What's It Like To Ride Pro Gears? (Are They Really Faster?)

[@gcn]

What is your perfect chainring-cassette size combination?

[@santiagobenites]

I'm currently on a 53/39 chainring and a 12-29 cassette. It's generally very flat here in Toronto, so that works well for me. I'm 62 now, and still haven't had to resort to switching to a compact setup, so I'm quite happy about that.

[@JeromeArfouche]

I’m on a 52/36 chainring and a 11-30 cassette, loving it so far. Recently upgraded the chainring on my single speed, now on a 53/16 ratio

[@brianjoyce2731]

Time to bring back the triple rings up front! (56/43/34) X 10 to 38. Tackle anything.

[@leonbroekx]

53/39 11-34 on my road bike. 58/44 11-25 on my TT bike. But at the moment I'm not strong enough for the TT bike.

[@carlito1777]

I am a 38 yo beginner with a brilliant Triban RC500, so I use 50/34 and 11/32; probably moving to a 11/25 cassette . Could you make a video on performance difference between the weight of wheels and tires and tire performance. If possible on a triban because this wheels weight 2.3kg and tires 820g + butyl tubes and high rolling resistance tires. I feel stuck, but not sure if most of my problem is lack of power or if it is partiality this set up. I am wondering if buying carbon 38mm wheels from makadamm (1326g a pair) and good tires like Hutchinson Blackbird 28 tubes with tpu tubes can really make a difference in speed.

[@jefffixesit60]

25 years ago, I rode my 53/39 Dura Ace 7700 (2x9) with 11-23 cassette around Dallas, Texas, very flat terrain. Eight years later, I moved to mountainous west Texas, where elevations vary from 3,500’ to 6,800’ asl within 40 miles of my front door. I changed my rear derailleur to an XTR (M952) and cassette to XTR 11-34, which worked for a while, but aging into my 60’s forced me to seek lower gear for climbing. Today, I have two primary road bikes; both have triple chainring cranksets (50/39/30), and 11-32 cassettes. I’m 69, always seeking new ways to keep riding on a budget, and having a lot of fun with inexpensive, used, 3x9 and 3x10 driveline components. Funny thing though; I still like to go as fast as I can downhill, and I miss my 53t big ring! Currently seeking 52t upgrades for my Claris and 105 cranksets. Keep on riding as long as you can, you won’t regret it!😁😎❤️

[@hendrixinfinity3992]

I go the other way. I find that I so rarely hit a long downhill where I'd need a 50-11 that I'd rather have the climbing gears than the flat out gears. To do this find yourself a 46-30 or 48-32, fsa do a few cheap ones, with an 11-36 cassette. You can do modern sora shifters with old deore xt derailleurs (mega 9), and it will work perfectly. That gives you almost all of the gear range of the triples that those mechs were made for but with the simplicity and better chainline of 2x. 30-36 gets you a 22 inch gear ratio which is more than enough for most touring applications. Go down to a 28 and you've got almost 20. It's such a shame 1x became meta for gravel and mtb just when 2x just hit its heyday.

[@gashilashi]

69 and spinning out while bombing downhills made my day. Fingers crossed for your upgrades bud.

[@barrybkopicz2845]

About the same age. Funny my younger self was a snob about triple now I realize how great they were. My wife has a triple on her Lemond and I had one on my Shwinn touring bike [today it would be called an adventure bike]. The easier gear has definitely allowed me to cycle into "more mature years". All the best.

[@Shadowboost]

My friend's Pinarello has a 52/36 with 11/36 in the back. I'm jealous because I'm still on 50/34 and 11/27

[@Shadowboost]

​@@hendrixinfinity3992 I max out 50/11 every day I ride. 45 mph descent on my daily hill

[@fatblokediets9648]

In my 20s, I rode 52/39 & 12-25 on my road bike. By my 30s, it was 53/39 & 11-28. 40s was 52/36 & 11/30 or 32. Heading into my 50s, I’m on 50/34 & 11-36, plus my crank length has shrunk as well. Stuff big chain rings and cassettes - I’d rather be able to get up hills and have knees that still work afterwards, thanks!

[@christiankeim]

I'm 38 and I race road and criterium. I'm using a 50/34 front 11/34t rear. My TT bike is a single 54t front 11-28t rear. I'm thinking of going bigger on my crit bike.

[@edmundhodgson2572]

with front shifting today so good, we'll soon be on the next great thing, triple chainrings!

[@jeanmorin3247]

Triple-chaining of 14 gear cassettes?

[@Panoplyimaging]

My Specialized Allez (2012) was 52/36 with a 12-26 cassette when I bought her used in 2022. Decided to take her to Trail Ridge Road in Colorado in 2023 (I'm 65 and live in Houston) and looking at the math of cadence vs power output vs HR I went to a 50/34 and a 12-32 cassette. My cadence was still lower than I'd like, but I made it up to 12,150 feet. Coming down was the fun part! 45 mph.

