Move from triple to compact is killing me.

I recently got a new bike (Trek Madone 5.2 WSD). She's lovely, but KILLING me on hills. I have a bad hip due to damage from something similar to rheumatoid arthritis. My hill strategy in the past was to spin up the hills. I can't now, and it's hurting like heck AND I'm slower. Not cool! Before I got the Madone, I was able to avg 18+ on hilly rides, now I'm lucky to avg 16.

The old bike is a Specialized Tricross triple with FSA 53/39/30 crankset and Deore(?) 11-34 cassette (MTB cassette). I was spinning up large hills in 'super granny' as I call it :)

The Madone has an Ultegra compact crankset 50/34 and 12-27 cassette (recently switched to that from 11-25 which has helped a good bit, but not enough).

I've considered switching out the crankset for a Triple, but it only gets me to a gain ratio of 2.2 (vs. 2.5 on the current setup ) which seems pretty far from the 1.7 gain ratio I had with 'super granny' on the triple. Thoughts? Would the extra gear make that much of a difference? What costs would be associated with that other than the crankset?

Current strategy: Build up muscle strength around the hips (suggestions on that are welcome). Don't ride with my usual riding partners so I don't feel like a loser when they drop me on the hills. Ride the Tricross on hilly rides once 'cross season is over.

Any other suggestions? I'm feeling really beat down right now. I at least realize there's a reason I've been so much slower now, but it's still demoralizing.

bummer!

Why did you get a bike without a triple? I don't think you're going to be able to get stronger fast enough to enjoy hills on that new bike.

I could be wrong, but I have a vague memory of a thread about this somewhere where there is a 10 speed cassette that goes from 11-34 - I think i remember Debw & Luna cycles commenting on it, it was about a cyclocross bike and I think they were also talking about whether you could use 10 speed shifters for 9 speed cassettes in the back as well.

It does require all new shifters, but:
You actually might be better off going to a 9 speed and putting a 11-34 mountain biking cassette in the back instead of changing to a triple...

If you don't want to get new shifters...
If you get a smaller bcd compact crankset, you could get a compact crankset with 46 & 30 tooth chainrings or something like that... But I don't know that's going to help you anymore than the triple.
http://blogs.phred.org/blogs/alex_we.../01/22/95.aspx

I'd give yourself some time to adjust before you write off the Madone. Lighter makes a huge difference, but it's not necessarily automatic, especially when the geometry is a lot different.

One of my riding buddies is going through a similar transition. All summer she rode with us roadies on a 40 lb hybrid. Even though she struggled at times, we all kept telling her she didn't know how strong she was. So when she got a road bike, she was very discouraged that her pace didn't immediately improve. But she's sped up quite a bit on the new bike and continues to get faster as she gets used to it.

If you can average 18+ on hilly rides on a cross bike :eek::eek: you're SUPER strong. I'd say give it time, but also talk to your PT about issues specific to your hip.

I had no problems on hills going from a triple to a compact. But I don't think I had a 34 on the back!!
However, it did take me a while to learn the ins-and-outs of shifting for maximum benefit as I got to the hills. Since the gearing is different, your usual combinations won't work, and you have to re-learn where your own "sweet spot" is.
If you absolutely can't handle it or get accustomed to it on the lighter Madone, your best option is probably to focus on the cassette, rather than the crank. It's possible your rear derailleur cannot handle a 34 cassette. Rather then changing out the crank, it might be cheaper and bettter to change out the rear derailleur and put a bigger cassette on it.
Your LBS should be able to guide you.

My new bike has a 50/34 with 12-27 but my old bike had a compact triple with 12-25. The compact is definitely more difficult on hills but my new bike is much nicer and the fit is better so I tough it out ;)

I'm sure your pre-existing hip problems don't help :(

I would go with what feels best. I have to say, 34 in back is really big...I think I'm almost at my max with 27 on my cassette. I was lucky in that my transition from triple to compact contained most of the same gear ratios :)

Mountain bike ratios and road bike ratios are way different. I commute around town on my trusty Trek (not sure about the exact gearing) and it has much much much easier gearing than my road bike. The downside is that it is heavier, clunkier, and the tires are fatter so even though I can gain speed, I never go as fast as I can on a road bike on comparable surfaces :)

I think you can get some bigger rear cassettes with SRAM, though :) I remember a thread I was reading where someone has a really nice big gear on their cassette and the details are explained :)

I'm glad we all remember that thread!

