11-28. You'll be golden. This is my current setup on my "climbing bike" and I'm a big unit who likes Wicklow.

rab!dmonkey

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

11-28 is very gappy and 53-11 is a big gear.

If it's good enough for the great majority of pro road racers it can't be that bad. An 11 speed 11-28 is the same as a 10 speed 11-25, so not 'very' gappy by any means. I would agree that it sounds like OP could live without an 11t though.

Harrybelafonte

I used to do those climbs a lot a few years ago. Was close to 100kg at 6' 1". So, I have some experience if why you're going through. A new cassette won't really sort it for you. It'll make it easier as everyone else has mentioned but a change of chain rings is the best answer tbh. Those climbs are steep, but short and when you hit Wicklow hills you'll wish you hat the compact. No matter what the engine, all the extra weight will make it tougher than it should be.

I vote change chainrings.

omri

Thanks everyone for all the input. Will look into getting new chainset/chainrings.

Unknown Soldier

oconnpad wrote: »

52/36

Is it possible to swap out the 36 for a 34 and run a 52-34?

Is it too much of a jump?

omri

Can you use 11sp dura ace chainring with ultegra 6800 cranks ? By that I mean either using both rings from DA or just small from DA and big from Ultegra.

iwillhtfu

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

If it's good enough for the great majority of pro road racers it can't be that bad. An 11 speed 11-28 is the same as a 10 speed 11-25, so not 'very' gappy by any means. I would agree that it sounds like OP could live without an 11t though.

Unless you're one of these there is no need for the majority of cyclists to be using a standard chainset particularly if you're struggling on hills.

OP definitely change to a compact 50/34 particularly if you plan on venturing into the Dublin/Wicklow mountains why suffer in silence for a couple mins bragging rights at a coffee shop.

oconnpad

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

Is it possible to swap out the 36 for a 34 and run a 52-34?

Is it too much of a jump?

Thought i read somewhere the max difference between the 2 chainrings should be no more than 16 teeth.

Here's a good GCN video on standard versus compact climbing the Mortirolo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwYCdNm7f0k

rab!dmonkey

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Unless you're one of these there is no need for the majority of cyclists to be using a standard chainset particularly if you're struggling on hills.

OP definitely change to a compact 50/34 particularly if you plan on venturing into the Dublin/Wicklow mountains why suffer in silence for a couple mins bragging rights at a coffee shop.

By that I was referring to the 'gappyness' of an 11s 11-28, which really oughtn't trouble anyone. Obviously people should ride gearing appropriate to their needs, which for the OP seems to be 50-34 and 11-28. If I were him I would take the current gears off, put them to one side and work towards getting fit enough to make good use of them.

Brian?

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

Is it possible to swap out the 36 for a 34 and run a 52-34?

Is it too much of a jump?

I don't actually know that you can't, but it sounds like a horrible idea.

omri

Can you use 11sp dura ace chainring with ultegra 6800 cranks ? By that I mean either using both rings from DA or just small from DA and big from Ultegra and I would keep my ultegra crank arms.

Brian?

omri wrote: »

Can you use 11sp dura ace chainring with ultegra 6800 cranks ? By that I mean either using both rings from DA or just small from DA and big from Ultegra and I would keep my ultegra crank arms.

I think so. As long as both are 11speed. Change both rings though.

clog

Have you looked at the price of shimano 9000/6800 4 bolt chainrings the cheapest I can find work out at 157 for the pair.
You can buy a complete 6800 50/34 or 52/36 crankset for 163 (merlin) and sell on the current cranks to recoup some of the cost.