Groupset advise

aquanaut

I got half way through trying to figure this out but got confused with my maths. I have Tiagra 50/34 11-26 9-speed groupset - I use all of the small gears but would like more big gears (or a wider jump between gears with less duplication) - what should I be looking at? 105/ultegra double? - thanks

maloner

aquanaut wrote: »

I got half way through trying to figure this out but got confused with my maths. I have Tiagra 50/34 11-26 9-speed groupset - I use all of the small gears but would like more big gears (or a wider jump between gears with less duplication) - what should I be looking at? 105/ultegra double? - thanks

I think the number of teeth (11-26) is what you should focus on rather than the type (105/ultegra). The tiagra/105/ultegra side of the equation will mean the mechanics of the gears will be better/lighter as you go from one set to the next, but the pedalling by you is related to the number of teeth.

11-26 is a pretty wide range. 11 is the smallest (hardest to pedal) you can get, and when I was researching recently, new road bikes went as far as 28 (easiest to pedal).

You're pretty close to that range already, but I'm not sure what you're after.

In case we're on different pages, do you want more gears that are harder to pedal (for the flat) or more gears that are easier to pedal (for the mountains)?

TheBlaaMan

Agree with above; At 34-26 you are close to the 'easiest' availalbe (34-28) for climbing, and 50-11 is pretty much there for the flats too. A 11-28 cassette (if available in 9 speed Tiagra? not sure...) will make some small difference for the steepest climbs, but costs €50-60.

10 and 11 speed combination cassettes are now available to give you even more range in between what you have, but would mean a near-compelte swap out of the groupset that you have (ie to Shimano 105, Ultegra or to Campagnolo). At that stage, it might be best to consider a trade-in of the entire bike

Lumen

aquanaut wrote: »

I have Tiagra 50/34 11-26 9-speed groupset - I use all of the small gears but would like more big gears (or a wider jump between gears with less duplication) - what should I be looking at? 105/ultegra double? - thanks

If by "big gears" you mean "fast gears" then 50-11 is plenty. That's 57kph@100rpm on 700x23.

I don't understand the "less duplication". That would require a larger difference between chainring sizes which would cause all sorts of issues; 50-34 is already quite a large jump.

el Bastardo

... or maybe you could use an mtb cassette.

Lumen wrote: »

aquanaut wrote: »

I have Tiagra 50/34 11-26 9-speed groupset - I use all of the small gears but would like more big gears (or a wider jump between gears with less duplication) - what should I be looking at? 105/ultegra double? - thanks

If by "big gears" you mean "fast gears" then 50-11 is plenty. That's 57kph@100rpm on 700x23.

I don't understand the "less duplication". That would require a larger difference between chainring sizes which would cause all sorts of issues; 50-34 is already quite a large jump.

Lemag

If you feel that you're searching for gears and end up doing a bit of cross chaining to find what you're most comfortable with then it might be worth your while considering a standard chainset rather than a compact.

ashleey

I don't think a tiagra rear mech can work with 28 teeth as each rear derailleur has a max teeth range. I may be wrong so check this? My best advice would be to buy a standard tiagra chainset of 52/39. I use one with a 12/25 cassette. Tiagra has just been updated to 10 speed so the older 4500 range is discounted now. By the way 9 speed tiagra is an excellent reliable system

blorg

Tiagra rear mech should work fine with 28T.

ashleey

Thanks for clarification. Thought I should better check

aquanaut

Thanks guys, sorry - was only awake when I asked this. I dont want any easier gears - maybe even less is okay, just dont want to be searching for gears and would like an extra 'fast' gear - reason for moving from tiagra is that they only go to 9 speed (afaik) - so probably a double but what do I win / loose / draw with that? Maybe 28T ?

TheBlaaMan

Its always going to be a compromise between suitable for climbing as against suitable for the flat. Move to a double 53/39 from the compact 50/34 and you will suffer more on the climbs as your highest ratio will be 39-25 instead of 34-25 - that's an extra 14% effort required for the hills (try that on Seskin !).

It wouldn't be my choice, but each to their own preference.

petethedrummer

Just curious, in what situations do you need this harder gear? Are you able to push 50x11 comfortably on the flat?

aquanaut

petethedrummer wrote: »

Just curious, in what situations do you need this harder gear? Are you able to push 50x11 comfortably on the flat?

Tricky to answer but I want to get rid of redundant or duplicate gears, I dont really use my 2 smallest gears, and do find myself in 50x11 alot. If I could go one higher would I use it? Yes sometimes. Could I improve my cadence instead? Definately. My legs just feel better pushing big gears than spinning lower gears at a higher cadence

niceonetom

The only way to get a bigger gear than 50x11 is to change your chainset. You might think you'll go faster with 53x11 but you won't - you'll just move your legs more slowly. This is a bad thing.

ROK ON

niceonetom wrote: »

The only way to get a bigger gear than 50x11 is to change your chainset. You might think you'll go faster with 53x11 but you won't - you'll just move your legs more slowly. This is a bad thing.

I'm with Tom on this one.
I have 50/12 on one bike and a 53/12 on another. I have recorded all of my top speeds (both max speed and average) for an split on the bike with 50/12 gearing.

If you are spinning out on 50/11 on the flat then you should possibly talk to someone in Cycling Ireland into finding you a pro contract.
As for going downhill, you should be spinning out if you push hard enough at the start of a descent. But you need to work on your tuck and cornering while descending.

seve65

Some personal comparisons:

I now have 50-34 on the front and 28-11 on the back.
When the bike came
I had 48-36 and 25-12.

The initial setup was difficult for steep ascents (i.e. 36*25) for me..., and not great for very fast descents. The newer setup is fine for any type of ascent (34*28), and unless I want to top 80k is fine for descents too. However for example when changing up to the big front chainring when in the middle of the rear cassette I might find a need to change up by 1 or even 2 sprockets on the cassette to get the cadence I want, so there can be a lot of jumping around. This wasnt a problem at all with the initial setup with the bike. I assume this is what you mean when you talk about searching for gears. Seperately, if you are pushing 50-11 on the flat easily (no wind) you should cruising along at 45kmph+, which isnt too shabby. I guess though if u r a powerful rider then 53-39 may suit better, assuming you have no problems with longer steep ascents.

aquanaut

Thanks guys. Yeah spot on - my initial thought was that when I had a triple years ago, I found 'the next gear' easily, I find the compact is more messing around and loosing momentum. I wouldnt use the granny ring (too often) so that is why I thought of a double. I am definatwly not spinning out in my top gear, and never will on the flat. Thanks for all of your input