I went from a triple and a standard double with a 11-25 in the back to a compact with a 11-25 (well, I still have a triple...) Truthfully, I hardly ever got into the granny gear on the triple and I still rarely do. My ability to spin improved greatly after getting the compact and maybe the geometry just works better for me - because I definitely climb hills better on my compact. But that bike also shifts much better in comparison than the triple. Periodically on the triple when shifting under load it decides to skip the middle chain ring or something else that really throws me off - I really have a hard time recovering from a mis-shift if I'm hill climbing.

I've found with the compact double,if I'm down shifting on the front chain ring, it usually works best to upshift a couple gears in the back simultaneously... that keeps my spin rate about the same... and then down shift on the back as needed.

For an entirely non-technical view of the situation there comes a point where you have to accept your physical limitations. I know all too well that this can be difficult.
Of course if there is another gear ratio that would work better for you, go for it. An average of 16 mph is admirable, IMO.

Thanks for all the input.. I really appreciate it. I needed an outside perspective. I know I haven't been doing this long, but I'm surrounded by a freak of nature (my husband who's been riding the same amount of time as me, 7 months or so, and averages over 20 mph!) and lots of racers and ex-racers. It's hard to readjust my expectations to what my body can do.

I think I'm going to give the 27 a little more time.. The weather is starting to change, and my joints are not too happy. This may not be the best time to decide how strong I am. I'm thinking I'll focus on building strength on the trainer in the off season and see where I am come spring. Let 'cross be my focus for the fall/winter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

bummer!
Why did you get a bike without a triple? I don't think you're going to be able to get stronger fast enough to enjoy hills on that new bike.

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Took the advice of some other folks that a compact would be fine... that I'd only lose 1 gear at the top and bottom. I obviously didn't research enough on that one. my bad. If I didn't have the griding hip pain to contend with, I think this would be a non-issue.

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Originally Posted by Zen

For an entirely non-technical view of the situation there comes a point where you have to accept your physical limitations. I know all too well that this can be difficult.

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I'm trying to avoid getting back into that mindset.. I'm 27 and have had the arthritis for 11 years now. I let the arthritis rule my life for too long. Up until 2 years ago I was pretty much sedentary and used a cane to get around about half of the time. Lots of heavy duty meds and lots of exercise later, I'm too hard headed at this point to let the new bike win :D I've worked too hard to come this far. Quite frankly, some days I'm still amazed at who I am today vs. 2 years ago.

May ask my rheumatologist for a referral to PT when I see him in a few weeks. Haven't done any PT for my hip even though it's been bothering me for several years. It's one of those things rheumatologists tend to forget about in treatment plans.:confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zen

An average of 16 mph is admirable, IMO.

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X2 on this comment!!! I too, went from a triple to a compact...and on hills, I'm LUCKY to average about 13mph!!! :eek: So if you consider yourself to be slow...I must be pathetically slow! :o :p

lo - what size are your cranks? It is easier to spin with shorter cranks. I know shorter cranks are better for knee problems, but I don't know if they help for hip problems.

But that's also something that you could possibly change out to help.

lo123,

I just remembered that sram is making a 10 speed mountain bike cassette:
http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?ID=87314

It's expensive, fairly new, I have absolutely no idea idea whether you could mix & match it with shimano - at the very least you probably need to replace the rear derailleur... It's an 11-36 cassette, so it should give you similar gearing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lo123

Took the advice of some other folks that a compact would be fine... that I'd only lose 1 gear at the top and bottom. I obviously didn't research enough on that one. my bad. If I didn't have the griding hip pain to contend with, I think this would be a non-issue.

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If you were just switching from a triple to a compact, I'd agree with this. But you also lost your mega-range mtb cassette when you switched, so you lost even more low gearing.

I think I'd consider one of two things:
a) Switching to a road triple or even a touring triple. This would mean confirming that your left shifter is double/triple compatible, or replacing it with one that is triple-compatible. You may also need a new front derailleur, but it's hard to know without seeing the bike.

b) Switching to 9-speed in the rear (I'm assuming that your Madone is 10-speed), including a new derailleur, an MTB cassette, rear shifter, and maybe a chain. My only experience with 9/10 compatiability was on DH's commuter, and the 9-speed shifters didn't play well with the spacing on a 10-speed cassette.

Catriona's suggestion of a SRAM XX cassette has possibilities too. Just keep in mind that a SRAM rear derailleur is not compatiable with a Shimano shifter. Something about the shift ratios being different- I'm drawing a blank here.

