Thinking of trying a 50/36 compact chainring combination. Does a 11-27T cassette with a 50/36 chainring give you a similar range to a 11-25T cassette with 50/34 chainring?

Any comments would be much appreciated.

36/27 is slightly higher (harder) than 34/25, and will have wider spacing on the larger sprockets, i'd prefer the 34/25 combo

Try this
http://www.ritzelrechner.de

it's very close. But the 36 will be more usable at the high end (36/13-14-15), I find one shifts the chainrings a bit less.

This is wrong.

34/25=1.36>1.33=36/27

^^^this

oops!

I like one better: 46-36. The front shift is much closer to what I want with a front shift. 46-34 is also very good. I really don't miss a 50-11 except in extreme cases. 46-11 is still quite big for my girly-legs.

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http://djconnel.blogspot.com/
Fuji SL/1
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Yeah djconnel has the right idea. Very few people need the big large chainring unless you nail it down hills or you're a fast sprinter. I run 48/38 or 49/39 at the front and the shifting is superb. It gives me an advantage in that I can very quickly change down into the smaller chainring without spinning out and losing power while I find the right gear at the back - I just flick it one gear down at the back and I've got pretty much the same gear as before.

I never find I run out of gears with 48 x 11, however I do prefer climbing where I'm not using the big ring much. When I'm riding on the flat I find the gears I use most of the time are nicely in the middle of the cassette.

And sorry for going off topic, but I'd say to OP that the 50/36 would be better as there's less of a jump at the front - 50/34 is a huge jump (the most that most derailleurs can take), and the shifting will suffer when it matters. Even better would be 48/36.

Yup. Me too. Currently running a 34/46 (because that's what I had), and you can go pretty darn fast in the 46/11.

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GRAVELBIKE.COM - ride everything

glad i found this post...

would these type of combo be good for climbing only or even on the flats? cuz i thought 53/11 would be quick, but this weekend, i found my legs weren't all there to ride fast enough.

A website I find really helpful is www.bikecalc.com and It is really good for any calculation you may have. You can find all the ratios, speeds, cadence at speed and it gives you a highly comprehensive table to sort it all out.