Compactor standard chainrings?

Looking for some advice about chainrings on road bikes. I`m about to buy a road bike factory fitted with standard chainrings 53x39. The main thing is I`m used to my comapct chainrings 50x34. Will it make much difference? I live in the flat area. Thanks.

 

If you live in a flat area it should make little to no difference.

A 50x11 is a slightly bigger gear than a 53x12 (better for going fast downhill or with a stout tailwind) but not quite as big as a 53x11 (a huge gear for really flying along, ~ 34 mph at 90 rpm).

The low gear of a 39x25 or 39x27 is plenty low enough for most folks to roll into a stout headwind or climb reasonable grades. If you lived in really steep terrain or climbed big mountains a lot I'd keep the compact but it really doesn't sound like you need it.

-Dave

 

+1 no difference on flat terrain, it will make a difference in terms of gear combinations for a given speed, something you will only notice if you tend to look down to see what rear sprocket you are in, even if you are the kind of cyclist that do look you will get used to the change in no time,