*wanders off to check out the part specs on the Madone*

16+ average on hills is impressive and so is the fact that you ride a bike with arthritis. I applaud you.

I moved from a triple to a 50/34 with 12-27 rear cassette several years ago. It was tough at first but I do fine with it. I ride with my husband and several other men---I'm the only woman---and I am always dropped on the hills and probably would be no matter what kind of gearing I have. As I got stronger, they did too. They just had to be "trained" to wait for me at the top before they took off again. I have just learned to live with it and continue searching for other women in my area that ride the same pace as me.

Don't let it demoralize you. The Madone is a beautiful ride but it doesn't sound like you are enjoying it much. That's too bad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catriona

lo - what size are your cranks? It is easier to spin with shorter cranks. I know shorter cranks are better for knee problems, but I don't know if they help for hip problems.

But that's also something that you could possibly change out to help.

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hmm.. 170 on the cranks. I hadn't thought about that. I'll talk to the guy who did my pro fit and see if that's something that might work for me.

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Originally Posted by BikeChick

Don't let it demoralize you. The Madone is a beautiful ride but it doesn't sound like you are enjoying it much. That's too bad.

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I'm trying... I've really enjoyed it on the recreational rides I've done on the Madone where I didn't feel like I was slowing everyone else down...
When someone circles back to pace me back to the main group, it just really feels like a loss when I was able to hang with them a few months ago.
I think I need an attitude adjustment.. or new riding buddies :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Becky

a) Switching to a road triple or even a touring triple. This would mean confirming that your left shifter is double/triple compatible, or replacing it with one that is triple-compatible. You may also need a new front derailleur, but it's hard to know without seeing the bike.

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What's the difference between a road and touring triple?

From my calculations, the Ultegra triple I've looked at would be 52/39/30, which with the current 27 cassette, would give me essentially one more gear, but not quite to the 1.7 gain ratio of the Tricross setup.

Maybe I need to figure out what the comparable to that is on the Tricross and give it a go? I don't usually use full granny gear on the Tricross except for one hill that's part of my 'warmup', so maybe it would work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lo123

.. I'm 27 and have had the arthritis for 11 years now. I let the arthritis rule my life for too long. Up until 2 years ago I was pretty much sedentary and used a cane to get around about half of the time. Lots of heavy duty meds and lots of exercise later, I'm too hard headed at this point to let the new bike win :D I've worked too hard to come this far. Quite frankly, some days I'm still amazed at who I am today vs. 2 years ago.

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27...
minus 11 years...
that give me an entirely different perspective of the situation. "I don't blame you for being hard headed" said the hard headed 51 year old.
it's remarkable what exercise can do for us yet so many people would rather just take a pill :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Becky

Catriona's suggestion of a SRAM XX cassette has possibilities too. Just keep in mind that a SRAM rear derailleur is not compatiable with a Shimano shifter. Something about the shift ratios being different- I'm drawing a blank here.

*wanders off to check out the part specs on the Madone*

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I have no idea and I'm not sure if many people know since sram XX is so new... But I think you could possibly run a shimano mountain bike 9 speed rear derailleur, use the xx cassette (if the 10 speed spacing is the same between the xx and a shimano or sram 10 speed road cassette) and then use it on a shimano shifter.



9 speed shifters won't work with 10 speed cassette - but I'm pretty sure that you can run a 9 speed cassette on 10 speed shifters... You just end up having a ghost shift for the last one. Somewhere on here, debw and or lunacycles were discussing how to do it on a cyclocross bike... It may have been for someone's terry valkyrie that they were getting information on how to build up. So going to a 9 speed mountain bike cassette in the back, she'd probably only have to change the rear derailleur & cassette.

Okay, because I was curious and I'm taken with the idea, even though this cassette is godawful expensive, which supposedly is because it takes 8 hours to make according to some article:


Found a couple websites that say:
* XX shifters and derailleurs are not 1:1 like existing SRAM 9-spd derailleurs. They use the same ratio as Red, Force, Rival. Cassettes, chains, shifters derailleurs all are interchangeable between SRAM road and XX groups. *


So definitely anyone with sram road shifters can run the 11-36 cassette & will have to get the xo rear derailleur.

