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11-32 or 11-34 ??

rayman1

I am upgrading to Ultegra and have a choice of an 11-32 or 11-34 cassette.
Is there anyone out there using an 11-34?
Any advice is appreciated.

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Boscoirl

What’s on the front?
If it’s 50-34 32 would be plenty unless you climb hills like me

cyclocross!

Depends on lots of things. Age, fitness, strength, where you cycle, if you are compact up front etc. etc. My own point of view would be that there are no climbs in Ireland which require a 34 but it's a very personal thing.

Flaccus

I'm extremely fat so a 34 suits me for those hills. 46/36 on the front.

OP, in case you go 34, you should know the 34t is an ultegra hg800 and doesn't have ultegra written on the lock ring. Unlike the 32t 8000.

rayman1

I have a compact 50-34 on the front.
I think I am reasonably fit but just turned 60.
So far I have managed the local climbs with an 11-28 but notice that nearly all new bikes come with 11-32.

koutoubia

34 on the front and a 34 on the back!
Unless your going up The Zoncalan or some such stupid climb you wont need the 34 on the back.
34/32 is more then enough.

Eamonnator

rayman1 wrote: »

I have a compact 50-34 on the front.
I think I am reasonably fit but just turned 60.
So far I have managed the local climbs with an 11-28 but notice that nearly all new bikes come with 11-32.

I'm 67 and about 85kgs. and am reasonably fit. I do about 15,000kms per annum.
I have compact chainrings 34-50 on the front.
I use 11-28 on the rear most of the time, does me fine for most climbs.
I've an 11-32, which I reserve for The Wall, on the Orwell Randonnee, and holidays in the Canaries.
If I were buying a new bike, I would fit 34-50 and 11-32.

Flaccus

Eamonnator wrote: »

rayman1 wrote: »

I have a compact 50-34 on the front.
I think I am reasonably fit but just turned 60.
So far I have managed the local climbs with an 11-28 but notice that nearly all new bikes come with 11-32.

I'm 67 and about 85kgs. and am reasonably fit. I do about 15,000kms per annum.
I have compact chainrings 34-50 on the front.
I use 11-28 on the rear most of the time, does me fine for most climbs.
I've an 11-32, which I reserve for The Wall, on the Orwell Randonnee, and holidays in the Canaries.
If I were buying a new bike, I would fit 34-50 and 11-32.

Why not 36-52 if you don't mind me asking?

magicbastarder

i've just picked up a new groupset, went for 50/34 and 11/28 - partly because i should be able to get a 30 on the back if needed and partly because (stupid reason alert) i preferred the idea of a short cage RD.

Eamonnator

Flaccus wrote: »

Why not 36-52 if you don't mind me asking?

My winter bike has 36-52 chainrings and 11-28 cassette.
I never use the 52-11 combination, Have no need to go that high.
I find that on steep climbs, I sometimes suffer with my lowest gear of 36-28.
I find that 34-50 and 11-28 is the best compromise for me for most situations.
I do the Orwell Randonnee every year. Until last year, my lowest gear was 34-28.
There is one climb in that spin, on which I always suffered. I always had to stop for a few seconds. In 2017, I put on an 11-32 cassette, I didn't have to stop and in 2018, I actually overtook another cyclist on that climb.

C3PO

magicbastarder wrote: »

i've just picked up a new groupset, went for 50/34 and 11/28 - partly because i should be able to get a 30 on the back if needed and partly because (stupid reason alert) i preferred the idea of a short cage RD.

I agree ... putting a long cage on a road bike is just “wrong” and I think unnecessary! A semi-compact with an 11-28 or 12-30 is as much as the vast majority of people need in Ireland.

Budawanny

It just depends on what distance your doing as well as the climb. How are the legs facing into
a 15% ramp after 120km ?
Are you pushing 2000-3000m a spin?
The fact that a semi compact 52/36 is becoming the norm up front would suggest a 34 out back is the wise move if you hit the hills regularly .
I have a semi compact up front and use a 34 rear in the serious hills , but switch to 25 in the rear for shorter spins or less hilly.
I personally chose the 34 because my lower back was giving me trouble climbing steep hills under fatigue , and this gave me some relief .

benneca1

C3PO wrote: »

I agree ... putting a long cage on a road bike is just “wrong” and I think unnecessary! A semi-compact with an 11-28 or 12-30 is as much as the vast majority of people need in Ireland.

Unless you are one of those who don't. Easy rule of thumb if you don't have a gear that you can spin up the biggest hill you take on maintaining a decent cadence say 80 plus then you'd benefit from a lower gear. You don't have to use it but you will last longer. Much better to spin a 30 cog at 80 -90 RPM than to flog a 28 at 60 rpm. Whether you need it or not will depend on how heavy or how strong you are.

Mercian Pro

C3PO wrote: »

A semi-compact with an 11-28 or 12-30 is as much as the vast majority of people need in Ireland.

Really?? I would have thought they'd need an engine.

Speaking for myself, and not for the vast majority, I have never had a gear that was too low for some of the tougher climbs here and on the Continent. On anything over 12% gradient, I find a 34/32 to be great and, even on lesser slopes, it's good to know it's there in case I'm having a bad day. Everyone is different and some "old school" guys I've cycled with would never consider anything less than 39/25 but if you're not super-fit and want to keep up a good cadence, a 32 sprocket is well worth having.

[Deleted User]

Was browsing wiggle earlier seeing if they might have knocked anything off a 2018 model bike and saw a felt with a tiagra group set at 48/32 11/34 I'd actually love to see what 32/34 feels and looks like on a decent hill.

