11 or 12 tooth rear sprocket ?

[Russ Reynolds]

I'm in the process of building up my first good road bike and if I've got a 52 tooth front sprocket should I go for an 11 or 12 for the smallest sprocket on the rear cassette. Would you only need an 11 for fast downhill decents or would you still use the 11 on the flat ?

 

[artemidorus]

12. I miss having an 11 about 0.001% of my cycling time.

 

[sogood]

What does your present bike have and which gears do you use? Do you max it out at the top? Calculate the gear ratio and work it out by your need rather than what others are capable of using.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

The other issue to consider is the spread of the cassette. If you go for both extremes, then there'll be greater gaps b/n each gear step which may not work too well where you may find that you want a gear that sits right in the middle. Alternatively, if you concentrate on the high end (11), then a 23 on the other end may leave you walking up a hill.

If you are using a Compact crankset, then a 11 is probably more worthwhile. Your 52 suggests it's not a CT setup.

 

[mikesbytes]

You need to be going at least 60kph to use the 11. At 80kph, you can still confortably spin the pedals using a 11. When would you be doing these kinds of speeds?

If your a racer and your a masher, then use an 11, I use one.

For everyone else, stick to the 12.

 

[Bro Deal]

I'm in the process of building up my first good road bike and if I've got a 52 tooth front sprocket should I go for an 11 or 12 for the smallest sprocket on the rear cassette. Would you only need an 11 for fast downhill decents or would you still use the 11 on the flat ?

I like the 12. I dislike the 23 tooth cassettes where they go from 12-25 by chopping off the 25 and adding an 11. I prefer the 12-23 because it has an 18, which is a great cruising gear.

If you can use an 11 on the flat then either you are a pro or have a hell of a tailwind.

 

[Russ Reynolds]

What does your present bike have and which gears do you use? Do you max it out at the top? Calculate the gear ratio and work it out by your need rather than what others are capable of using.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

The other issue to consider is the spread of the cassette. If you go for both extremes, then there'll be greater gaps b/n each gear step which may not work too well where you may find that you want a gear that sits right in the middle. Alternatively, if you concentrate on the high end (11), then a 23 on the other end may leave you walking up a hill.

If you are using a Compact crankset, then a 11 is probably more worthwhile. Your 52 suggests it's not a CT setup.

Thanks. Yea it's a Shimano. So to give you all a brief rundown,

1. I'm no racer, don't compete, but like all of us, love to give it some.
2. Around our area is hilly but not mountainous.
3. There are also lotsa flat sections.
4. All my gear is Dura Ace 9 speed.
5. Rear sprocket is the last thing to buy.
6. My body says I'm a novice, my head says I need a 9 tooth (my head is often out of touch with reality).

So is the concencis 12 ?

 

[sogood]

Thanks. Yea it's a Shimano. So to give you all a brief rundown,

1. I'm no racer, don't compete, but like all of us, love to give it some.
2. Around our area is hilly but not mountainous.
3. There are also lotsa flat sections.
4. All my gear is Dura Ace 9 speed.
5. Rear sprocket is the last thing to buy.
6. My body says I'm a novice, my head says I need a 9 tooth (my head is often out of touch with reality).

So is the concencis 12 ?

12 is the general recommendation. But if you ride hills and not too aggressive, then you might even consider a 26 on the other end.

Do you have a friend who can lend you a cassette to try out? Or even a LBS, then often have trial cassettes that you maybe able to borrow or rent. Otherwise it'll just be trial and errors until the next time.

 

[LeDomestique]

I had 11-23 in my first bike. I think I changed it to a 12-23 and the 11th tooth was still unused.

Go with 12. You can always spin 9% faster if you need to.

 

[Insaneclimber]

If your not a racer then get an 11, Spinning at 120 rpm on a downhill is not for beginners? only my 2 cents worth.

 

[Albert 50]

12. I miss having an 11 about 0.001% of my cycling time.

Agree. My 52/12 suits me 99.999% of the time

 

[sogood]

If your not a racer then get an 11, Spinning at 120 rpm on a downhill is not for beginners? only my 2 cents worth.

Unless you are on a fixie.

For most downhills at 60kph or greater, freewheeling is probably what's more natural.

 

[mikesbytes]

If your not a racer then get an 11, Spinning at 120 rpm on a downhill is not for beginners? only my 2 cents worth.

You can free wheel

 

[rayhuang]

For training in winter I used a 53/39 and 12-27 cassette (10-speed). my thinking was to have a bailout gear for rollers and hills to NOT ride too hard on recovery days or between workouts (tempo for example). My area is very up and down with short, steep rollers.

In a road race last weekend that had a few short hills I found the jumps from 21-24-27 to be too big so I put my 12-25 back on for spring. the jumps felt like going from mashing to spinning too fast and losing momentum up the hills (like going from a hard 75 cadence to all of a sudden 90 cadence and going nowhere).

For time trials I will use a 11-23 because you never know if you'll hit a tailwind section and how your legs might feel. What I mean is maybe you settle in on a course at 85 cadence, then hit a tailwind or downhill section and that 11 will feel good wher a 12 at 120 cadence might spike your HR or just feel wrong.

Now having said all this, I agree that if your a masher then get an 11. if you like to spin than have at it on a 12. Last Saturday we went out for 4 hours and I was in my 53/12 multiple times down rollers at 40mph. I hit 47.5mph down one 2km descent and could have spun a 11 to hit 50mph. I LOVE going fast and if you do-you want that 11 to get the best bang when those sweet descents occur. If your scared of descending fast, then were back to the 12!!

Also-as someone else mentioned, make sure you know your sweet gear!! if you are always in a 17 then dont pick a cassette regardless of the small or big gear that is missing your fav. gear!!

Hope this helps more than confuses!!

Ray

 

[capwater]

Here's what I use, I'm a cat3/master 40+ racer:
11-21 for crit racing
12-23 for road racing and in season training
12-25 for off season training
12-27 for mountain stages

If I were you I'd go with the 12-23 for a good solid option.

 

[Russ Reynolds]

For training in winter I used a 53/39 and 12-27 cassette (10-speed). my thinking was to have a bailout gear for rollers and hills to NOT ride too hard on recovery days or between workouts (tempo for example). My area is very up and down with short, steep rollers.

In a road race last weekend that had a few short hills I found the jumps from 21-24-27 to be too big so I put my 12-25 back on for spring. the jumps felt like going from mashing to spinning too fast and losing momentum up the hills (like going from a hard 75 cadence to all of a sudden 90 cadence and going nowhere).

For time trials I will use a 11-23 because you never know if you'll hit a tailwind section and how your legs might feel. What I mean is maybe you settle in on a course at 85 cadence, then hit a tailwind or downhill section and that 11 will feel good wher a 12 at 120 cadence might spike your HR or just feel wrong.

Now having said all this, I agree that if your a masher then get an 11. if you like to spin than have at it on a 12. Last Saturday we went out for 4 hours and I was in my 53/12 multiple times down rollers at 40mph. I hit 47.5mph down one 2km descent and could have spun a 11 to hit 50mph. I LOVE going fast and if you do-you want that 11 to get the best bang when those sweet descents occur. If your scared of descending fast, then were back to the 12!!

Also-as someone else mentioned, make sure you know your sweet gear!! if you are always in a 17 then dont pick a cassette regardless of the small or big gear that is missing your fav. gear!!

Hope this helps more than confuses!!

Ray

Thanks Ray. This all makes good sense.

 

[Insaneclimber]

Whats a fixie??? Youll never get to a hundred freewheeling. Silly softie road riders!

(MTB Rider)