I know you can interchange sram road cassettes with shimano shifters - so I would say that shimano shifters will probably run this cassette - there is a shimano 29er specific cassette that's 12-36, so I think a shimano mountain bike rear derailleur would clear this cassette - but if not, sram does make an xx 11-32 cassette.


another quote:
As far as shifting goes, the XX shifters and derailleurs borrow the Exact Actuation movement from SRAM’s road groups. That means a) that the cable pull corresponds to exactly the same amount of derailleur movement, and b) that SRAM’s road levers and derailleurs will be compatible with the XX shifter and derailleurs.

http://www.velonews.com/article/92426
http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/06...ountain-group/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lo123

What's the difference between a road and touring triple?

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I was thinking of something like the Sugino XD600 shown here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks/11074.html. Not as low as a true MTB triple crankset, but lower than a road triple. Would require a new bottom bracket though...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catriona

9 speed shifters won't work with 10 speed cassette - but I'm pretty sure that you can run a 9 speed cassette on 10 speed shifters... You just end up having a ghost shift for the last one. Somewhere on here, debw and or lunacycles were discussing how to do it on a cyclocross bike... It may have been for someone's terry valkyrie that they were getting information on how to build up. So going to a 9 speed mountain bike cassette in the back, she'd probably only have to change the rear derailleur & cassette.

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If a 9-speed cassette will work with 10-speed shifters, that might be the cheapest way to gear down. I've never stuck a 9-speed wheel on a 10-speed bike....will try this tonight!

I love the looks of that new SRAM XX. (If I convert to it, DH will kill me. It's a given. ;)) My only concern in this application is finding a rear derailleur with enough capacity to handle that cassette range, and that will still work with the existing shifters if possible. If I found the right Madone on the interwebs, Lo's bike has Shimano Ultegra SL on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Becky

I was thinking of something like the Sugino XD600 shown here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks/11074.html. Not as low as a true MTB triple crankset, but lower than a road triple. Would require a new bottom bracket though...


If a 9-speed cassette will work with 10-speed shifters, that might be the cheapest way to gear down. I've never stuck a 9-speed wheel on a 10-speed bike....will try this tonight!

I love the looks of that new SRAM XX. (If I convert to it, DH will kill me. It's a given. ;)) My only concern in this application is finding a rear derailleur with enough capacity to handle that cassette range, and that will still work with the existing shifters if possible. If I found the right Madone on the interwebs, Lo's bike has Shimano Ultegra SL on it.

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Becky - you're right.. 2009 Madone 5.2 WSD full Ultegra SL... Should've put that in the OP, oops.

You guys are the greatest... I feel a little more confident in my options--I prefer to go into LBS armed with knowledge so as to avoid being given the 'little lady treatment' as I call it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zen

27...
minus 11 years...
that give me an entirely different perspective of the situation. "I don't blame you for being hard headed" said the hard headed 51 year old.
it's remarkable what exercise can do for us yet so many people would rather just take a pill :(

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I still need the pills and shots and IV infusions just to be able to walk. It's the exercise that let's me be 'normal' (well, as normal as a crazy gal like me can be, I suppose :p).

But yeah, I have a different perspective on life than most. And I wanna be fast again dammit! :D

Okay, it's irking me I can't find that thread.

But I did find that IRD makes a shimano compatible 10 speed 11-32 cassette:
http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2353

That must be the one I was thinking of from before - probably it needs a mountain bike rear derailleur.

You can definitely do the 10 speed shifter thing with 9 speed cassette with this jerkmate thing:
http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.htm

But it looks like just routing the cable differently will also do it:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adj...html#alternate


Options:

- Going to a triple is going to cost triple cranks (& maybe bottom bracket) + probably new shifter + new front derailleur + new rear derailleur (she's probably going to need the long cage rear if she doesn't have it, and the double front derailleur isn't going to handle the triple cranks... I don't think ultegra sl shifters are double or triple compatible, but I haven't specifically pulled them up to look...)

- Going to a 9 speed mountain bike rear cassette - 11-34 or something
- cost of cassette (not too bad) + a mountain bike rear derailleur probably. Downside - her gears are going to be far apart, so it may be hard finding a comfortable gear. The advantage of this is that a 9 speed mountain bike cassette is probably cheaper than getting a 10 speed cassette.

- Going to a 10 speed mountain bike rear cassette (SRAM XX) or that IRD, probably again needs a mountain bike rear derailleur, but a 9 speed rear derailleur can handle 10 speed shifters (I've done 9,10 & 8, 9 mismatches) - this is probably more expensive than going to a 9 speed rear cassette - but the gears will be slightly tighter than the 9 speed and she might have a more comfortable time going through the gears.