[@SteakandChains]

Wait so my 53/39 shimano 105 from the 1990s is a pro level kit, NICE!!!

[@kevincockburn7805]

That was a proper time, 172.5mm cranks and a 24 tooth as the biggest rear sprocket.

[@SteakandChains]

@@kevincockburn7805 that’s exactly what I have, 11-25 in the rear. Makes going up climbs in Zwift excitingly difficult.

[@kevincockburn7805]

@@SteakandChains the choice of champions. Having a big sprocket on the rear was the sign of someone who was not serious

[@SteakandChains]

@@kevincockburn7805 since i live in south Florida having a big rear cog is generally not needed. Our highest elevation in the entire state is around 100m including bridges 🤣

[@tofuguru941]

Exactly

[@JimKJeffries]

Shimano, thanks for helping to make my rides great for close to my entire life. Keep chatting with your customers, asking good questions, and listening: appreciate your hard work.

[@kevincockburn7805]

In the old days 53 / 42 was a common setup on any road bike. With a straight cut 7 speed rear block. Knees who needs knees.

[@maxago2456]

I still run a 53/42 7 speed. Luckily I ride flat routes.

[@kevincockburn7805]

@@maxago2456 the last of the true

[@vittocrazi]

I bought a vintage bike. Turns out its like this. I live at the top of a giant valley... Im.in for a lot of pain, i guess

[@6SpeedsGood]

You described my 1994 Cannondale R600. I raced it in college, somehow up and down the mountains of New England. To be young and strong again…

[@Lambo.Hobbies]

I’m running a 53/39 on my 105 R7000 groupset. Love it, makes my custom road bike that much faster and more fun to ride

[@AdamBoothUK]

Gearing is so personal, don’t think I’ve seen two comments yet with the same combination. Throw my (slightly illegal) 46/34 chain set in for another take. Loads of mid range gears for a perfect cadence.

[@carlito1777]

And wa need power to go full at 50/11 or 54/11 on the flat!

[@brianrichards350]

Yep. I have 46/34 with a junior 14/28 11 block. I can get the low gear up anything under 10% and always hit an optimum gear. 30 mph is about max going downhill.

[@hughjanus7354]

Illegal? You mean not per Shimano's manual, right? Have a look at Praxis cranks, they offer a sub compact 46/32.

[@l.d.t.6327]

We see in the pro peloton that all riders have the same gears (bar maybe some very specific choices for TT), so at the top level, it's not personal.

[@chuckyfox9284]

@@brianrichards350 Assuming you and your bike weigh 80kg combined, at a cadence of 90, you need 360 Watts to go up a 10% gradient with that gearing.

[@davidlilja9180]

Great video and explanations, Ollie! 👌 Back in '78, I mixed a custom 5spd Dura-Ace freewheel, 13-28t, and shifting with a 60/46T pair of TA rings. Of course very steep inclines could be more of a challenge, but not so much those long 80+kph downhills. When 7spd arrived, I used a 13-30t freewheel. I still love those huge TdF TT chainrings but they don't look as big to me as they do to most folk. (I've even got a 70T Chinese dinner plate on my wall here for my own retro artwork. 😲)

[@benoittheminerandgamer]

I'am on 53/39 and 10/36 and it's amazing!

[@gideonmthembu8693]

@@benoittheminerandgamer may be I also need that cassette, cos, 11/32 still doesn't feel good with a 53/39 on hill. Also turn 10/28 on several wheels I have. It feels fast on flats, but climbs are indeed a nightmare...good to know what other people are using. Am a 60yr old now. Change is inevitable to enjoy my rides.

[@emilvaradi9393]

That's SRAm right? The 10-36.

[@Lambo.Hobbies]

I’m on 53/39 and 11/32

[@nihonbunka]

Disk brakes, walkie-talkie radios, and greater industry involvement to pay domestiques, results in greater cooperation in pace-lines, and the peloton as a whole, resulting in much less aerodynamic drag for most of the race (except when taking a domestiques turn at the front) for the riders. This means that pro cyclists can ride along at 5-60kmh as a peloton bunch, with only those at the front putting in much effort, with the rest of the team/riders able to spin these large chain-rings because they have no air resistance in front of them. I ride on my own, 53/39.

[@crusherbmx]

My first MTB had a 28-28 low granny gear back in 1991!

