46/36 > 46/34 question

[livingminimal]

Hey-yo. I am eagerly awaiting my new Moth Attack cross bike (cross with 432 cs stays for that occasional gravel grinder foray) and I am debating gearing. I am a large man and a 32 is quite handy in the back zee climbs, as is a 34 in the front.
I picked up a Wickwerks 44/34 set. I was excited to try it until I realized that I could keep my 46 (and slightly more top-end on the road) and slap a 34 on there, for only a 12 tooth difference.
Come to find out, Shimano's matching and mating around chain sets is kind of specific. For instance, the 36T is a specific mated ring to 52 or a 46, and the 34 is specific to 50. Some coding or lettering system, I believe.

Question: am I gonna have any shifting troubles if I slap a reg shimano 34T on to the 46T?

I already did it soooooo I guess we will find out? But has anyone done non-native configurations in 11speed Shimano with (or without) success? or any tips? Also: running Di2 on this upcoming build...long cage rear for the 32T.

THANKS A BUNCH.

[dustyrider]

The shimano recommendations are just that. I was running 50/36 without any issue for many many miles. Ran 46/34 and 46/36 for shorter periods without issue. All shimano 11sp chainrings. Most likely you're going to have to play around with your front mech a bit.

I don't know much about 32 tooth cassettes and long cage road mechs. I've been happy with 11/28 or 11/25 on most of my rides.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

Hey-yo. I am eagerly awaiting my new Moth Attack cross bike (cross with 432 cs stays for that occasional gravel grinder foray) and I am debating gearing. I am a large man and a 32 is quite handy in the back zee climbs, as is a 34 in the front.
I picked up a Wickwerks 44/34 set. I was excited to try it until I realized that I could keep my 46 (and slightly more top-end on the road) and slap a 34 on there, for only a 12 tooth difference.
Come to find out, Shimano's matching and mating around chain sets is kind of specific. For instance, the 36T is a specific mated ring to 52 or a 46, and the 34 is specific to 50. Some coding or lettering system, I believe.

Question: am I gonna have any shifting troubles if I slap a reg shimano 34T on to the 46T?

I already did it soooooo I guess we will find out? But has anyone done non-native configurations in 11speed Shimano with (or without) success? or any tips? Also: running Di2 on this upcoming build...long cage rear for the 32T.

THANKS A BUNCH.

No, mix and match at will. It makes no difference.

[eippo1]

Yeah, I have a 46-36 chainset and threw on a 34 for D2R2 and it functioned just as well as it did with the 36. Go for it.

[PaMtbRider]

No problem with a 46-34. The small ring is not ramped or indexed at all. The indexing is all done on the large ring to match a specific small ring. It may not be perfect but I've never been able to notice any difference changing between a 36 to 34 inner ring.

[SpeedyChix]

Just get your chain length set for the combo plus the 32 rear. I've run 34/46 Ultegra with a 32 rear w/o issue. Think the Med cage will accommodate the 32, check b screw as well.

[livingminimal]

Thanks everyone! And yep, I am gonna make sure we cut the chain so that it is optimized for both configurations.

Regarding the derailleur, Ive been using a di2 long cage for two years and last season used the mechanical version for cross. it's great! Since it's tailor made for the 32, I just stick with it.