# road bike, subcompact 46/30, 48/32, as opposed to 50/34?



## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

Anybody using these for general road riding? It is hilly here, I could use lower gearing. The outer range of gearing is ok for me with these. I am wondering if there would be more double shifting or cross chaining on rolling flatter roads? Any reasons not to do this? subcompact seems better than a longer cage RD and a bigger cassette


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## Steve B. (Jun 26, 2004)

Do some gear charts here:

to http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html

Then some pricing of a 30/46 crank (and possibly b-bracket), which are not cheap as BTW, VS. a new cassette and rear derailer.


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## 11spd (Sep 3, 2015)

deadleg said:


> Anybody using these for general road riding? It is hilly here, I could use lower gearing. The outer range of gearing is ok for me with these. I am wondering if there would be more double shifting or cross chaining on rolling flatter roads? Any reasons not to do this? subcompact seems better than a longer cage RD and a bigger cassette


Depends on your strength, weight and riding objectives aka overall speed you seek i.e average speed on your ride. Since its hilly there, that means you go both up and down, so ideally you want to satisfy both objectives. Gearing you propose will get you up the hills or help, but you can't maximize speed descending because you will run out of gearing.

Many with your dilemma looking for goldilocks gearing we all seek including pros, will opt for a typ. compact up front aka 50-34...but will opt for a pie plate cassette ergo 32-36 climbing teeth in back. I know personally on centuries with big hills I am always wishing for shorter climbing gearing. 

All said, if you are not a performance rider and are fine with letting gravity bring you down the hills, a smaller crankset you propose in front makes sense.

Why strength matters is, a strong rider will generally run out of gear inches on the flat in 46-11 so even matters on the flat for some and certainly not all riders.


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## Charlie the Unicorn (Jan 8, 2013)

I rode with a 46-30 for several years. I found the main drawback was descending, you'll run out of gears with 46-11 combo, but you can do a lot more spinning on climbs. 

The main warning would be your FD setup. If you have a braze-on FD, make sure the hanger can get the FD low enough to shift properly or your small ring will be useless.


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## Finx (Oct 19, 2017)

I like this gear calculator.

Bicycle Gear Calculator

I recently installed a Praxis Zayante 48/32 on the SO's new gravel bike. It's a well make piece of kit, but does require their M30 bottom bracket. Since it was a new build from a frameset, it was fine. The install was easy (using a proper bearing press and loctite), and it's been a great setup for her. I have her on Ultegra 11-34 cassette, and it's been a great setup for her. She's not particularly strong, and enjoys the lower ratio for some of the steeper hills in the neighborhood. 

Praxis also has the slightly more budget friendly Alba in the same gearing (48/32).

I don't know if I'd want to go any lower than a 32 in the front with a standard road FD. There could be some deal breakers with cross chaining (chain hitting the rear part of the cage on the FD), etc...


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## n2deep (Mar 23, 2014)

I am considering changing the sprockets to the absolute blacks. Not real crazy with the oval rings but the lower gears and compatibility with the 6800's is a real bonus.. Check out their web site.. Looks like an easy swap.


The 50-34 is a great set for the flats and small hills,, my old bones wants a bail out gear so I can recover on those long hilly rides!!!


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## Finx (Oct 19, 2017)

n2deep said:


> I am considering changing the sprockets to the absolute blacks. Not real crazy with the oval rings but the lower gears and compatibility with the 6800's is a real bonus.. Check out their web site.. Looks like an easy swap.
> 
> 
> The 50-34 is a great set for the flats and small hills,, my old bones wants a bail out gear so I can recover on those long hilly rides!!!


I'm not sure how this helps with gearing. The absolute black chainrings are only available in the stock sizes (50t or 52t big and 34t, 36t and 38t small).


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

I've been running 46\30 for a couple of years now and like it. I live just south of Chicago and it is quite flat so do real descending.

I kind of treat it like a 1x11 with a granny so I cross chain the large ring more than most would recommend, but have had no issues with anything. My cassette is a 12-25 so my big ring will give me 103 thru 49.2 gear inches and my 30 chainring will give me 53.5 thru 32.1 gear inches in my 8 largest cogs as I don't like to x-chain the small chainring.

Here's a gear calculator that you can use to find your gearing.

