Hi

I have a newish (to me) CX bike which is rapidly becoming my most ridden bike
At least while the trails are dusty anyway……

The biggie for me is that Im just not 100% happy with the gearing
Its running a 46/36 FSA Energy crank, CX70 front mech with a 28/12 cassette and 105 rear mech

This is fine apart from super tough climbs, and Im wondering what to change

I have 28/12 on my road bike with a compact which is perfect but would rather not splurge on a new chainset, currently thinking of just swapping rings but Im not sure if that would open up a world of pain with front mech trimming, and finally have found some cheapish 105 30T cassettes which is prob my preferred option

What do the rest of you do?
46/36 is fine for racing but not ideal on a 20% climb

And before anyone suggests Ive been “rule 5-ing” for a while and its just not working for me 🙂

36 is only two teeth up from a compact, you sure you can’t live with that?

I like parts that I can swap between CX/MTB bikes, so to my shame I have a 50/34 with a 11-34 XT cassette on the back.

I have mtb triple set ups on both cross bikes as they get used in the 3 peaks and need the low gears .Normal racing though I plod through the mud on the middle ring usually because the crap stops selection of the outer ring

Edric 64 – Member
I have mtb triple set ups on both cross bikes

assuming from what said not a cx racing question more a cx as in a hybrid with drops 8) like Edric 64 above i run an mtb triple albeit the XT touring front which is 48/36/26 with a 12-32 and 32mm tyres or 11-28 with 25mm all very against the rules but you can ride hills all day long and 1 in 4’s are fine – did a 1 in 2.5 the other day

did i see the latest ultrega has a 34 cassette option? might make me change in future as STI’s and XT work but front shifting isn’t perfect all the time

edit just re read OP and says some racing hard to get best both worlds

Can you swap the 36 for a 34. Shouldnt affect front mech trimming, the 105 might struggle with a 30t cassette.

36/46 is tradtional CX racing gearing. Problem is that it’s super close ratio and not great for general riding.

My CX bike (which was specifically set up for trail riding and for the Three Peaks CX (I don’t do normal CX racing!) has a 34/48 chainset with a 12-28 9sp cassette. I swap that for a 12-34 9sp MTB cassette when I do the Three Peaks. It’s running Ultegra STI and a short cage XTR rear mech which can cope with the 34T.

With newer 10sp stuff, I don’t think the MTB and road stuff is interchangeable so your options are probably more limited.

You might squeeze a 12-30 cassette in there without changing the rear mech but otherwise, swapping the chainset (or maybe just the inner ring) is about your only choice. Unless you get a long cage mech and a 12-32 or 12-34 MTB cassette.

Kind of need to divide racing from general riding. If you’re racing and can’t climb with a 36/28 you’d be better off running. I’ve always managed with a compact 34/44 and a 12/28. That should be sufficient for 99.9% cases