12/23 to 12/27 9 speed ultegra cassette change?

[Marty]

Hey there r.b.t.,

I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
Or, could I just plug and chug?

I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).

Thanks.
--
Marty

 

[kwhiner]

Marty,

Shouldn't be a problem from what I read the Ultegra RD should handle
the 12-27. Just go ahead and pick-up the other cassette and swap back
and forth as needed. I personally have no problem with a triple and am
building a bike now with a 52-44,42,40-30,28 and most of the time
12-23,25 for the rear. Will be doing most of my riding in the
Reno-Tahoe area just a couple of good climbs hereabouts. Good luck.

kwhiner


Marty wrote:
> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Marty

 

[[email protected]]

Marty wrote:
> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Marty

Just make sure your chain is setup to handle the 53x27 combination and
switch back and forth as you like. 39x27 should be OK for the easier
long Colorado climbs if you are lean, fit, and fast. The Triple Bypass
ride can be ridden with a 39x27 without too much trouble provided you
are lean, fit, and fast to some degree. Lowest gear I used was a
30x23. I could have made it with a 30x21 if I had to. But I did not
have to. 30x21 is equivalent to 39x27. Triple Bypass climbs are sort
of long, but not real long. Not steep, just constant Rocky Mountain
climb. For much longer climbs, like Trail Ridge Road, or much steeper,
???, 39x27 would not be my low gear choice.

 

[Art Harris]

Marty wrote:
> I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?

No problem, just add a few links to the chain. The steps in a 12/27 are
still close enough to use on flat rides. No need to have a separate set
of wheels.

Art Harris

 

[[email protected]]

On 8 Sep 2006 12:01:17 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Marty wrote:
>> Hey there r.b.t.,
>>
>> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
>> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
>> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
>> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
>> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
>> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
>> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
>> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>>
>> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>>
>> Thanks.
>> --
>> Marty
>
>Just make sure your chain is setup to handle the 53x27 combination and
>switch back and forth as you like. 39x27 should be OK for the easier
>long Colorado climbs if you are lean, fit, and fast. The Triple Bypass
>ride can be ridden with a 39x27 without too much trouble provided you
>are lean, fit, and fast to some degree. Lowest gear I used was a
>30x23. I could have made it with a 30x21 if I had to. But I did not
>have to. 30x21 is equivalent to 39x27. Triple Bypass climbs are sort
>of long, but not real long. Not steep, just constant Rocky Mountain
>climb. For much longer climbs, like Trail Ridge Road, or much steeper,
>???, 39x27 would not be my low gear choice.

Dear Russell,

For the curious, here's a version of the 120-mile Triple Bypass ride,
with map and elevation profile from about 7500 to 12000 feet:

http://www.teamevergreen.org/Triple_2005/TripleMap.pdf

Here's a table for many Colorado passes:
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_frame.html

Loveland Pass East 5.7% grade
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=173

Loveland Pass West 3.7% grade
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=106

Squaw/Juniper East: 4.0%
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=115

Squaw/Juniper West: 4.5% grade
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=162

Vail Pass East: 2.8% grade
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=122

Vail Pass West: 3.7% grade
http://www.rmccrides.com/ClimbDB/climb_detail_page.php?climb=167

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[[email protected]]

Marty wrote:
> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).

My racer neighbor has implied that the trend in his crowd is to take
advantage of 10-sp cassettes by having a 27 on all the time, and this
in an area that doesn't have longer climbs.

The coming of the compact crank tells the same story. (IMHO)

One way of doing a triple is to use a close-ratio cogset. You can get a
couple of nice low gears and keep a tight midrange.

I just bought a nice Veloce triple for personal use, quite cheap on
ebay. Noted Ultegra triples, also reasonable. Inspired by seeing a guy
on a mountain bike doing repeats on one of the local short, steep hills
(roadie territory). Seated, spinning, going back down for more...
looked good to me!