- Going to a more compact front crankset - costs, new crankset & possibly bottom bracket... that'll do away with a lot of the high gears though for flats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Becky

I love the looks of that new SRAM XX. (If I convert to it, DH will kill me. It's a given. ;)) My only concern in this application is finding a rear derailleur with enough capacity to handle that cassette range, and that will still work with the existing shifters if possible. If I found the right Madone on the interwebs, Lo's bike has Shimano Ultegra SL on it.

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I think a shimano mountain bike rear derailleur will do it because shimano makes a 12-36 cassette for 29ers - but maybe it won't be able to handle the 11-36 range, but the 11 tooth cog on the 11-36 sram cassette is not attached to the rest of the cassette, so it can probably just be swapped for a 12 tooth cog to make it something that a shimano mountain bike rear derailleur can handle.

If SRAM road shifters can shift the SRAM XX cassette - I'm fairly certain that shimano ones can do it as well. It may come down to being a tricky tune though, and that just will require either a skillful mechanic who's willing to try and make it work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lo123

I still need the pills and shots and IV infusions just to be able to walk. It's the exercise that let's me be 'normal' (well, as normal as a crazy gal like me can be, I suppose :p).

But yeah, I have a different perspective on life than most. And I wanna be fast again dammit! :D

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Lo123,

you're faster than me!

I should work at work, instead of researching hypothetical bike builds:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-433254.html

Looks like the IRD 11-34 10 speed cassette works with shimano mtb rear derailleurs, but works better with older XT or XTR ones than the newer ones.

Various people saying they got it to work vs. didn't - santana 11-34 cassettes seem less finicky than the IRD ones...

But I think at some point it's going to come down to, how patient of a mechanic do you have...

I know the BF tells me a lot of times what I want to do doesn't work... and gives up and does something else if I let him. Then when he wants it to work on his bike, magically he fiddles with things long enough to make it work. Other times I have to just pulling up webpage links going "it says so right here it'll work" and he'll roll his eyes and keep at it to prove me wrong, until he makes it work.

I could of course get better at tuning stuff myself, but I haven't gotten to the point where I can make finicky stuff work yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catriona

I should work at work, instead of researching hypothetical bike builds:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-433254.html

Looks like the IRD 11-34 10 speed cassette works with shimano mtb rear derailleurs, but works better with older XT or XTR ones than the newer ones.

Various people saying they got it to work vs. didn't - santana 11-34 cassettes seem less finicky than the IRD ones...

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That's sort of what I was wondering....if a Shimano MTB rear derailleur had enough swing to cover all 10 cogs. Sounds like it does!

I am just plus one-ing on what other people have said. First of all living with pain sucks.
On the bike side though, I have the same compact ultegra as you and I ride up hills at an average of slow, in other words SLOW.
And I ride with professional triathletes (ok, not with, behind). So, I am extra slow compared to them. I started riding this bike one year ago and in that year I have gone from 4-8mph going up to 6-12 mph, lots of improvemente in one year. It is hard to be the slow person with fast riders. One of my mates just went and competed in his first Ironman at kona and came in 3rd in his category and 71st overall, trained 1 year, 6 mos seriously, talk about freaks of nature. And yes, at the rest stop they rest and wait for me and as soon as I get there, off we go again, spelling NO REST for me.
But, in the half ironman I did this year, who would have thought, I zipped by people left and right, it was kind of fun. But alas, I am most interested by my own improvement to myself, this week I went up one of our steep hills in the second to easiest instead of the easiest, boy was that an improvement!

You are gonna get there but it may be slow at first. All things have learning curves and we don't get to just jump ahead and those freaks of nature, well...we aren't them, they aren't us. (BTW, my kona winning friend takes way longer than me to finish a book, so he thinks I am a freak of reading nature.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lo123

hmm.. 170 on the cranks. I hadn't thought about that. I'll talk to the guy who did my pro fit and see if that's something that might work for me.

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Don't worry about going shorter with the cranks for the purposes of spinning only. It is not "easier" to spin with short cranks. Instead, you are forced to spin more because you are moving in smaller circles, but you may need to exert more power to the pedals. So, it is "easier" to turn longer cranks, because you have more torque. Some big power sprinters and time trialists use long cranks with very large rings (like 56T). You just have more knee action in a larger circle, which can make for fit issues and knee issues if you're using cranks that are too long for your leg biomechanics. For small changes in crank length, IMO it is difficult to notice the ease or difficulty of turning the cranks. For some people, it's difficult to notice the fit differences, too (though 2.5mm longer hurts my knees, personally).

