Hello,

Any gear gurus able to tell me if a 10 speed setup of 11-28 cassette with a 39/53 will give a similar range to a 10 speed compact setup of 11-25 cassette with a 34/50 please?

Thanks 🙂

Sheldon Brown website has a calculator on it.

Just by inspection 50×11 will be a lower top end than 53×11.

The bottom ratios (34:25 or 39:28) are almost identical. As above, you’ll lose the top end on the smaller chain set and the gap is bigger between the two front sprockets. Whether you’ll need a 53t front ring depends how hard you like to pedal down hills.

So I’d go for the 11-28 and 39/53 option.

53/11 = 4.81
50/11 = 4.54

so 53/11 is about 6% harder.

39/28 = 1.39
34/25 = 1.36

so 34/25 is about 2% easier.

The gap between two consecutive sprockets is usually between about 6% and 15%, so not a lot in it.

If you’re talking 10spd Shimano, remember there’s a 12-30 cassette option in both Tiagra and Ultegra groupsets too, which means you could have an easier bottom gear than with a compact and an 11-25 cassette!

I like going fast, but also like climbing hills. Would the 12-30 be the best option with the 39/50 then?

going from 11 to 12 has a pretty big impact
working in gear inches

50-12 110.0
50-11 119.7

so cadence had to be 10% higher to maintain same speed
for comparison

compact
50-11 119.7
34-25 35.8

53-11 126.8
39-28 36.8
39-30 34.2

depends on hills and fitness stating the obvious – a lot of fit roadies don’t use compacts but think 10% is steep

I like this calculator http://www.bikecalc.com/cadence_at_speed if you know what sort of cadence you do before spinning out and the slowest you can tolerate climbing at it helps

Low gears are about the same. I race on 50/34 and 11/23. I also race ob 52/39 and 12/25 (and 11/23). The top gear is the same as 52/12 and I can’t say that, even sprinting, I’m really needing more high gears. The 12/28 and 12/30 blocks have one big jump middle and I noticed it when I raced with the compact. Personally, for general riding, lower gears are better. If it is going to be lumpy, go with compact and learn to spin properly.

11 speed ‘mid’ compact an option, 52/36 with an 11-25 or 28?

Unless you realy want that 53/11 which is a pretty tall gear for us mortals, ( honestly you’ll only spin it out on few British roads) I’d go for the compact with the 25/11. You get closer gears which for me anyway make for a more enjoyable ride.

Unless you realy want that 53/11 which is a pretty tall gear for us mortals, ( honestly you’ll only spin it out on few British roads)

…and if you’re not a pro roadie, the chances are you’d be faster tucking once you’ve spun out 53/12

I’d stick with compact chainrings and opt for 11-25.
To be honest if you like heading out for the hills I’d consider opting for a cassette with a little more range, perhaps something with a 26/27.
Climbs in the UK (or at least my area) tend to be short and sharp, nothing worse than hitting a sharp climb deep into a ride when your legs go tired and not being able to spin a decent cadence, it’s a recipe for knee pain.

Thank for all of the replies guys 🙂 I’ve just notices that Shimano now do a 36/52 which may be a happier middle ground, anyone used this ration at all?

I use 50/36 with 11-23, gets me up pretty much anything and isn’t too far away from a standard in terms of gear inches.

I put a 12-27 on the back for the Alps, which helped on the longer stuff.

I’d happily go 52/36 and 25 on the back, maybe even a 28 if I was going to spend time in the mountains again.

Think the 11 nay not be worth it with a 52, depends on what you’re sacrificing for it?

Basically I would like a bit more top end speed for sprints, I’m currently finding that with 50-11 I’m having to up the cadence dramatically for the higher top end. Does anyone know if the newer 6800 Ultegra chain sets are backwards comparable with 10 speed systems?

I run a 50/34 compact up front and 11-28 out back, there’s a bit of a gap in te middle but nothing too worry about too much. I don’t race and rather like to spin up climbs as opposed to busting my guy for the sake of a bigger crank set