Gonna try it first with normal deraileurs, which worked fine for my
Nuovo Record triple of old (36/42/53, also used with a "flatlander"
freewheel). I'm thinking the front derailleur might turn out to be the
one to need changing for best results, given the smallness of that 30t
inner ring. Time will tell. --D-y

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Marty wrote:
> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Marty

If the chain is a proper length for the 12-23, then it will be fine for
the 12-27...perhaps b limit screw in for the 12-27 but that wouldn't
hurt the 12-23...

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Art Harris wrote:
> Marty wrote:
> > I'm thinking of
> > setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> > make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> > Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> No problem, just add a few links to the chain. The steps in a 12/27 are
> still close enough to use on flat rides. No need to have a separate set
> of wheels.
>
> Art Harris

See above Art. if the chain is length-ed to the 12-23 properly, it will
be fine with the 12-27...

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"Marty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
> was fine for steep short climbs in MN, but for longer steep climbs here
> in CO, it's not so good (i.e. I'm weak and fat and Lee Hill to the top
> of Old Stage has me out of the saddle in 39/23 for far too long).
> Until I'm stronger and leaner (if that ever happens), I'm thinking of
> setting up a pair of my wheels with a 12/27 cassette. Would I have to
> make other adjustments to the drivetrain to accommodate this change?
> Or, could I just plug and chug?
>
> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Marty
>
That should work pretty much plug and play.
I'd probably go for the "Century" cassette from Harris Cycling 13-30.
If you have a long cage derailuer you can use the wide range 11-34 MTB
cassettes no problem too. Albeit in some cases you might need to put in a
few extra links on the chain.
Nice thing about 9 speeds lots of cassettes to choose from.

 

[Art Harris]

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
> See above Art. if the chain is length-ed to the 12-23 properly, it will
> be fine with the 12-27...

I think you mean: If the chain is sized correctly for the 12-27, it
will be fine for the 12-23.

But if the chain is sized correctly for a 12-23, it may be too short
for a 12-27.

Art Harris

 

[Marty]

> Hey there r.b.t.,
>
> I recently moved from MN to CO. My 53/39 front, 12/23 rear combination
snip...

Thanks everybody for the great info. I think the best thing to do would be
to get the 12/27 and try it. If I need to, adjust the b-screw, then if I
still need to, add a link or two. Actually, the best thing I can do is ride
more.

I also found some info on the web regarding the grade of some climbs around
Boulder. Turns out Old Stage from Lee Hill is about 8% average. I looked
at continuing on Lee Hill and it looked way steep. Turns out that is 11%
for the 1st mile (ouch!).

I've ridden Left Hand Canyon from the Greenbriar Restaurant and picked up
Old Stage from there as well. The 4% stuff is no problem with my current
gearing. But, If I want to ride the 8 to 15% stuff, I'm gonna need to
change something because these are not short 8 to 15% bubbles - they go on
for a bit.

I've also done the Carter Lake ride from Longmont. The climb at 6.4%
average is all switchbacks, so, it's not as hard as the constant straight
climb of Old Stage (maybe that is just psychological?).

Anyway, here are the climbs and grades:

http://www.ucar.edu/eac/bike/steep.html

Thanks again for the great info!
--
Marty

 

[Chris BeHanna]

On Sat, 09 Sep 2006 10:37:00 -0500, Earl Bollinger wrote:

> "Marty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Hey there r.b.t.,
>>
>> [...wants to replace 12x23 with a 12x27...]
>>
>> I'm not interested in tripple or compact setup (yet).
>>
> That should work pretty much plug and play.
> I'd probably go for the "Century" cassette from Harris Cycling 13-30.
> If you have a long cage derailuer you can use the wide range 11-34 MTB
> cassettes no problem too. Albeit in some cases you might need to put in a
> few extra links on the chain.
> Nice thing about 9 speeds lots of cassettes to choose from.

SRAM is offering 10sp cassettes with a 27t cog on top. I don't know if
they're easy to swap in to a Shimano or Campagnolo drivetrain, however.

--
Chris BeHanna


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