[@art_only]

I love my SRAM setup. I'm running 50/37 and 10-33. 50-10 is like 55-11

[@marksoeplepel]

I use a 53/36 Shimano 105 in the front. Never had any problems with my front derailleur. It gives me a big ring on the flats and a reasonable gear on ascents. It doesn't overlap as much as a 53/39 and I love it a lot! Totally recommend it even though Shimano doesn't 😂

[@josephreilman8527]

They recalled 12 million cranksets. Their recommendations mean jack. Only reason Di2 is still relevant is because the battery life is exponentially better. It's them or SRAM

[@marksoeplepel]

@@josephreilman8527 but charging batteries for sram is way easier. And if you are going bikepacking, just bring an extra set of batteries with you. I have Sram on my tt bike and I love it a lot!

[@Poof57]

It must be because of the cage lenght, if you have a long one you have a bigger capacity and might be able to run such a space between chain rings with a smaller cassette. What is the size of your cassette ?

[@marksoeplepel]

@@Poof57 It has nothing to do with the casette. It is the jump between the inner and outer ring that can cause problems. I know people who used 53/34, but then you have to be quite careful when shifting with your front derailleur as the chain does not always want to jump that big of a gap. But it still fits. And to answer your question, I use a 11-28 cassette but I usually use a 11-30 (11sp).

[@jefffixesit60]

As I’ve aged towards my current 69 years, I’ve widened the gear range I carry on my road bikes. The Dura Ace 7700 groupset I installed 25 years ago had 53/39 chainrings and either 11-23 or 12-25 cassettes. Those were adequate for the flat terrain of Dallas, Texas and my r4

[@gregmuon]

When I started cycling with my local club, 53/42 was standard. What's old is new again... 😁Of course, the small cog in back was typically a 13 or even a 14, resulting in a much lower top gear than a 50x11.

[@dennisdose5697]

My 30 year old litespeed has chorus 8 speed with a 53/42 crank and 12-23 cassette. Thankfully I don't have any serious hills as I am in my 60s. 😎👍

[@The1trueDave]

I bucked the 1x trend a few years ago and moved back to a triple. I currently run 53/40/30 on the front and a 12-28 9sp on the back. Gets me a near 1:1 ratio which works well in the Peak District if like me you can't stay above 300w for very long :-)

[@znicho]

I enjoy my 52/34 chainring combo. Best of both worlds.

[@michael_klein52]

54 -10 is what am using , pretty suitable in my area

[@johnrose7491]

I was riding when Anquetil etc was around and the dustbin lid chain rings they use now frighten the life out of me

[@jameskelly2559]

54/42...o how I loved racing in the the 90s! People sneered the you dropped down to 39 lol

[@kisilvan]

Used ride those those larger front chainrings back in the 90s when racing but could change each rear sprocket individually back then to suit the terrain of the race or training ride. In the TT I'd use a stronglight 56 or 57 chainring on the campag groupset. As you said it put the chainline at the optimal angle.

[@quirinroerbag01]

I'm using a 31-48 chainset with 11-40 cassette on my gravel bike (w/ road tires). I recently ordered a new road bike and I'm genuinely scared of having 34 to 34 as my lightest gear. Being able to cruise up steep climbs is just so nice.

[@quirinroerbag01]

Not complaining btw

[@RichardKing-w8n]

I used to time trial on a 54-12 which was exhilarating on a calm evening, there is nothing like going fast under your own power.

[@jstogdill]

I’m new to this sport - bought my road bike one year ago at 58 - and I’m preparing for a round Taiwan ride which will include the Taiwan kom climb route. After some tune up hill climbing in the Carolina’s (using a lot of the Hincapie fondo route) - I put a 43/30 on the front to go with a 10/36 cassette. Tractor gearing suits my modest ftp just fine on the steep stuff. I’d love to have a third bigger ring on the front for fast descents but since I’m in Lycra instead of leathers I’ll just live without it.

[@steveshep9234]

I love my 34 front with 34 spocket, like walking without getting off , I'm not pro , not racing so it doesn't matter what my speed is

[@tianyi05]

On my old (1976) Raleigh i have a 54/42/28 with a 12/28 cassette. Haven't found anything in 45 years that it won't handle.

[@sebasforest963]

triple chain rings are undervalued.

[@billkallas1762]

I live in a very flat area, so I don't need anything lower than a 39x25. 40 years ago, I could ride a freewheel that ended in a 21, or ever lower if it was a flat criterium. For that, I'd use a 12-18, or 12-19.

[@Fugitive_8]

I regularly use 10/34t - 52/39t on my regular and competitive rides took a while to get used to the gearing but its good once you become familiar with it

[@markyoung950]

The 1970 Peugeot PX 10 LE came stock with a 45 x 53T chainrings and a 5 speed freewheel (14, 16, 19, 20, 23t) and cross chaining was not recommended. That is close to a 34 x17 for a low gear. When racers started riding with 39 x 24 for a low gear ; That was Super!

[@jkmacie]

Swapped a 50/34 to a 46/30 with 10mm shorter cranks. Much more comfortable and no hill too steep!

