52/42/30 vs. 53/39/30

alpinespider said:

I am new to the road bike world and I am going to be looking into getting a road bike soon. Right now I am using my mountain bike with slicks. I want to get a triple since I live in a mountainous region, but I would like opinions on what roadies like better in the top end of gearing for flats/rolling. 52/42 12-26 9speed or 53/39 12-25 10spd? Is one smoother than the other, better speed, transitions, etc.?

Thanks for any input.

if you live in the mountains the triple will be beneficial. i have riden the 53-39-30 w/ a 11-23 in the mountains and found it sufficiant for all situations i have come accross. i suggested the 39 combo since it is slightly lower and may allow you to spin at a higher cadence on the flats and rolling terrain. But again this will be a personal preference. The 2 combo's you listed share alot of the same gear ratio's.

alpinespider said:

I am new to the road bike world and I am going to be looking into getting a road bike soon. Right now I am using my mountain bike with slicks. I want to get a triple since I live in a mountainous region, but I would like opinions on what roadies like better in the top end of gearing for flats/rolling. 52/42 12-26 9speed or 53/39 12-25 10spd? Is one smoother than the other, better speed, transitions, etc.?

Thanks for any input.

My preference is a 39 middle ring and a 13x23 or 25,but I'm not you and no one else here is either.

alpinespider said:

I am new to the road bike world and I am going to be looking into getting a road bike soon. Right now I am using my mountain bike with slicks.

Nothing wrong with that. MTB's have a wide selection of gearing and are very versitile bikes.

Quoted post said:

I want to get a triple since I live in a mountainous region, but I would like opinions on what roadies like better in the top end of gearing for flats/rolling. 52/42 12-26 9speed or 53/39 12-25 10spd? Is one smoother than the other, better speed, transitions, etc.?

Thanks for any input.

I live in a very flat area of the country and ride 52/42/30 chainrings and a 13/23 cassette. Since it's so flat and because of my fitness levels I'm almost always in the 42. I seldom ride in the 52 unless I'm doing intervals or something like that. Also, my cadence is usually around 80 RPM.

If I lived in a hilly or mountainous region I'd most likely have to go with 52/39/30 up front and would probably spend a lot of time in the 30.

If I were a very fit endurance athlete and lost a bunch of weight it would change my gearing requirements. You'll have to find what works best for your particular fitness needs.

I ride a 52/42/30 with a 12-23. Riding solo that puts me in 42x16 with a nice straight chain line on the flats. The 30x23 feels good up to about a 15% grade and the 52 pretty much only gets used on downhills and group rides. I would test ride a bunch of different combinations and see what feels the best. Ideally you want a combination that's going to give you the straightest chain line in the ratios you use most and require you to shift chainrings as little as possible.

I ride a 48 38 28 with 11-32 cog.

Slowly I am using the 28 less and less ... but the last 3 cogs make a nice line with the 28.

It is not high here but rather steep in some small 1/2 mile sections.