you mean normal vs pansy?Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnoftheDread
Printable View
you mean normal vs pansy?Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnoftheDread
I remember reading a thread on another forum a while back about someone who had ordered something from a place reasonably close by (like 50 miles away or so). It was Fedex so he could track where it was going. It ended up taking weeks, and by the end the package had traveled several thousand miles. The major carriers have pretty impressive systems in place, but like any big complex system, sometimes things fall through the cracks and weirdness happens.Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone
I prefer compact, but as mstone said, buy the right gearing for you. I rode a standard for a few years before switching to compact and can definitely say it works better for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnoftheDread
If I ever swap out the crankset on my Cervelo, I'll probably put in a standard. Not that I need a standard, since I don't think I've ever spun out on 50/11, but I kinda like the idea of forcing myself to adapt and grow into the "harder" gearing on the low end. There really isn't anything in this area that I need lower than a 34/25, and 39/28 is pretty close to the same gearing. With the exception of the last climb of Mountains of Misery (which I didn't train well for), my current 34/28 low end is mostly overkill and never really need it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnoftheDread
I <3 my 34/28 combo. I don't need it often, but when I need it, I need it. :p
If you'll be riding at sustained faster speeds (so, most likely in a peloton/group), standard is probably the best. I've only ever ridden compact though, so my experience is more limited than my opinions.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnoftheDread
I would also consider a "mid compact" (52-36). 52 is almost a 53. 36 is almost almost-a-34.
Forgot to mention: one consideration for why I would go maybe a little bigger on the chainring is not because I will actually spin out a 53-11 or whatever, but a) larger chainrings and cogs are supposedly more efficient and b) at high speeds, your chain line will be better for equivalent gearing with a larger chainring, as the chain'll be closer to the middle of the cassette instead of around the 11-13T. I don't know if these would actually make that much of a difference but they're things I've read.
Never mind
I like my compact with the 11-28. At Kill Bill I was wishing for a 11-34, or even a triple, but my training for that was having lots of beer and pulled pork the night before, so this perspective is suspect.
Not entirely relevant, but on the Fargo I used to have an MTB triple with a road cassette, and that thing was ready to party on most surfaces.
(Now it has 11-34, and is ready to party on ALL surfaces)
My CX/commuter has a 50/34 and 11/32. It's the 34 I'm not crazy about. I used it on Kill Bill, in races, and with studs, but otherwise it feels too small. It's actually too small in races, too, but 50 isn't happening.
I find the compact way more useful. Rarely am I in the 11, but the 28 is used more than i like to admit. I have several of both, but the standards have been collecting dust ever since my first compact. Never have i wished i had a standard, but there have several hills that i would have paid a king's ransom for another gear. If you're planning fondo's, or just big hill climbs a compact is essential. Even more local, a compact keeps you from switching out of the big ring.
11-28 & 39-53 on the TT bike.
11-28 & 34-50 on the road bike!
Spin to win, baby!