# Anyone riding a 52/36 + 11-32 Cassette?



## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

Hey guys
I have 52/36 with 11-28 cassette and was torn between which to replace to tackle some nasty hills here in Thailand .. Long story but I've got an 11-32 cassette and going to try it with the semi compact...
Does anyone ride this? Is there much difference to an 11-28 in the middle cogs? I read changing gear from 28 into the 32 is a bit of a clunker?
I could always get compact chainrings later when I've saved money (oval rings when i start laying diamonds) ... I'm new to cycling.. It seems I do need to start laying diamond eggs quite soon!


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

If you live in a hilly area, 52/36 doesn't make much sense.

What drivetrain do you have? Need to know the capacity of your RD to know if you can run 52/36 + 11-32 . That's a 37T capacity. Which can technically be done with Shimano 11sp *with GS RD*.


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## Herbie (Nov 12, 2010)

I used to run 11-25 cassettes with a 53/39 standard crank. I ordered a 11-28 by mistake, but put in on. I found I liked it and have continued using this combination 

I should note that I started riding in the true 10 speed day where 2 and sometimes 3 tooth gaps were not uncommon. You just had to know when to make a double shift to get the right gear inches.

The gaps have not bothered me


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

tlg said:


> If you live in a hilly area, 52/36 doesn't make much sense.
> 
> What drivetrain do you have? Need to know the capacity of your RD to know if you can run 52/36 + 11-32 . That's a 37T capacity. Which can technically be done with Shimano 11sp *with GS RD*.


It was on the bike when I bought it secondhand, and I heard most new bikes are fitted with a semi-compact chainset? It's an 11-speed shimano 105 rear that I've swapped for a medium cage Ultegra derailleur to ensure clearance for the 32t rear cog


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

Ok good to know the gaps haven't bothered you.. I think some gears in an 11-speed 11-28 are too close together in the middle.. having a bigger gap at the point I most need an earlier great could be very welcome to me!


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

It's reasonable if you live in an area with steep hills but also long flats or gradual downhills (-1 to 2%). You should be fine with the Long-cage Ultegra RD. FWIW, SRAM makes an 11-32 that is more evenly spaced near the big end. The 28 to 32 is a big jump up or down, but as it's mainly a bail-out gear, maybe not a big deal. For long/steep climbs I'm currently running a 9100 RD with an 11-30 cassette. The 36x30 is a tiny bit lower than the 34-28 of a standard compact set-up, and I still have a higher top gear (52x11). All you "you don't need a 52x11 (or 53x11) unless you're a pro" types can save your breath. I use it, often. YMMV.


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

OldChipper said:


> It's reasonable if you live in an area with steep hills but also long flats or gradual downhills (-1 to 2%)... The 32 is.. mainly a bail-out gear, maybe not a big deal.


I need that 32 on some climbs here! 


OldChipper said:


> I still have a higher top gear (52x11)... I use it, often. YMMV.


Yeah me too - even if for short bursts. 
Good to see you're experimenting a bit with gearing too, and that there are more options around. I might switch my front chain rings at some point to compact, but will see how this feels. I did think the gearing mid-cassette was too close together before, so fingers crossed
Thanks


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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

I have exactly that combo, in 6800 Ultegra with GS RD, and it's great, for me anyway. I live in a hilly area but I use 52/11 every ride on flats/slight downhills as said above. I don't find the 28/32 gap to be an issue, as the 32 is like a get out of jail card and isn't used often - but is very welcome on the odd occasion it is needed.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

From Mike Sherman's Gear Calculator. (here's your 11-32 and 36-52 setup link.)

11-32 and 36/52, at typical flat road cadences.









With 34/50 chain rings:









The 52 chainring is about .5 mph faster at 18 mph at the same cadence. *So it's just moving all the shift points up about half of a shift. *

The 36/52 is kind of nice, I could stay in the small chainring up past 20 mph and have good shift points. (I would avoid the 36-11, but the 36-12 is okay to use.)


