32-32 to 36-32 gearing

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Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

How much harder will it be going from 48/32 with 11-32 (10spd cassette) to 52/36 with 11-28 (11spd) for hill climbs?

Currently I find myself using 32front ring and 32 on the rear.....sometimes 28 on the tiny section of road going back home...only about 5mins of riding

Am I going to have to get off and walk it :lol: with my new bike 36 front ring and 28 rear?

I haven't even installed it yet, debating whether I should try and find/swap for a 50/34 crankset

I tried http://www.gear-calculator.com but can't quite deduce how much harder the 'new' 36 with 28 will be.

With old gear (48+32) it indicates I do 5.5mph @ 70 cadence giving 27 gear inches
With new gear (52+28) it indicates I do 7mph @ 70 cadence giving 35 gear inches

comments?

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alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

What crank do you have? 48/32 sounds great...

36 ring and 28t cog is ~29% harder gear than 32t ring and 32t cog. It's significantly different.

As for high speed, 52/11 is ~8% faster/harder than 48/11.

If I were you I'd keep the crank. You can change individual chainrings. Like 48t to 50t and so on.

Do you need lower cadence at high speed or higher cadence at low speeds?

/a
Last edited by alcatraz on Thu Sep 28, 2017 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

gbrown
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 4:35 pm

by gbrown

The gear calculator shows 36/28 (1.29:1) is pretty much exactly the same as your current 32/25 (1.28:1) so stick your current setup into that gear and see if you can get up the hill!

Unless you are a strong climber 36/28 is quite a tough gear on a steep incline.

If you can fit a 11-32 cassette, 36/32 is almost the same as 32/28 with your current setup, so you might find that a better compromise.

Personally I use 50-34 and an 11-32 and on anything above around 10% I'm always in 34/32 to allow me to spin, as I climb sat down the whole way. I'm actually thinking of getting one of the new 11-34 cassettes just to get a few more rpm.

Unless racing, I'd go for the 50-34, especially if coming from a 48-32.

Geoff

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

alcatraz wrote:What crank do you have? 48/32 sounds great...

36 ring and 28t cog is ~29% harder gear than 32t ring and 32t cog. It's significantly different.

As for high speed, 52/11 is ~8% faster/harder than 48/11.

If I were you I'd keep the crank. You can change individual chainrings. Like 48t to 50t and so on.

Do you need lower cadence at high speed or higher cadence at low speeds?

/a


It's a Praxis crank on my Diverge bike.
Just got myself a 2nd bike which is full Shimano with a Ultegra 52/36 crank.

I'm not that fussed about top speeds or descent, more worried about getting up the hills

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

gbrown wrote:The gear calculator shows 36/28 (1.29:1) is pretty much exactly the same as your current 32/25 (1.28:1) so stick your current setup into that gear and see if you can get up the hill!

Unless you are a strong climber 36/28 is quite a tough gear on a steep incline.

If you can fit a 11-32 cassette, 36/32 is almost the same as 32/28 with your current setup, so you might find that a better compromise.

Personally I use 50-34 and an 11-32 and on anything above around 10% I'm always in 34/32 to allow me to spin, as I climb sat down the whole way. I'm actually thinking of getting one of the new 11-34 cassettes just to get a few more rpm.

Unless racing, I'd go for the 50-34, especially if coming from a 48-32.

Geoff


Thanks for that. I'll have no reservation about a 50/34 crankset but 52/36 seems like a big jump from my 48/32.
Ill try your suggestion actually and use only the 25 rear for the hills and see whether I can make it.

I'm not a strong climber either.

morganb
Posts: 732
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:30 pm

by morganb

Boshk wrote:
alcatraz wrote:What crank do you have? 48/32 sounds great...

36 ring and 28t cog is ~29% harder gear than 32t ring and 32t cog. It's significantly different.

As for high speed, 52/11 is ~8% faster/harder than 48/11.

If I were you I'd keep the crank. You can change individual chainrings. Like 48t to 50t and so on.

Do you need lower cadence at high speed or higher cadence at low speeds?

/a


It's a Praxis crank on my Diverge bike.
Just got myself a 2nd bike which is full Shimano with a Ultegra 52/36 crank.

I'm not that fussed about top speeds or descent, more worried about getting up the hills

What is your new bike? The Diverge is a great bike but not particularly light or racy. You may find that you are climbing in slightly harder gears anyway if you are going to a race oriented road bike.

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

Why move away from lower gears if you need the lowest gear?

It sounds like you currently need your 1 to 1 low gear? If you need it for this, you likely need it in other places too.

