Compact Crank

[Hap]

Just wondering what the experience of thread watchers is abput running a CC vs. standard cranks. I am an experienced senior rider doing about 800 miles a month in the Texas Hill Country but still need help on longer climbs and rides. I notice that several fellow riders have switched. If a worthy investment, any opinions about FSA vs Campy?

[Dave B]

I went to a FSA cc and loved it for the hills. I found I was able to keep up with riders who used to drop me, which made my mind better. I will say in the flats it takes a bit of getting used to riding harder gears. The dramatic switch from the big ring to the little ring (depending on what rear gear you are in) can be a bit surprising.

If your concern is climbs, then by al means go for it!

Enjoy!

[pjm]

If you're running Campy, keep your standard crank and install the 13-29 cogset. The 39-29 combination is pretty near identical to a 34-25. You'll need a medium cage rear derailleur for either set-up.

[Birddog]

This question gets beat to death on many cycling forums, but here is my 2 cents. I tried the CC for about 6 months and switched back. It was fine for big climbs in the mtns, but it sucked on the rollers and flats. You spend way too much time shifting chainrings. If you decide to go CC, I'd recommend a 48/34 or a 50/36 maintaining a standard 14 tooth gap. One way to do this on the cheap is to buy the Nashbar CC for about $70 and just give it a whirl, it's cheaper than a cassette although it requires an Isis BB. My experience was that it did not require a compact specific FD. As PJM mentioned, it's probably easier to go 13/29 if you run Campy. Many have said that you do not need a med cage RD even though Campy says you do, just don't crosschain. Another Campy option is to get a Miche cassette, I bought a 12/28 for the mtns and like it a lot better than the CC. You can customize your cassette when you go Miche, not for weight weenies though, and again only for Campy as far as I know, and it works fine with a short cage RD. YMMV

Birddog

[jwb96]

I tried a compact and went back because of the same issue with the flats. Granted, I only rode one ride with it and I probably could have gotten used to the larger shifts. I guess I'm getting old and stubborn though.

I have a FSA SL-K for sale in the classified section if you're interested.

Jim

[stevep]

This question gets beat to death on many cycling forums, but here is my 2 cents. I tried the CC for about 6 months and switched back. It was fine for big climbs in the mtns, but it sucked on the rollers and flats.
Birddog

probably right.
i am in italy...hahaha and yesterday climbed the stelvio...happily had a 34 t front..was in it a long time...34- 27. long climb man
would not use it local, though

[Proxy]

If you're running Campy, keep your standard crank and install the 13-29 cogset. The 39-29 combination is pretty near identical to a 34-25. You'll need a medium cage rear derailleur for either set-up.

you only need a med or long with a trip - I run a 13/29 all day long with a standard cage - just have to stay away from the 53/29 combo which most would anyway. If you go up and down you might like the compact, if you do flat work it sucksI think - tons more shifting and a slightly higher Q than a double. if you can handle the Q a trip is the silver bullet, 53/39/39 - ya got it all.

[deechee]

I live next door to Mt.Royal (where the Montreal women's world cup is) and often do the climb on both a standard(39/52) and compact(36/50). After using compact on my race bike for about two years, I'm starting to wonder if I should go back.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the lower gears in compact, -I don't know how badly I'd struggle up Jay peak without, but I shift the front much more than with my standard chainrings in daily riding. Come race day though, I'm on the big ring so it doesn't make that big a diff...

My main beef with FSA is that it doesn't shift as smooth as Shimano - which I attribute to the proprietary rings/ramps. Its not a bit deal - but I notice it everytime I ride my regular 105 commute/rain bike.

Its also more about recovery - I can spin more with 'em so I think I can continue longer on the climbs and keep up the pace downhill.

[Marcusaurelius]

Just wondering what the experience of thread watchers is abput running a CC vs. standard cranks. I am an experienced senior rider doing about 800 miles a month in the Texas Hill Country but still need help on longer climbs and rides. I notice that several fellow riders have switched. If a worthy investment, any opinions about FSA vs Campy?


I tried it once but quickly changed back to a standard crank. I never needed the 34/36 on hills and the 50 was too small on the flats. I suppose if you have trouble on the hills with a 39 it would be worth switching. I know several people who find a 50 tooth chainring is enough for them on the flats and they will never go back to a standard crank.

[Ray]

I run a 34-38 compact. With a 12-27, I don't often use the 27, but I like having it and I do use it sometimes. The 24 gets a fair amount of use. I have no problems with a 48x12 high gear (same as a 52x13). If you need really big gears, I guess this could be a problem. With a 48 big ring, I find I can stay in the big ring a lot and don't have a problem with a lot of hunting between chainrings. I sometimes even run a 12x34 in back for centuries, tours, etc, where I know there's going to be a LOT of steep climbing. I don't often use the 30 or 34, but on the rare occasion the 26 or 27 isn't enough, they're nice to have. This also opens up the big ring even more - like having a 12-26 seven speed or 12-30 eight speed with ALL of those gears available from the 48. I'm in the big ring a huge percentage of the time with this setup. I don't seem to have a problem with big jumps. Your mileage will almost certainly vary.