The tradeoff is these wide range 11-32 cassettes have bigger gaps between shifts in the middle. 

For example, I'm always looking for close shifts in the 18 to 23 mph range, where I'm working hard to keep up with a fast-for-me group ride. If the gaps are large, like these 20-18-16 cogs, I'm always hunting for the best cadence, shifting up and down. But the 32 cog is great for longer steep climbs.

*Sram 11-28 and 34/50*
Compare to the Sram 11-28 (which has closer spacing in the smaller cogs than a Shimano 11-28). Those 17-16-15 cogs are much closer together at the 20-23 mph range. (Shimano 11-28 has close shifts in the 15-20 mph range instead of the 20-25 mph range.)


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

MarkOneToo said:


> Ok good to know the gaps haven't bothered you.. I think some gears in an 11-speed 11-28 are too close together in the middle.. having a bigger gap at the point I most need an earlier great could be very welcome to me!


Gaps on my 11-32T cassette didn't bother me when it was on a 9-speed cassette. They certainly don't bother me on an 11-speed cassette. The 32T cog becomes very welcome on steep hills. Try the 11-32T cassette with your existing 52/36 crankset and see if that helps. If you need more hill climbing help than that, you can go to a full compact 50/34, but it will cost you a lot more than the cassette did.


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## bikerector (Oct 31, 2012)

I use 36/52 with an mtb 11-32 (cog spacing favors bigger rear cogs vs closer gaps on smaller cogs) on my gravel race bike. I found it gives me a lot of range for grinding up some of the short, steep hills but still plenty of top end when we get out onto the pavement and especially when with a group and there's a tailwind. 

I'm rarely in the 52x11 and would have no problems with a 50t big ring but for some reason I never got on with a 34/50 chainset, 36/50 would be perfect with an 11-32 cassette IMO. Not sure why but the 34/50 always seemed to give me problems when approaching a cross-chain scenario with the chain rubbing the big ring but going to the big ring would result in a cross chain in the opposite. This was when I did a compact and 11-25 so the extra few bigger cassette cogs would probably fix that but I just haven't gone back to try honestly, haven't worn out the 36/52 rings yet but I do like it a lot more than the cx rings I was running for gravel racing before. 46t is just too small for fast downhills or tailwinds and I was always in the littler cassette cogs when using the bike for road group rides. A compact or semi-compact seem much more versatile.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

bikerector said:


> Not sure why but the 34/50 always seemed to give me problems when approaching a cross-chain scenario with the chain rubbing the big ring but going to the big ring would result in a cross chain in the opposite.


It's actually the front derailleur that the chain is rubbing, not the other ring.

The solution is simple. Don't cross chain!


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

rm -rf said:


> The 36/52 is kind of nice, I could stay in the small chainring up past 20 mph and have good shift points. (I would avoid the 36-11, but the 36-12 is okay to use.)
> 
> 
> ....... If the gaps are large, like these 20-18-16 cogs, I'm always hunting for the best cadence, shifting up and down. But the 32 cog is great for longer steep climbs.
> ...


Great answer thank you, very informative. Yes I agree the sram would be a better choice of 11-28, and I was also struggling to find the right gear in group ride (falling between two).. However, it by myself today, I thought the middle cog on the 52 (about as technical as I get at this point) felt much more suitable - and got home to see if say a pr and two 2nds on strava without really trying - and with a rucksack on! So I'm hoping this set up will serve me well for some time (so I can get better wheels instead of chain rings!) 
Thanks again


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

rm -rf said:


> Try the 11-32T cassette with your existing 52/36 crankset and see if that helps. If you need more hill climbing help than that, you can go to a full compact 50/34, but it will cost you a lot more than the cassette did.


Tried today thanks (gentle climbs and flat) and it felt great. Bike shop guy warned me against putting power down while in 52-32 or 28 though as the spring/dr is quite extended. I wouldn't usually use them anyway though


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

riccardo123 said:


> I have exactly that combo, in 6800 Ultegra with GS RD, and it's great, for me anyway..


 what's GS? I also have 6800 Ultegra rd but 105 front (with cannondale Si /fsa chainset!) 