If going to a bigger chainring set- you should also change the rear cluster to match.

Get a 34/50 and an 11-34 cassette.

alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Keep the setup. It offers great range already.

Don't get caught up on the "micro-compact" or "granny" descriptions people sometimes use. This is a very smart and versatile range of gears that I'm sure will be the envy of several riders when the climb comes. :D

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

morganb wrote:
Boshk wrote:
alcatraz wrote:What crank do you have? 48/32 sounds great...

36 ring and 28t cog is ~29% harder gear than 32t ring and 32t cog. It's significantly different.

As for high speed, 52/11 is ~8% faster/harder than 48/11.

If I were you I'd keep the crank. You can change individual chainrings. Like 48t to 50t and so on.

Do you need lower cadence at high speed or higher cadence at low speeds?

/a


It's a Praxis crank on my Diverge bike.
Just got myself a 2nd bike which is full Shimano with a Ultegra 52/36 crank.

I'm not that fussed about top speeds or descent, more worried about getting up the hills

What is your new bike? The Diverge is a great bike but not particularly light or racy. You may find that you are climbing in slightly harder gears anyway if you are going to a race oriented road bike.


Bianchi XR3 with Ultegra. It came stock with a 52/36. It is noticeably lighter than my Diverge.
I didn't quite think about it until I got home, problem with buying stuff in Hong Kong, you pay and walk out, there is no refund or exchange.
I tried asking for a 50/34 crank and he said he didn't have.

I'll try what the above said, use my 32 with 25 on Diverge and see how hard it is.

Worst case, I could go over budget and sell the unused R8000 set and get Campagnolo Chorus 50/34 with 12/29.

I can't keep/transfer the Praxis crankset 48/32 because I would have to change the bb and it would render the Diverge useless. Now at least if I feel the urge to go out riding when it's wet, I can and just keep the XR3 as a nice weather bike.

Lieblingsleguan
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:47 pm

by Lieblingsleguan

You don't need to sell the crank, you just change to 50-34 rings and if necessary for the 11-34 cassette.

whosatthewheel
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:35 pm
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by whosatthewheel

I used a 1:1 gear ratio (36 x 36) to climb Hardknott pass, which is 2 km at 14% and maxes out at 30%. I used a 36 x 32 to climb Bwlch-Y-Groes in Wales, which is 2.6 km at 12% and maxes out at 25%... they were both just about right. 28 will make things a bit harder.

What you need is up to you, but I would say the difference is not huge and both should be adequate for steep gradients on road... >20% you might want something lighter than 36 x 28

alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Bottom brackets are cheap. Just move the cranks around. Even shifters, derailleurs and cassettes no problem. Then you're done...

If your praxis is a bb30 short axle, then I guess you can't move it to a threaded BSA but in most other cases you could.

/a

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

gbrown wrote:The gear calculator shows 36/28 (1.29:1) is pretty much exactly the same as your current 32/25 (1.28:1) so stick your current setup into that gear and see if you can get up the hill!

Unless you are a strong climber 36/28 is quite a tough gear on a steep incline.

If you can fit a 11-32 cassette, 36/32 is almost the same as 32/28 with your current setup, so you might find that a better compromise.

Personally I use 50-34 and an 11-32 and on anything above around 10% I'm always in 34/32 to allow me to spin, as I climb sat down the whole way. I'm actually thinking of getting one of the new 11-34 cassettes just to get a few more rpm.

Unless racing, I'd go for the 50-34, especially if coming from a 48-32.

Geoff


Thanks again Geoff. :thumbup:

I did my routine run today, only an hour and did all the hills in 32front-25rear......manage to get up the last tiny hill (4mins of riding), I wasn't spinning, cadence got to a low of 55.

So technically I can just stick with the bike's current setup and not spend anymore money.

Anyhow, if I do stick to Shimano, I'll still try and sell my 52/36 for a 50/34 and most likely get the new 11-30 cassette, be nice to have a rescue gear.

If I change to Campagnolo (if I get an offer for unused R8000 ultegra set) I'll go 50/34 with a 11/29 or 12/29

by Weenie


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gbrown
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 4:35 pm

by gbrown

Boshk wrote:Thanks again Geoff. :thumbup:

I did my routine run today, only an hour and did all the hills in 32front-25rear......manage to get up the last tiny hill (4mins of riding), I wasn't spinning, cadence got to a low of 55.

So technically I can just stick with the bike's current setup and not spend anymore money.


Yeah, 55 is fine, even with 34/32 I regularly get down as low as 42-45 on a long steep climb, as I have to keep my heart rate down after a couple of strokes.

Geoff

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