[@OYeahan]

But with 46:11 you will spin out quite quickly even on quite shallow descents (I get that it's not an issue when not racing/getting dropped from group rides or looking for fun from faster descending), and if you use it quite often the smallest cassette cogs with wear out faster. Everything has pros and cons... 3x12 with 11-30 cassette would be ideal :D

[@jkmacie]

@@OYeahan I have literally never gone fast enough down a hill to spin out. However I have got off and walked up a hill on several occasions.

[@guyolive1071]

Glad to see gearing getting bigger. I've been out of cycling for twenty years and coming back to MTB 1x with 38 max teeth is frustrating. Give me nothing less than a 42, prefferably a 46 to 48 prefferable, witha 11 42 cassette. Ona road bike I've still got my 62 time trial from the Lance Armstrong days.

[@VikSep]

Here I was with 43/30 and only recently changed to 48/35

[@gcn]

Would you say you notice a big difference?

[@TonyCarrolls]

Some of us are old enough to remember 52/38 as ordinary (I'm not THAT old either). But that was also in the days when I had Shimano 52/38 on the front and 5 Campag cogs and mech at the back (11-26) it all worked together seamlessly and spinning wasn't really a thing. Now there is an idea for a GCN video.

[@johnhufnagel]

I'm still a major proponent of a triple for anyone who's not a hard core rider, simply because of the inexpensive nature of the drivetrain. We ride a 3x8 setup on mine and the wife's bikes. 48/38/28 on both, HG50-8 11-30t on mine (OG was HG50-8 11-32t), and a custom made HG50-8 based 11-34t (11-13-17-20-23-26-30-34, basically an 'an' cassette with the 15 pulled out and a 30 from a 'Ca' added to the stack) for the wife. it suits her needs better than the OE 11-32t it came with. I've been contemplating my next step as i'll be coming due for a new cassette soon, and the chainrings are the OG from when the bike was bought new in 2006. I want to find something that'll give me a better spread (higher top speed, a bit lower grunt gear for when i'm totally bashed) and something that results in fewer 'duplicate' ratios. We "commute", we get a meal, and pretty soon I want to start hooking the kid's old bike trailer back up (used to take him to day camp in it when he was a toddler... 13+ years ago!!) and start doing some non-perishiable grocery runs with it. I need "excuses" to get my fat ass out there and ride more anyways, so goals are important. :D Having like a 26/34 for the low end, and a 52/11 like I have on my old "touring" bike (03 Trek 1000, did many centuries and a double called The Longest Day once with it) would probably do it, but I'd need a middle ring of probably a 39 or 40. The question is, how to do it. (addendum: 52/39/26 would be a nice even spacing between the 3.) My point of all this is, not only are the pros changing their thinking, but so are the amateurs, and even some of us filthy casuals. :D

[@veganpotterthevegan]

Most modestly avid cyclists with a triple will spend their rides complaining about the bad shifting up front or terribly wide q factor. There are some people that live in regions where they could benefit but they're a minority since the creation of the compact crank.

[@cornishcat11]

@@veganpotterthevegan bullshit

[@veganpotterthevegan]

@cornishcat11 absolutely not. There's good reason why triples largely disappeared after compacts came out. Yes, "some people" still need them, that's totally fine. But most will absolutely have no need for the smallest chainring on a triple.

[@kilianortmann9979]

3x8 absolutely works, but honestly 2x12 has made it obsolete. 46/30 with the 11-36 cassette is doing anything your setup does at the high and low end. With 12 speed you even get single tooth jumps from 11 to 15.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

@kilianortmann9979 and you can even run that with an 11-40 cassette against Shimano recommendations but a lot of people are putting in big touring miles with that setup.

[@PeLuK2303]

When I used to race 53-39 was the norm, I’m not a good climber so I used a 53-36(it worked), now I’m happy with a 50-34 😂 and 11-34 cassette

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

In the old days, in the days of the Birmingham Independent League of Bicycle Orienteers, there was a quick reckoner for gearing. For a 10% gradient. Weight of bike + extras ( in lbs ), reciprocal x 1000 = gear inches. 25 lb bike all up weight = 40 inch gear. 20 lb bike = 50 inch gear. in the day, a 42 x 23 gave 49.3. That was what we used. The best bit of advice I was given was 'If you can climb a ladder, you can ride a bike up a hill.' Up a hill, it is not strength, because you are lifting your arse off the saddle and pedalling like you are climbing a ladder. Cadence can be less than 60, which is two rungs per second. You primary movers are your gluteus. Quads come in as 'sympathetic'.

