Double Chain Ring...yikes

[violette]

I live in Canada!! This has only been my second long ride. We had snow here until April. We hibernate like bears...

[aicabsolut]

Here are my thoughts.

You can get a SRAM cassette that goes up to a 28T cog without compromising the rear derailleur capacity for, max, $100, depending on where you buy it from.

My compact crankset retails for $350, though it's now available on closeout at some places for $200, and that's about the cheapest of any crankset at Ultegra level or higher (including FSA like mine, SRAM, Ritchey, etc.) that I've seen ON SALE anywhere so far.

A 28t cog in back would be roughly the same as having a 26 on the 53/39. That may not be enough. So then you have to decide if the extra investment in a crankset is worth it. The point everyone is making is that you cannot just swap out your rings. You will need a different crankset, because the spider will not be compatible. That means new rings, spider, and crankarms.

If you have a 25 in back now, I think that'll be plenty easy with a 50/34. My lowest gear is a 36/27, which is roughly the same as a 34/23. I think a 34/25 is a good steep climbing gear.

Now if you want to go back to a triple, that will be the most expensive, because you'd have to buy almost a total new group (new derailleurs, new crankset, new shifters).

New cassette is cheapest change, within your derailleur's capacity. Moving to a new crankset is the next best move (excelsports.com has some good sales if your shop wants to charge you a lot).

Have you looked to see what your cassette is on your new bike?

[sundial]

I live in Canada!! This has only been my second long ride. We had snow here until April. We hibernate like bears...

Ahhhh, me thinks you did too much too soon. You didn't give your body time to work up to the nasty hills. Just my 2 cents and it won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

[Andrea]

I agree w/sundial- if you've just made a switch to some harder gears then go for a long ride after winter hibernation, you're bound to feel pretty lousy afterwards!

Chances are, if you start slower/shorter and work your way up, you'll be fine with just changing cassettes to something like a 12-27 or 12-28.

[violette]

You're probably right. I sometimes push myself and suffer after. I'm 5'6" and weight 120lbs, my husband says I have chicken legs (which is true), so my leg strenght isn't the greatest. But I will go to my LBS and see what he suggests.

[sundial]

Chances are, if you start slower/shorter and work your way up, you'll be fine with just changing cassettes to something like a 12-27 or 12-28.

Last summer when I was starting to ride hills, it took me about a month to get acclimated going from a triple to double (for 1200 ft of climbing). I noticed yesterday when I was on some pretty steep hills that I don't have my road legs quite yet and may need to break out the triple bike again until I'm in shape.

[Tuckervill]

That will change the more you ride.

I sucked at hills all last year, but this weekend I went on two 20 milers with the local team/club, with the racers. They were going slower for my benefit, and they usually beat me up the hills, but I was climbing so much better this year after a winter of boot camp. Sometimes if I could anticipate and get a downhill first, I could get out ahead of them and beat them to the top (I outweigh all those skinny racer boys by about 40 lbs, so I coast fast).

A couple of times, I was SOOOOO happy to have my triple chainrings, so I know what you're going through. On a normal ride, I probably wouldn't use the granny much, because I wouldn't be in a hurry to get up to catch up.

After all I've read in this thread, I think you could use smaller gears, but you wouldn't need them for long. So go with the cheapest option (cassette, I think), and ride lots more, working up to better fitness.

Karen

[motochick]

If I was in your shoes, I would change my rear cassette to a 12-28. That would be a good place to start...and the cheapest. If that isn't enough, then come back and tell us and we can make another suggestion.

Brenda

Not to sound like a broken record, but......
If the new cassette isn't easy enough, go to ebay and yourself a new sram rival compact set for $140 shipped. I use a 50/34 in the front and a 12-28 in the rear. I do not climb hills, I climb mountains. And I am NOT a very strong or powerful rider, but I like to go uphill without suffering. Just my $.02
Brenda

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well, I went on a 60km practice run on the weekend. I had such a hard time with my bike, that when I got home, I threw-up. I know I pushed myself too hard, but I've done this ride all last year with absolutly no problem, the hills were almost impossible to climb ( or I should say inclines) I was soo discouraged, I had tears in my eyes, and my legs were burning so bad, I had to stop at every km. I called my LBS and they told me I could change the rings and would make a difference. I'm just wondering if it's worth it?? Will it make a BIG difference or will it be just barely noticeable? I went from a $1200 bike to an almost $3000; you'd think it would be better.

