Should he change crankset or cassette??

[buddha_bellies]

We recently gotten into road bikes. And now my boyfriend wants to know what he should change. I'm hoping you gals can help him decide what's the best thing to do for attacking hills.

He bought a Norco CRR2 full carbon bike back in August. It's set up as standard 53/39 and 12-25 in the back. At first, he thought that changing the crankset to a compact would help him climb better. But another bike shop suggest that he go with a wider cassette.

He's a weekend warrior. So he doesn't plan to race or anything, just want to make it up the hills. At the moment, on flats, he wouldn't go pass the 53 in front and 17 in the back. He doesn't think he'd ever use all the gear.

So which way to go... changing crank or cassette? Which is the way to go? We live in Vancouver, relatively hilly.

Thanks!

[Grog]

Changing the cassette might be cheaper, but it won't make that much of a difference. (EDITED TO ADD: Unless you go for a mountain-bike cassette with a much wider ranger, but then you'll need to change other parts too I'm afraid.)

Personally, I'd get a compact double (34/50 or similar)...

EDITED TO ADD: You can calculate gear ratios on Sheldon Brown's page on gearing...

[alpinerabbit]

The keyword that rang the bell with me is weekend warrior.

You can blow yourself out everytime you go into the hills/mountains - after all you have all week to recover.

But being the weekend warrior, you will not build the strength required to crank a 53/39.

You'll be happier rolling along on a compact and saving your knees.

[Andrea]

Can you clarify what you mean by "attack" hills?
In racer-speak, that generally means that you're going hard up a hill in order to put other riders into difficulty. In that case, his gearing is fine, and he should work on his fitness.
If you mean that he wants to make it easier to go up the hills, then a compact crank may not be a bad idea. He can get a 12-27 cassette and keep all the same parts otherwise, but it won't make a huge difference.

Oh yeah- and if he really does want to "attack" hills in the racer-sense, then he can still do it with a compact crank. The only place where a compact can hold you back is if you want to haul walnuts down a decent or sprint faster than ~35mph.

[SouthernBelle]

Haul walnuts? I needed you at my house this fall!

I live in a hilly area and ride a triple. I'll never be Queen of the Mountain, but over time have improved. I wouldn't be in too big a hurry to swap if he has only been riding a short time, especially since he hasn't ridden a full season.

[kfergos]

I think before you do anything you have to ask: Considering the cyclist is a weekend warrior rider, how much $$ do you want to spend on this project? Or put another way, how much money per mile is this worth to you? Even a cassette will set you back a pretty decent amount, but changing to a mountain cassette or switching to a compact double will start getting into the serious money range.

He's a weekend warrior. So he doesn't plan to race or anything, just want to make it up the hills. At the moment, on flats, he wouldn't go pass the 53 in front and 17 in the back. He doesn't think he'd ever use all the gear.

Does he shift all the way down when riding on hills? On group rides I can't say how many guys I've see refuse to shift to their smaller chainring or down on their cassette, so they're really killing themselves on hills for no reason. If he's just trying to be macho on hills, you'd be best off getting him to use all his low gears first, rather than changing anything out.

That said, I have a couple other thoughts, because I actually had this exact issue with my previous bike.

1. Can you just exchange the chainrings he has for smaller ones? I'd check with your LBS to see what they can do for you as far as that goes, because it'd be much cheaper than going with a compact double but get you some good benefits.
2. If #1 doesn't seem feasible, I'd say change the cassette first. It'll also be cheaper than going with a compact double, and it's worth seeing if just getting lower gearing that way works. If so you'll save a good chunk o' change.
2.b. You can also look into getting a mountain bike cassette. These go really low, and would probably meet all his low-gear needs. The drawback is that you probably would have to replace the derailler as well; you'd have to check with your LBS to see what's feasible in that department.
3. As other people have said, switch to a compact double. To do it all the way, with a compact double, it could well be hundreds of dollars (my LBS estimated about $500 to put a compact double on my old bike).
4. He could just do what I did: I kept riding up big hills with the gearing I had, and eventually I got stronger. This option is free and works, but can be kind of painful. (Full disclosure: I later bought a custom bike with a triple and the lowest gearing available to road bikes.)

[OakLeaf]

He probably won't be able to run a bigger cog than a 27 in back without changing the RD. And I don't think you can put smaller than 39 in front with a standard crankset, either? So I say compact.

[smilingcat]

I don't think BF is trying to make the other guys hurt on a hill climb, it sounds like he just wants to get to the top in reasonable manner.

go with a compact. His knees will love him for that. And nothing ashamed for using a compact double . If he wants to attack a hill and put the guys in lot of hurt, you can't be a weekend warrior. You need to train everyday!!

Graduate to a novice racer at 200 mile training per week.

I am soo over two pounds of body weight per inch of my height, its not even funny. (one of many simple rule of thumb to being a good climber).

[buddha_bellies]

Thanks Everyone!

When I meant "attack the hills". It really means just making it up to the top of the hills. He is at the lowest gear already. And yes, since he doesn't ride everyday, it is hard for him to get into the level that can ride a standard crankset. He is physically very active since he's a courier by trade. But it's different muscles used.

I'll let him know what you guys wrote. Thank you. And yes, we've been looking into spending about $400 to get it set up. Crankset for some reason is super cheap in Britain so we probably will buy it online and get one of the LBS to install it.

He doesn't want to deal with the LBS that sold him the bike. They try to rip us off by changing his carbon seat post for a cheapo $20 one! We didn't know any better until one of our friends mentioned it. They even fitted him to ride for triathlon. Really weird. Had all these problem until he went to one of the places he delivers to. Talked to them about it and they set him up with a more relax position. It's a long story but this bike is not the best experience for him. Wished we knew about this forum earlier before he bought this bike.