[@DoNuT_1985]

As a leisure rider that doesn't have a 300W FTP, I'm more than happy with compact 11-speed with a 32t cassette. Your gearing is right when you make good use of it. I hardly ever use the 30/34 on my gravel bike and hate climbs on my 10-speed with 53/39 and a period-adequate cassette, I think 11-29. Compact is the sweetspot, you only can't pedal above 60 kph, which is OK for me, not doing any races and hitting those speeds only on descents alone.

[@ToOldToTurnProcycling]

I'm using 52/36 front 11/34 rear cassette with 165mm crank arms, it took a few fettling rides to get the set up correct, but now I'm not getting dropped so easy by my Spainish cycling group, and I'm giving the majority of them 28+ years.

[@topaz_climber]

I love my SRAM 33-35 gear. I can ride 25% climbs up here in the Lakes at 85rpm, and on easier sessions, I can ride hills up to 10% in Z2. For an amateur your gears have got to enable you to go slow, as well as go fast. On a max effort or a fast downhill I can, very occasionally, spin out in my 48-10 top gear, but at 60-odd km/h.

[@MoMo-lw6dc]

Thanks for the very informative video. You've answered my questions regarding changing my chainring size and the benefits. I was considering going down to 46tooth but I think I'll go up because I prefer the advantages it will bring me, that you've mentioned. Keep up the great work🫡

[@alphamrc309]

50/34 11-34 for climbing >6% 53/39 11-32 for general road 55/42 11-30 for triathlon bike 1x60 11-28 or 11-40 for TT depending on course profile (RX817 Di2 rear derailleur)

[@Jackster596]

I ride 48/35 (Rotor Q-rings) with a 10-33 cassette. I wish I could go to a 46/33 option but Rotor doesn't offer that. Because I ride solo most of the time this gearing is ideal for me.

[@karstenmeinders4844]

- My first "modern" (2013) roadbike: 50/34 (I don't remember the cassette size but 10 speed obviously) - CX bike (2018), used as bad weather training bike and commuter: swapped from original 48/36 to 50/34 with 11-34. Gearing feels too easy most of the time - My first aero road bike (2019): 52/36 - 11-34 (11 speed, now using 11/30, sometimes 11/32) - My triathlon bike (2019): 53/39 - 11-30 (11 speed, ) - My 2nd aero road bike (2023): 54/40 - 11-34 (12 speed) - now swapped to 50/34 just for the Oetztaler Bike Marathon (bette safe than sorry) - next triathlon bike (202x): considering 55/42. I am riding on rolling terrain most of the time, so speed can vary between 12 and 60+ kph within a 2 km intervall. So benefitting from all the wattage savings in aero and rolling resistance from the last years, it makes sense to have larger gearing even for amateurs resulting in higher average speed.

[@newunderthesun7353]

I've been racing since before you were born. Racing bikes came standard with 52 up front and 14 in the rear. I upgraded to 53 up front and 12 in the rear.

[@nofascistsonmywatch]

When I started racing in 1970 as a 14 year old 'intermediate' class rider, we were gear limited (on both the road AND track) to a max ratio of (or equivalent to) 52x18, so everyone ran a 52/42 with a straight block 18-22 on the back. That changed to a 52x16 when we were juniors, so everyone ran 16-20, (or a 16-21 when the six speed sets came along) rear cogs. Almost all racing here in the states for the younger age groups was crits only, and the 'prevailing wisdom' from back then was trying to save our young knees and muscles by having us spin at 115 RPM+. What they are now using at the top Worlds/Olympic and Nations Cup track events is total insanity nowadays!! One never ever observed gearing like that, save for a stayer bike ridden behind one of those huge, ancient motors on the track. Windless indoor, perfectly smooth, lightning quick, precision velodromes built to UCI specs, combined with ultimate aero EVERYTHING has enabled the elites to ride giganormous gears nowadays. It must be like squatting 1500 lbs. at the start of some of the standing start track events (and even winding up from a slow speed for the match sprinters, despite using the banking as a 'downhill' spring board), given the gearing they use currently! Some (most??) of those trackies must spend much more time in the weight room than they do on the bike, including road base training and specialized track training, in order to get those gears up to speed quickly.

[@MiddleAgedMike]

Wish you would include the Wats required to maintain the respective RPMs with the various setups

[@cb6866]

Thanks Dr O..and crew ....love that stuff. I am an OAF rider , and the new tech amazes me , constantly .

[@gcn]

Our pleasure!

[@Tinker1950]

What's an OAF?