I'm no goat but even I'd not need that low a gear for what we have here. Is there even a % gradient where that would be useful to someone of even average bike fitness or is it a case of if you need that gear you'd be better off walking?

Takca

It all depends on the person and their aims, I'm 85kg and the bike is 10kg
If I'm on a long spin I don't want to burn all my matches on a big hill and tend to try and keep the effort down if I can
so lets say I'm happy to maintain 200 watts
With 34/32 to keep my cadence at 90rpm, I can hit a hill upto about 5%.

Once I go above 5% I'm forced to go into a higher HR zone and will pay for it with more fatigue later, so you wont catch me looking to get rid of my granny cogs until I get stronger or lighter (or hopefully both).

On shorter rides I'm happy to let rip and probably wouldn't need the 34/32 as much.

mloc123

I remember getting my first road bike 10 years ago with a 53/39 - 12/25.

48/32 - 11/34 just seems crazy in comparison. Does a climb exist that needs 32 - 34?

Cee-Jay-Cee

Deleted User wrote: »

Was browsing wiggle earlier seeing if they might have knocked anything off a 2018 model bike and saw a felt with a tiagra group set at 48/32 11/34 I'd actually love to see what 32/34 feels and looks like on a decent hill.

I'm no goat but even I'd not need that low a gear for what we have here. Is there even a % gradient where that would be useful to someone of even average bike fitness or is it a case of if you need that gear you'd be better off walking?

My Felt VR30 has a 46/30 chain-set with an 11/32 cassette. I use the 30/32 on steep climbs regularly (I'm in Donegal and we have plenty of them) The bike is quite heavy and so its needed. However saying that, I can get up the same climbs quicker on a 50/34 with 11/28 on my good bike which is 3kg lighter than the VR30.

Borderfox

I have 52-36 11-32 on the Genesis (9.8kg) and I does me just fine on most climbs including parts of Wicklow but I have an 11-36 for stuff like the Reservoir Dog in September as I found Cunard quite hard if it rains and you cant get out of the saddle.

I tried the 46-30 rings from Absolute Black and found them excellent and would suit a gravel setup perfectly

52/36 up front and 11-32 on the back and it's great for those sportives that people have mentioned so far. Will serious consider the 11-34 on the back when/if I get a new bike as it'll make it easier going up Cunard/The Wall/Kilmashogue that bit easier.

TGD

Flaccus wrote: »

Why not 36-52 if you don't mind me asking?

52 x 11 equals nearly 60kph at 100rpm. Very few need that I think.

C3PO

TGD wrote: »

52 x 11 equals nearly 60kph at 100rpm. Very few need that I think.

Why? Most keen cyclists would regularly exceed 60km/hr on any sort of a descent!

letape

koutoubia wrote: »

34 on the front and a 34 on the back!
Unless your going up The Zoncalan or some such stupid climb you wont need the 34 on the back.
34/32 is more then enough.

Agreed. I used a 27 on the back for a trip to the Pyrenees and haven’t needed more than a 25 in Ireland.

Borderfox

Depends on user weight and desired cadence, as said above over a long distance can be more comfortable to climb in a higher cadence (lower pressure)

smacl

Borderfox wrote: »

I have 52-36 11-32 on the Genesis (9.8kg) and I does me just fine on most climbs including parts of Wicklow but I have an 11-36 for stuff like the Reservoir Dog in September as I found Cunard quite hard if it rains and you cant get out of the saddle.

I tried the 46-30 rings from Absolute Black and found them excellent and would suit a gravel setup perfectly

I've 50/34 11/32 on my Rose CX bike and found that recovering from an injury with very little cycling this year, the low gear is a great benefit. Even before the injury, climbs like Kilmashogue, Cunard and Kippure were made much easier by the low gear. For any damp off road, the low gears are also great for the mud and climbs on loose surfaces.

NeedMoreGears

I think this is all a matter of preference. I've done some of the big continental climbs on 34/28 and 34/32 - I suffered just as much using both but I did feel more confident of getting to the top with the 32 and I suspect I was a little quicker. To be honest a 32/34 would be great at the end of some of those continental climbs - never mind a 34/32!

My limiter is leg strength/torque rather than power (though my power is quite limited too - maybe 3w/kg on a good day). I find I become fatigued more quickly on steep climbs with the 28 even for the same power. In Ireland the same effect applies but not to the same extent because climbs are shorter and often not as steep.

Boscoirl

I have recently gone from 34/32 to a 36/28 and I don’t notice a massive difference but on the ring of Clare last week. The rear derailleur wouldn’t go up onto the 28 at the back so essentially I was on a 36/25 which is a big difference for a person >100kg

gman2k

I'm on r8000 with 50-34 front and 11-34 rear. I'm glad I have it as an option due to poor fitness, excess weight and bad knees.
If the OP feels he need it, then go for it.
If another cyclist is fitted and can ride hills on 52-39 11-28 then fair play to them. Who cares about someone's opinion about long cages looking silly? Better another person getting out and doing the Kms.

54and56

I've never come down a hill wishing I'd a higher gear ratio to employ but I've often, particularly on a long spin, gone up a hill wishing I'd a lower gear ratio to employ!!

magicbastarder

i have only ever once hit 52-11 on my current bike. only time i've done it, partly for a stupid reason - the mudguards i use (currently not on the bike) bolt on, and the bolt is just long enough to stick through the other side and foul the chain if i drop to the 11. not that i miss not being able to use it.

dahat

I'm running 52/36 & 11/25 currently, have noticed a drop in cadence since using that block but I'm in no way shape or form a climber so **** it.

Winter will be 11 28 though.