Shorter cranks'll limit some of the hip motion and may relieve some of the hip pain that lo123 has. Sheldon Brown says that cranks should be taken into account for gain ratios:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gain.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cranks.html

This is on rehabbing labral tears in cyclists, suggesting that excessive hip angulation on too long of cranks contributes to it:
http://www.rehabtoracing.com/resourc...C-winter09.pdf

Couple guys that have relieved some of their hip arthritis pain by switching to shorter cranks:
http://www.serotta.com/forum/archive...p?t-51194.html
(there's more threads on that on a google - so at least anecdotally shorter cranks should help with hip pain)


I know I get knee pain if my cranks are too long.

Thanks for all the input... I think I'm going to look at the new rear cassette and deraileur option since it seems that would be my best option to get closer to the gearing on the Tricross.

I really appreciate all the responses and options you guys have thrown out. I'm glad to know that it's possible to get a better setup that just might work for me. :)

Hi! I am in the exact same boat as you are! I just got a new Madone 5.2 WSD with the compact set-up. I tried putting a 12-27 on it. It helped, but still wasn't enough to get me up one of my favorite climbs comfortably. (12% avg. grade, with a pitch of 20%) So, I decided to go with the IRD 11-34 cassette with a MTB XT rear derailleur. It works fine, but it does not have that wonderful, crisp shifting that I had with the 12-27. That is one thing I noticed right away, going from a triple to the compact double - how very much nicer the shifting was! But, the IRD cassette is acceptable. And the climbing gears it gives you are awesome! However, it is heavy at 363 grams. But, that is still lighter than a triple set-up would be.

Because of the weight and the less than perfect shifting, I decided to pull the trigger on a SRAM XX 11-32 cassette. It weighs 185 grams, which is less than the 12-27! And I'm hoping it shifts nicer.

But, bottom line, I guess it all depends on how picky you are. As I said before, the IRD 11-34 is quite acceptable. And it did give me the gearing I needed. If you're in the Sacramento CA. I will let you try it out!

Oh! And BTW, if you are interested in the SRAM XX cassette, this site has 15% off all their SRAM XX components, plus free shipping.
www.BicycleOutfittersIndy.com

Wow. When does your XX crankset come or do you already have it?

The thread I was reading about IRD derailleurs said that the older XTR rear derailleurs shifted much better with it.

No, I have the Ultegra SL compact crankset and an XT rear derailleur. It is my understanding that the SRAM XX cassette will work with my Shimano group. At least I hope so! :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

I'd give yourself some time to adjust before you write off the Madone. Lighter makes a huge difference, but it's not necessarily automatic, especially when the geometry is a lot different.

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I'm not able to read all the responses, but I made the same change last year when I got my Madone and was INCREDIBLY frustrated. I missed the redundancy of the triple and didn't like having to plan my shifting in advance.

But, after a couple of months - and a 3 hour professional fitting, I got over it. I think the fit was the biggest issue.

Hang in there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Silver

I'm not able to read all the responses, but I made the same change last year when I got my Madone and was INCREDIBLY frustrated. I missed the redundancy of the triple and didn't like having to plan my shifting in advance.

But, after a couple of months - and a 3 hour professional fitting, I got over it. I think the fit was the biggest issue.

Hang in there.

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Thanks.
Had the pro fit done. Worth every penny. The major issue here is health related and will never get better and will most likely get worse.

I took the Madone out with the 27 cassette last night on a ride with lots of moderate rollers and my hip had been bothering me all day. It does beautifully there. I still can't just spin up if I needed to, but cycling felt better than walking or sitting :D

My current plan is to hang with the 27 cassette for now. Do climbing related workouts on the trainer and building up supporting muscles around the hip. A few slower paced hilly rides are coming up and I'll give them a go to see how I'm going with the 27. If I feel like I need the 34 on a given day, I can put skinny tires on the TriCross.

If, by the spring, I feel like i need it, I think I'll get the 34 cassette.

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Originally Posted by VeloLisa

t is my understanding that the SRAM XX cassette will work with my Shimano group. At least I hope so!

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That's what I've heard.

Thanks for the offer to try yours out, but alas, California is a bit far from Alabama.