[@cb6866]

@@Tinker1950 old as fuck

[@Tinker1950]

@@cb6866 Ah, I see. I must be one of those - at 73 with a soggy bottom - oh, and a new e-bike... 🚲😁

[@cb6866]

@@Tinker1950 Absolutely. no rules , big jewels

[@ravennexusmh]

funny people don't know this. i don't have a road bike for outdoors (mountain biker here) but the road bike on my trainer (MTB adventure bars for multple hand locations) runs a MTB 11-36 rear setup, but a road 36/52 on the front. gives me a nice chainline on my normal sweet spot, and good flywheel speed on 52-11 but still decent climbability on 36-36

[@gcn]

You must be the life and soul of the party 🎉

[@KevinFatDadCycles]

I've been using 50/34 chain ring and 11/34 cassette for the past 6 years

[@reinholdachleitner2069]

Awesome video with all the chainring and cassette shots,definitely have to admit,Ineos's Pinarello Dogmas team bikes are really beautiful.💯👌🏻🚴‍♂️✌🏻

[@djvincekline7338]

50-34 on my Specialized. It's even Claris. Funny thing. Like 2.5 years ago I was not able to go up a nearby hill, unless I went zig-zagging on the lowest possible gear... Now, 2.5 years later from those days, I tackle the same hill on the big plate, with the middle gear in the rear. I went from 14.8km/h and 55 seconds in the first try to 33 seconds and 24.7 km/h as my PR. (yes, it's a small climb). On another hill, near my home, I went from 3m3s at 13.9 km/h to 1m 48s and 23.6km/h as my PR. My legs became solid like steel, while my weight hardly dropped at all....

[@Music-pq8cm]

At age 62, I still ride a 39/53 with an 11-25 cassette. I rarely ever use the 25 cog with the 39 chainring and I doubt I’d ever use at 28 tooth cog. Given that manufacturers don’t seem to want to make 11-25 cassettes anymore, I’d likely go with 40/54 chainrings with an 11-28 cassette. That would give me slightly more range without wasting a cog that I’d never use. Look at a gear chart or gear calculator and it will make sense.

[@holdencaulfied7492]

I see riders like you smashing a tall gear up hills, you think you look strong but you just look stubborn and clueless. A higher cadence is more efficient, faster, and will lead to improved fitness which is important as we age.

[@HighFell]

Riding a classic 53/43 10/21 set up in brutal hills in North of England, is not in anyway fun but I have done it for many years, I spoilt myself with an 11/25 cassette but these low ratio gravel gears are more my thing now and even those can be tough!

[@tubbytoast2]

I must have been ahead of the time, my first proper ' race' bike had 54 / 40 Sugino GS chain set in 1984

[@gcn]

From now on, we'll call you 'the time traveller', if that's okay with you 🚀

[@CerveloS5rider]

SRAM 50/37 with a 10-33 cassette gives both a big gear equivalent to 55 ring on shimano but it’s easiest gear of only 37/33 which is easier than the shimano 40/34. No big gaps either

[@_shreyash_anand]

SRAM have much better ratio choices everywhere. Road, Gravel and MTB

[@alpsalish]

...and their running Dura Ace.

[@jonathanjc1131]

Yea but you are missing the aspect of efficiency. That tiny 10t cog caused a steep angle for the chain, there were testings and its a couple watts of efficiency lost. Sram also has a terrible chain and front derailleur

[@jonathanjc1131]

@@_shreyash_anandbetter only on paper. The efficiency lost is astronomical

[@TC-ik9kn]

Stop dreaming of the 10t cog ⚙️ cog , what happens when you go up the cassette !!?? 50 - ⚙️ 12/13 and you are going flat 0% road ., and your competitors use 54/12 What happens ? You clap to sram😅😅

[@ml48963]

40/34 is quite similar to 36/30, which I've been riding and have found it appropriate for really all but maybe the toughest climbing days.

[@TESTA-CC]

I'm Still on a 52-42 Double, With Short Block 6 Speed Rear Cassette. Both on my Peugeot Perthus Pro & Vitus Dural 979. On the hills, I struggle badly 😁🖖

[@gcn]

Remember to act like you have a mechanical problem if someone sees you walking up

[@MrJxm992]

For years I been on 54-42 11/23 all flat terrain here tho!!!🎉

[@WillEDC]

I use a 53 /39 105 on my folding bike lol. But honestly the bigger gears make you stronger so in a sense you go faster as you have no choice

[@Tuffjobs]

My 2012 trek Domane has always had a dura ace 54/40 chainring.

[@crailwah]

Must i say that that ollies pinarello look on point

[@tonyk0756]

I've still got it somewhere. Early 80s, Campy front rings, 53 43, with a 49 with it?. Ok as they only had 7 speeds on the rear, tho 53 49 was used for half changes between two cogs on the cassette for time trials. Imagine working that out.

[@yules_3000]

Thanks! Awesome video. I would have loved making these uphill calculations with Watts and incline percentage...