I'm looking it already, but not tried steepness yet. I was warned not to ride 52 to 32 or 28 (rd straight down and could overstretch?) ..but I wouldn't want to cross chain anyway... Right?


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

MarkOneToo said:


> what's GS? I also have 6800 Ultegra rd but 105 front (with cannondale Si /fsa chainset!)


GS is what Shimano calls their mid-cage rear derailleurs. SS is the short-cage version. It's not stated on the derailleur, just on the box. Your Ultegra is a GS, so you're golden there.



MarkOneToo said:


> I'm looking it already, but not tried steepness yet. I was warned not to ride 52 to 32 or 28 (rd straight down and could overstretch?) ..but I wouldn't want to cross chain anyway... Right?


Cross chaining is generally not a good practice. In an extreme case, if your chain isn't long enough for your large/large combo, the chain can bind and rip your derailleur off along with part of your bike frame. Not good to say the least. 

The small/small combo is OK as long as you don't hear any chattering. If you do, that's the sound of your chain rubbing your front derailleur. If you do this enough, you will wear a groove in your front derailleur.


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## MarkOneToo (Apr 6, 2017)

riccardo123 said:


> GS is what Shimano calls their mid-cage rear derailleurs. .. Your Ultegra is a GS, so you're golden there.
> 
> 
> 
> Cross chaining... In an extreme case, if your chain isn't long enough for your large/large combo, the chain can bind and rip your derailleur off along with part of your bike frame. Not good to say the least.


 not good at all! 

Yes it's a gs then thanks


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## bikerector (Oct 31, 2012)

Lombard said:


> It's actually the front derailleur that the chain is rubbing, not the other ring.
> 
> The solution is simple. Don't cross chain!


It's simple except for the fact that there are less cross-over gears in a compact than a chainset with less teeth difference. It always seemed like the right gear was either high up the cassette in the big ring or at the bottom of the cassette in the little ring. As mentioned, I'm sure an 11-28 would have made that better, an 11-32 even more so, but I never cared for the 34/50 with an 11-25/26


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## Brock4 (Apr 19, 2017)

Is anyone riding 53/39 with 11-32 cassette? Is that even possible? 


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

> Is anyone riding 53/39 with 11-32 cassette? Is that even possible?


Why wouldn't it be possible? As long as your rear derailleur can handle a 32-tooth cog, and the cage can wrap the 35-tooth capacity (most medium-cage, all long-), then there's no problem.


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## harryman (Nov 14, 2014)

I'm riding a 50/34 with 11/32, I've run 11/36 in the past with an XTR der. No issues.


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## Brock4 (Apr 19, 2017)

JCavilia said:


> Why wouldn't it be possible? As long as your rear derailleur can handle a 32-tooth cog, and the cage can wrap the 35-tooth capacity (most medium-cage, all long-), then there's no problem.


Ok so if I'm running 10 speed sram red with 53/39 all I need is a wifli RD and it should work? Also will I need a chain that's longer than 116 Links? 


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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

I'm also interested to know whether chain length is an issue, for a different reason. I want to swap a 42t chainring for a 48t on my son's MTB, can I do this without worrying about the chain? He has a low spec Suntour crank and Tourney derailleurs front and rear. I appreciate it's a little off topic but I don't want to join an MTB forum just to ask that...


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

> I want to swap a 42t chainring for a 48t on my son's MTB, can I do this without worrying about the chain?


Depends. You have to pay attention to it, if that's what you mean by "worry" and "issue." If the chain is presently sized at the minimum length to shift safely to the big-big combination, you will probably need a longer chain. It's easy enough to figure (there are lots of threads discussing the various chain-sizing methods). At most you'd need 2 additional links, I think.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

If you need a pizza sized gear in the back you should be on compact. It's like saying your stronger than everyone on the straights but need tons of assistance on ascents. It doesn't make a great deal of sense to me.