-Ray

[Ginger]

I have a compact campy on the front, med. cage rear der, and when I run a 13-29 on the rear I can climb just about anything...slowly, but that's just me. I also like the gear selection on campy's 13-29 cassette because the big jump isn't near somewhere I spend any time.

[Sandy]

I startred a thread "Riding With My Compact Crank". Just enter that in the Search feature above. I tried to explain the advantages and disadvantages relative to gearing. There were numerous responses in the thread. It might be helpful to you.


Hope to make Hap Happy.



Sandy

[Samster]

like Ray, i run 48/34 in the front (campy) with 11/21 in the back on one bike and 50/34 x 11/23 on another. i've never needed more than 48x11 but steeper inclines make the 34x23 easier on the legs. but then again, i'm not a competitive rider.

shifting around is great on campy, but i do shift more than i did on the 53/39 combo... particularly the front der. but that's no surprise. friends have given mostly positive comments on fsa and shimano's new compact.

i go back and forth a lot about whether to slap my 53/39 back on esp. when i whine about too much shifting activity. but seeing as how i don't go back, i guess i must like compact better. and boy was it ever pricey to get there...

in the end, i think for me it comes down to my liking the looks of compact better than "regular" given the smaller frame size i ride. and that's the honest truth... vanity.

[72gmc]

i considered the switch but decided not to, in part thanks to sandy's excellent thread. i was switching to longer crankarms anyway and thought it might be worthwhile... i'm glad i stayed with 53/39.

fyi, soma fabrications sells a sugino 'swiss cross' 48/34 crank for square taper bottom brackets at roughly the same price as a centaur crank. if you decide to try it. the sugino looks like a nice crank and it's 110 bcd (instead of the screwy 135, thanks campy).

[Climb01742]

i've personally found a 34 useful in big tough hills but useless (or worse) on flat or rolling terrain. the constant shifting drives me bonkers. but it is a personal thing. as others have said, a cassette with a 27 or 29 might solve your situation, too. or maybe go to a 36, not 34?

actually i have a 42-53 set-up upfront on one bike and i really like it. i find myself spinning a 39 out pretty often.

[gone]

Just wondering what the experience of thread watchers is abput running a CC vs. standard cranks. I am an experienced senior rider doing about 800 miles a month in the Texas Hill Country but still need help on longer climbs and rides. I notice that several fellow riders have switched. If a worthy investment, any opinions about FSA vs Campy?
Although the drivetrain on my bikes is Shimano rather than Campy, I thought I'd respond anyway. As background, I have compact cranks on two of my four bikes, an FSA and a Shimano and have had the FSA compact on for about two years now. I also have "normal (53x39) gearing on my other two bikes.

The Shimano compact is on my S&S coupled CII that I use as a travel bike and the FSA compact is on my Legend. I like the compacts very much. The vast majority of the time, I run a 50x36 with either an 11x21 or an 11x23 cassette. This gives me the "normal" 14 tooth drop on the front and a nice tight cassette in the back and a gear range (with the 11x23) that's a little wider than a 53x39-12x25. Like you, I live in Boerne and with this combination I can climb anything around here. When I'm going somewhere with lots of steep hills, I'll change the front to a 50x34 and the rear to either a 12x25 or a 12x27. I do all of this with a standard short cage Shimano rear derailleur and it works fine. I have an FSA compact front derailleur on the CII but don't find any noticeable difference in shifting performance from the standard derailleur.

Hope this helps,

[sam.g]

Another vote for a 50/36 compact. I've been riding 50/36 Ritchie Logic compact with 12/27 in back and standard D/A front and rear derailleurs and wouldn't go back. Also the shifting is very crisp with the TA rings which I highly recommend.

Sam in Cincy

[MikeM]

I don't live near any big mountains, but I'm always surpirsed by people's reluctance to compacts - I guess it must be a fashion thing.

To put this into perspective, most people I know run with 11-23 block and 53/39 up front. If we assume ten speed then we get a bottom gear of 1:1.7 and a top gear of 1:4.8. If you have nine speed then most people would run with a 12 instead of 11, giving you a top gear of 1:4.4.

Now if we switched out to a compact (and here I'll use a 50/36 combo) with ten speed 11-23, we have a bottom gear of 1:1.6 (roughly equivalent to 39/25) and a top gear od 1:4.5.

So what does this mean, well I see a compact 50/36 with an 11-23 block as being the best of all worlds - you've got a nice small bail out gear for climbing (OK there aren't any real mountains in the UK) and you've also got a gear slightly bigger than 53/12 - if you need bigger than that the you should get some guys together and show Boonen how leadout trains are done properly.

As for changing between the front rings - surely a 50 front ring means you can stay in the "big" ring for long (as 50/23 is about the same as 39/18).

Mike