[@mikecoglione1308]

I found road bike gearing in hilly country, even "short" 50/34 and 11-34 cassette to be too tall. Went to a chimeric GRx 48/31 with a mountain bike XT cassette and derailleur in the rear of 11-42 and haven't looked back. Can stay zone 2 power up to 12-14 percent hills and the cadence of like 25 doesn't bother me because its so short. Going so slow I feel like I will fall over but I don't care. Can ride all day in the mountains and not feel it, can train with power outside any day of the week anywhere. My knees and achilles tendons are thanking me. The issue is drop bars aren't compatible with the MTB derailleur so you will need an adapter like as made by Wolf Tooth and the end result is that it won't shift perfect. It will shift OK but you can feel that all isn't quiet on the Western Front so to speak but its good enough for me. I don't miss my road bike setup as that kind of gearing is for young kids.

[@Calum_S]

I remember when 53/39 was shipped as standard on new bikes. I don't think I could handle it now.

[@6ft8incyclist]

Back in the day I rode Campy 56X42 5 Speed 23-12 Climb many Mountain passes on that wish I had the gearing we have today back then.. Would spin 56 14 @100 rpm all day long.

[@chrispig7748]

Yes, I started in 1980s on 52/42 and 12/21 freewheel. Rode up mountains with that, couldn’t afford different gears anyway

[@matthewbaynham6286]

I like gear ratios that are really close together, so in a perfect world I would have a massive diner plate size chain ring but no small sprockets, just medium and large sprockets. But I don't have the cash to invest in my bike so I don't even know if you can put a 16 on as a minimum sprocket, but it would be nice, I'm still on 8 speed and I think the smallest sprocket has to be a bit different to the other sprockets in order to lock (but I'm not sure about that).

[@shepshape2585]

If you paid attention to the Tour this year, Ving was running a 1x! All those monster climbs on a 1x? Dude is super strong.

[@chickenpoodle]

i'm pretty sure they're running classified hubs on those reserve wheelsets whenever they run the 1x setup.

[@thetechfromheaven]

I use 53/42 counter rotated Biopace chainrings with a 12-34 XTR 9 speed cassette and Ultegra long cage derrailleur, used 11-28 for a while in a heavt steel bike so the current setup feels easy, Might go to 54/40 just to have the "same" as the pros 😂

[@Cycle.every.day.]

The front mech frame mount must be specially made to jack the front mech up i'm guessing?

[@jeanmorin3247]

It would be interesting to see what combination of gears most riders choose for the cassette. Are the bigger gears spaced as much as 4 teeth apart so as to give smaller gears a 1-tooth jump??

[@RodneyMuhling]

I have always used 53 .39 casset 11.25

[@piast99]

Chainrings may be bigger but remember the 11-34 at the cassette. When I started biking I had 11-28 on my MOUNTAIN bike.

[@OYeahan]

I'm an amateur and with 31/48 chainset I don't find the 12spd. 11-34 as narrow-gapped as it might be (gravel bike when run with road wheelset) and sometimes would like something in between. With bigger chainrings the gaps between ratios are bigger. So for flatter stages I think 11-30 would still be better, both for amateurs and pros. It is probably mostly due to logistical necessities not being with it why they're not swapping those. I bought 11-30 Ultegra cassette as I needed an extra one for my trainer and will likely try it on flatter real-life sessions as well. How they are running 40:34 ratios up long 10%+ ascents is impressive; with my 31:34 ratio and ~3W/kg FTP I think I would be faster with even greater reduction, as when seated I prefer to spin around 95RPM when around FTP power.

[@thomasamick3407]

For years...everyone used 52/42..then 53/39. Everyone. We all rode pro gears. It was standard.

[@kge420]

69yo male. 46/30 with a 11-32. Very comfortable for my old self.

[@zachsummers3321]

Like my 52/36 to 11 to 32 for good all around set up. For hills I would go to a 50/34.

[@HatRock]

And Jonas Vingegaard did the harder mountain stages with a single 52 chainring, even a 54 I think. Crazy strong guy.

[@josephreilman8527]

I've noticed my acceleration suffers tremendously on a 50 chainring. I also find myself between gears in windy situations on a 52 with the exact same cassette range as the 50. I also run a 53x11-25 on another bike that is absolutely a nightmare to do low intensity work on. Basically just have an excuse to buy multiple bikes. 4 watts/kg and I've never raced

[@mstrasser]

IT's pretty flat in Toronto so on my Aeroad I have 54-40 and 11-30, with 165 cranks (I'm 6-feet, 183cm, used to do 172.5). Shorter cranks was great for more spinning and the bigger gears just lets me go faster and find a better cadence. I've never had a problem here, but have needed some gears for a few 18% realyl spiky hills. They're short though and not regular, so it's not a problem. But I also benefit from having a 02 VAM so if I was doing rides with more of those type of hills, I'd take that and it has 11-34 and 52, but I also have a 50 for it too when i travel.

