What is the feeling of compact 52/36 instead of 50/34?

[Bruce L]

Currently I'm riding DA triple 53/39/30 with 12/27. Mostly ride hills in the 39. Rarely in granny except real steep ascents. Was contemplating going to compact 52/36 to get some more spin while climbing and perhaps going to 12-30 on separate wheels when doing runs on exceptionally steep climbs or long rides. Do you see any real advantage or disadvantages???

I'm 57 riding Lemond Tete de Course and weigh about 138.

 

[boudreaux]

Currently I'm riding DA triple 53/39/30 with 12/27. Mostly ride hills in the 39. Rarely in granny except real steep ascents. Was contemplating going to compact 52/36 to get some more spin while climbing and perhaps going to 12-30 on separate wheels when doing runs on exceptionally steep climbs or long rides. Do you see any real advantage or disadvantages???

I'm 57 riding Lemond Tete de Course and weigh about 138.

Where do you get a a12x30 cassette? What's your aversion to the 30 ring.Some kind of granny stigama?

 

[Bruce L]

Where do you get a a12x30 cassette? What's your aversion to the 30 ring.Some kind of granny stigama?

Harris cyclery however it is 13/30. I have nothing against a triple at all however was thinking about compact double for the weight savings as well as improved shifting and little less hassles than a triple.

 

[pod]

Well the 34/30 is about the same as your current 30/27 so the trade off is between more gap between some of your gears with a double vs shifting problems with the tripple which should be correctable with fine tuning your adjustments. I'd bet you couldn't feel the weight difference in riding.

 

[dhk]

Harris cyclery however it is 13/30. I have nothing against a triple at all however was thinking about compact double for the weight savings as well as improved shifting and little less hassles than a triple.

Agree setup is a bit harder on a triple, but after an initial tuning, my DA triple shifts great on FSA chainrings, with no hassles at all in the last 5000 miles. Don't even have a barrel adjuster on the FD cable.

You could keep the triple, and go to a 12/23 cogset to pick up a couple of useful mid-range gears. The compact may work for flatland where you can stay in the big ring all the time, but it leaves a big hole in the middle of the range for my riding in the hills here. With the triple, you'll also keep a tighter climbing selection on the granny ring . I often use the granny ring on long grades without going to the bottom cog.