Bicycle Gear Calculator


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Charlie the Unicorn said:


> I rode with a 46-30 for several years. I found the main drawback was descending, you'll run out of gears with 46-11 combo, but you can do a lot more spinning on climbs.
> 
> *The main warning would be your FD setup. If you have a braze-on FD, make sure the hanger can get the FD low enough to shift properly or your small ring will be useless.*


I hadn't thought of this before, but it's definitely a concern.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Lombard said:


> I hadn't thought of this before, but it's definitely a concern.


A couple of solutions. Open the PDF file in the Sugino link to see attachment.

https://www.suginoltd.co.jp/us/products/accessory/smallParts.html#pnH4MT-OX

https://wickwerks.com/products/fit-link-adapter/


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

velodog said:


> A couple of solutions. Open the PDF file in the Sugino link to see attachment.
> 
> https://www.suginoltd.co.jp/us/products/accessory/smallParts.html#pnH4MT-OX
> 
> https://wickwerks.com/products/fit-link-adapter/


Possible solution!


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

I swapped out the 50t ring for a Stronglight 46t to make a 46/34. It works great for me. It’s relatively flat where I live so I don’t spin out on long descents. I just get more out of the big ring.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## n2deep (Mar 23, 2014)

Finx said:


> I'm not sure how this helps with gearing. The absolute black chainrings are only available in the stock sizes (50t or 52t big and 34t, 36t and 38t small).


See https://absoluteblack.cc/oval-road-chainrings-30-46-and-32-48-for-110-4bcd/

46/30 and 48/32's are available..


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Lombard said:


> Possible solution!


Yeah, a 46 tooth chainring may not be small enough to clear the derailleur mounted under the braze on. It would be worth a try. I keep those bookmarked in case I need to try. The Wickwerks says 41 tooth so it would have to take a work around if one could be found.

But this is why I've decided that I like clamp on front derailleurs myself.

Addendum 

I just looked at the Sugino PDF file again and it actually looks like it would work well. The screw that mounts the derailleur to the bracket is recessed which would allow the bracket to be mounted higher on the braze on which would allow the derailleur to mount higher than the bottom of the braze on. I'm going to replace my 52 tooth chainring with a 50 on my DeRosa and if the derailleur won't get low enough without having to file out the slot I'm going to try one of the Sugino adapters.

The Wickwerks adapter doesn't look to have that adaptability.


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## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

It looks like the absoluteblack is compatible with 4 bolt shimano, and not 5 bolt sram, which is what I have. I would need a new crank. I am thinking FSA carbon. I have been using the bicycle gear calculator, it is really nice. 46x12 @ 100 rpm=30mph. Only time I can do that is downhill. My FD is a clamp- on so it can be lowered. either 46/30 or 48/32 would work I think, can't make up my mind. I'm old, so easier is probably better, I hope to keep my strength up, but we know how it is.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

Charlie the Unicorn said:


> you'll run out of gears with 46-11 combo


46/11 is 36 mph (58 km/hr) at 110 rpm. On most descents at that speed you would go just as fast or faster in a tight tuck. 

It just depends on your trade-off priorities. A 1-2 mph increase on high-speed downhills or more comfort for the much longer time spent climbing.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Lombard said:


> Possible solution!





velodog said:


> Yeah, a 46 tooth chainring may not be small enough to clear the derailleur mounted under the braze on. It would be worth a try. I keep those bookmarked in case I need to try. The Wickwerks says 41 tooth so it would have to take a work around if one could be found.
> 
> But this is why I've decided that I like clamp on front derailleurs myself.
> 
> ...


I found this photo of the Sugino in use. It's mighty pricy, but rather spend a few bucks than modify a high end frame.


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## P90Puma (Oct 22, 2014)

FSA has a few options now in the "modular" series ranging from the top end kforce to some omega stuff. 

I have a 48/32 (with additional 30t ring) coming in the kforce series to put on a dura-ace 9150 build.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

P90Puma said:


> FSA has a few options now in the "modular" series ranging from the top end kforce to some omega stuff.
> 
> I have a 48/32 (with additional 30t ring) coming in the kforce series to put on a dura-ace 9150 build.


Running the FSA SLK 46/30 on my gravel rig. Nice cranks, very light. BB386EVO has room for Di2 wiring in a threaded BB shell. Win, win, win, win.


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