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## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

Trek_5200 said:


> If you need a pizza sized gear in the back you should be on compact. It's like saying your stronger than everyone on the straights but need tons of assistance on ascents. It doesn't make a great deal of sense to me.


Isn't that what you ride? 53/39 with 12-*25T* LOL!


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

Keoki said:


> Isn't that what you ride? 53/39 with 12-*25T* LOL!



The comment was in reference to riding with a 53-39 with a 32 cog in the back which is something I do not do nor ever have. Its crazy in my book. And while my Trek had 53-39 with 12-25 my current configuration on my C-59 is 52-36 with 11-28. Been doing Cat-1 & HC climbs and anything more aggressive would be suicide.


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## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

Trek_5200 said:


> The comment was in reference to riding with a 53-39 with a 32 cog in the back which is something I do not do nor ever have. Its crazy in my book. And while my Trek had 53-39 with 12-25 my current configuration on my C-59 is 52-36 with 11-28. Been doing Cat-1 & HC climbs and anything more aggressive would be suicide.


So you went from a dinner plate to larger dinner plate..... LOL!!!


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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

*Thanks*



JCavilia said:


> Depends. You have to pay attention to it, if that's what you mean by "worry" and "issue." If the chain is presently sized at the minimum length to shift safely to the big-big combination, you will probably need a longer chain. It's easy enough to figure (there are lots of threads discussing the various chain-sizing methods). At most you'd need 2 additional links, I think.


Well I searched up chain sizing, and ran into a 6 year old catfight! I think I got the info I need, but I'm not sure I know enough to judge if it's safe just by looking at it on the stand. I don't want my son to be my "lab rat" either!


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## Brock4 (Apr 19, 2017)

riccardo123

Seriously! This forum is bullshit! Every thread I've ever read is full of people just shoving their opinion down each other's throat! Why can't anyone ask a question here without being harassed? 
I'm out! 



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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

The forum is, however, full of people who know lots more than I do about bikes and bike maintenance. If one or two of them are sociopaths then I find it best just to let it wash over me 😎


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

riccardo123 said:


> Well I searched up chain sizing, and ran into a 6 year old catfight! I think I got the info I need, but I'm not sure I know enough to judge if it's safe just by looking at it on the stand. I don't want my son to be my "lab rat" either!


Not really complicated or dangerous in this case. Here's your simple experiment: Put on the new, larger ring, with the existing chain. On the stand, shift onto the big ring, with the rear in a middle cog. Shift to larger cogs, one at a time, gently, paying attention. When you go to shift to the largest cog, if it shifts onto it smoothly, without the derailleur cage being stretched all the way forward with no spring slack left, the chain is long enough. Shift it a few more times, at a more normal pace, to make sure there's no jamming or resistance. If it works, it works. 

If the derailleur cage runs out of slack when you try to shift to the largest cog, you need to make the chain longer by a link or two.

That's it.

I don't know what the heck Brock4 is reacting to. I didn't notice anyone harassing you.

;-)


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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

No one has harassed me here on this thread. I've never really felt harassed on this forum, although there are some rude folk on here for sure. I'm guessing Brock4 found the same (old) fight that I did when searching?

Anyway, thanks again for your help 😊


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Some people here are just way too sensitive. I learned long time ago to wear my Nomex underwear in here.


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## dcb (Jul 21, 2008)

disc brakes, chain lube and gearing = :mad5:

not sure why but that's how any thread on any of those topics turns out. This ones pretty tame actually. 

Brock - you could also run a Sram mountain rear derailleur. No real advantage except that it could be cheaper and If you like getting off of paved roads you'd have a little less chain slappage as well. I've run a X0 rear der. with Force 10 speed shifters for several years on one of my cross bikes.


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## harryman (Nov 14, 2014)

I'll just leave this here for those with road ders that might want to run a bigger cassette without breaking the bank.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/cassette-cogs/products/roadlink


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