[@rockytalkndawoods3057]

F 53×39 R 11-27 is what i ride, and im in Portland, Oregon.

[@gideonmthembu8693]

Am riding 52/36 in one bike, the other 53/39 am dropping down to 50/34 across. My legs can't turn those big ring anymore. Am getting dropped and I can't stomach that😅

[@mboretzki]

I'm considering switching my 50/34 to a 52/36 as I made a big progress over the last two years when I started cycling. My questions now would be: 1. Do I have to add two extra chain links? 2. Do I have to readjust the front derailleur? Thanks in advance 😊

[@holdencaulfied7492]

You should only switch if you find yourself running out of gears on flats, which I can't imagine is happening with 50/11. Why do you want bigger chainrings?

[@mboretzki]

@@holdencaulfied7492 Exactly because of that.

[@holdencaulfied7492]

@@mboretzki You started cycling two years ago and you're spinning out on 50/11? Sorry, I don't believe you. Don't bother replying, I think you're full of crap and you're looking for a reason to get bigger chainrings so you can brag that you had to get larger chainrings. And when you're grinding in the hills because your chainrings are too big, you'll say, 'I don't need smaller chainrings'. Bunch of BS

[@smithandshortdogs]

I can think of at least 3 GCN videos talking about how gears are getting smalller...

[@oliverrch5370]

I think that’s mainly around the SRAM ecosystem, they have a very different philosophy to Shimano, which is often seen as the industry standard. I think the whole idea of gears getting ‘smaller’ is relating to the larger cassette on the rear, which gives the overall effect of a smaller gear, which is easier to manage.

[@PRH123]

I can remember around 30, if not 300.

[@mircozelle]

pros are all on triples these days because spinning is winning

[@smithandshortdogs]

@oliverrch5370 yeah I know... sram has gone to a ten tooth rear gear so your front ring can be ~10% smaller for the same effective gearing.

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Yep, pros are going bigger, recreational riders are going smaller. Both these things can be true.

[@bredemeijer9648]

62/33 on my Brompton. No derailleur in the front tho.

[@peterdecupis8296]

Trends are inspired by factories that influence people to buy and buy again... Some years ago the 53/39 was replaced by 52/38 and then by 50/34, thus encouraging use of shorter gears; high frequency and low torque was the "Bible" of those years, with Armstrong and Froom as "testimonials"... Now, the people are encouraged to use even harder gears with the 54/40... Obviously, power is the product of frequency per torque, thus the same amount of power can be obtained in different ways.

[@bikdav]

40-52 was somewhat the “universal standard” across almost all road bikes back in the 70s and 80s.

[@Southerncyclist]

I'm a big guy. I have been running a 53/39x11/34 sence 2019. Ran a 11/36 last fall to July it wore out. This year 53/39 wore out. Fitness is good. I put on a 54/keep the 39. Works just fine. Love it.

[@nerigarcia7116]

3:45 Do pros leave gears to spare? I'm always riding in the middle of my cassette but I thought that was due to my lack of power. I'm only really in the higher gears with a downhill and/or tailwind. I figured pros just pushed those gears and use the top end of their cassette because they can and to go as fast as possible.

[@IThee-hw8oj]

If all this is so important.......... Then what I don't understand is..... why don't they make a 15mm wider axle (wider frame). Then you can make a 14 (or 15) gear sprocket and shifter. And everything (shifting and cadence) will be smooth.

[@jonphotos8631]

54/34 front rings!

[@DB-sj8km]

52/36 and 12-speed 11-34. Unless you’re racing this is the do everything gearing IMO. I live in a very hilly area with mountains not too far away by car. If I started racing again would probably change to 53/39.

[@laens0r]

amazing how he's able to talk like he's mega fascinated about that little information for such a long time. we get it. they're stronger, 12s has a wider range of gears than 9s did 20 years ago.

[@MrDiamondDave]

Chainring size also depends on where you live. I’m in a hilly / mountainous area and prefer 50/34 now. I don’t race

[@graemejwsmith]

Chainline articulatiuon. Bicycling Science 4th Ed suggests a full cross chain costs about 2watts.

[@patrikrohner2641]

I have a Question im gonna order a new Gravelbike and i live in a really Hilly Place (Switzerland 😅) Im gonna get a arch8 Eero or a Santacruz Stigmata not shure. Which shifting system would you recomend for flat fast pedaling and long steep climbs? Keep up the good Videos ❤ and sorry for my bad englisch😂🫣 Greetings from Switzerland 🇨🇭

[@yislam786ify]

At 58 yo, I use a 50/34 on a 11-30 (11 speed). He bike came with a 11-34 but I hound the gap between ratios too much. A 12 speed should fix that. Next bike will do a 12 speed 11-34 (or 32). Not sure about going to a 52/36.