"Better" means better suited to you and your needs.
People who live in hilly areas need very different gearing than people who live in flat places. More expensive is not necessarily 'better' for how YOU ride.

[Jo-n-NY]

I went from a triple to a compact double last year.

I found that with the compact I was waiting too long to shift to the smaller crank. I think because of the wide range of gears when in the large crank it seemed easy and I could muscle it up the hill until it got to steep and by then it as a little too late to bring it down to the smaller crank. With the triple I thought nothing about going into the middle crank and then the granny if need be.

That be said, I climbed a nice amount of hills this past weekend and made sure to keep my eye on the road ahead and switched to the lower crank at the beginning and shifted the rear as needed as I was headed up. This made such a difference. I can't tell by all the posts whether you have a compact double or not, but by timing your shifting correctly, the compact works beautifully.

~ JoAnn

[Biker Jo]

I've been reading this thread with great interest.

I currently have a Trek WSD 2000 road bike that I bought in 1999, which I think was the first year for the WSD's from Trek. It has a Shimano RSX 30/42/52 crankset and an 8-speed, 13-26 cassette.

I'm in the market for a new road bike, and because my budget is $1500, my LBS recommended a Cannondale Six13 Feminine 6. I haven't ridden one yet because he has to order one in my size (I'm 5'-1-1/2 with an inseam of 27.5). The Cannondale has a compact 34/50 crank and a 9-speed 12-26 cassette.

Keeping in mind I live in Chicago, which is as flat as a pancake, and I'm not a racer, just a recreational rider, am I giving up much by going from a triple to a compact double? I do encounter some hills on a weekend ride I do in Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan, but they're of the rolling variety, not the mountains that you ladies have in other parts of the country (although some of them look like mountains to us Chicagoans!)

I'd be interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

Jo

[SadieKate]

Please read up on gear inches on www.sheldonbrown.com. First choice of gearing should be based on the range of gears and the number of usable gears. You then choose the cranks, double or triple, and the cassette based on the gears YOU need to ride where YOU ride.

[aicabsolut]

I've been reading this thread with great interest.

I currently have a Trek WSD 2000 road bike that I bought in 1999, which I think was the first year for the WSD's from Trek. It has a Shimano RSX 30/42/52 crankset and an 8-speed, 13-26 cassette.

I'm in the market for a new road bike, and because my budget is $1500, my LBS recommended a Cannondale Six13 Feminine 6. I haven't ridden one yet because he has to order one in my size (I'm 5'-1-1/2 with an inseam of 27.5). The Cannondale has a compact 34/50 crank and a 9-speed 12-26 cassette.

Keeping in mind I live in Chicago, which is as flat as a pancake, and I'm not a racer, just a recreational rider, am I giving up much by going from a triple to a compact double? I do encounter some hills on a weekend ride I do in Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan, but they're of the rolling variety, not the mountains that you ladies have in other parts of the country (although some of them look like mountains to us Chicagoans!)

I'd be interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

Jo

IMO, a 34/26 is a pretty light climbing gear and should be plenty for rollers. Did you use your easiest gears on the triple? I would assume you didn't if you weren't climbing anything really substantial, but if you were, then the compact may seem a bit harder. I think for going DOWN hills, you'll really like the 50/12 over the 52/13.

[violette]

Take it from me; if you're not a strong racer, just recreational, get a triple. After my few rides with my double on little inclines, I'm starting to get really turned off with biking.

[OakLeaf]

Jo's gearing is considerably lower than violette's, and her terrain is significantly flatter. Jo should be fine with the compact.