As a keen MTB’er who loves using his granny ring I’m unsure which cassette to go for on my new road bike, do I go for an 11-32 or a 12-25? I’m not sure why you’d choose the 12-25 as you can have your cake and eat it with the 11-32. Both options come with a 54-34 front end. Any comments?

54-34? you sure? I’ll assume you mean 50-34

I’d prefer the 12-25. 11-32 will have bigger steps between the gears which can be a pain when riding on the road. Obviously what suits you will depend on what you ride, style, fitness, etc.

What he said. It’s a road bike, not an mtb.

I’d go with 12-27 or 11-28. Chances of it coming with 34/54 up front are pretty much zero though.

It’s a very personal thing.
I’d never use anything wider than 12-25
And prefer 12-23 or even 11-21

But that’s just me

11-32 would need a mtb mech

up to 28ish works OK though

(wot they said – if it’s a compact chainset it’ll be 50/34)

Thanks guys, just checked, you’re all correct 34-50 up front

Some of the lastest road mechs will
Work up to 32 t but not all

34-50 and 11-32 would be a big stretch in capacity. You’d have to be careful not to use certain combinations I’d have thought

32 on a compact? Youll be reet with a 25,im sure.

Very personal choice based on fitness and what kind of hills you ride. I had 12-25 originally but changed to a 12-27 for the Fred Whitton ride. Those two teeth make quite a difference!

Unless you are frequently riding steep stuff (more than 15%) then 12-25 should suffice, but again it’s very much a personal choice.

You will get the usuall willy wavers saying how nothing less that 53-11 biggest gear and all that utter push. Personally I have an 11-28 with compact front. That was on the bike when I got it, when I change then it’s a 12-28 or 12-27. You can spin a 50×12 at 40mph, and I don’t see many on here doing that on the flat.

Be awar that not all rear mechs will take a 32 big cog.

My preference for a close block is more about liking just a small step in each cog
But it’s it’s not often I go up hills that need a granny ring

If I was somwhere proper hilly it would be differant
But a compact and 32 rear block is a very low gear unless your touring

11-27 or 11-25

You haven’t said where / what type of riding you are doing, if hilly, then a 11-28 or 12-30 makes sense, as you have low gears, and the ratios aren’t too spread out, also you can use a short cage mech, a 11-32 gives an even lower gear but will require a GS mech and has some big jumps in the ratios; unless you are going up really steep inclines, carrying excess weigh, would leave this for tourers.

If flat land riding, a 11-25 /12-25 or 12-27 make more sense as they have closer ratios, and will give a nice smooth transition in the ride.

12-27 is my preference with some decent hills around here, could get away with a 25 but would be out of the saddle more and already get back wheel slipping on some of the climbs. An 11 is pretty pointless unless you’re racing and even then it’s not essential (assuming you can keep up a better cadence than Bert Grabsch)

12-27 is my preference with some decent hills around here, could get away with a 25 but would be out of the saddle more and already get back wheel slipping on some of the climbs.

Better tyres required. Must admit the one time I used a cheap winter tyre it was utter toss, span all over the shop. Decent tyres and it never happens.

12-25 & you’ll be fine.
I run a 50/34 & a 12-27 when I’m going to the Alps, Pyrenees etc. other than that I stick to the 25 as I don’t like the big gaps between the gears, leaves you hunting to find the right one.

Look at 12-25 and 12-27 9-speed carefully.

Ultegra 6500 9-sp 219g 12-13-14-15-[17-19]-[21-23-25]
Ultegra 6500 9-sp 227g 12-13-14-15-[17-19]-[21-24-27]

Only diffrence is at the 23+25 or 24+27.

I would go for the 27T and enjoy the flexibility.

PaulD

I’ve a compact and 12-27, it’s fine. I’ve got a spare 11-25 for when I’m living down south and the biggest hills are the surrey ‘hills’, or chiltern ‘hills’, neither of which really justify the title!

Were you to do 50/34 and a 11/32 on a road bike, you will also have to make sure you wear clown shorts and have a peak in on your helmet 😉 😆

Unless you have spaghetti legs and live at the bottom of cliffs / the Alps, 50/34 and up to a 28 should be more than sufficient for most of the UK.

All personal preference of course

Plenty of decent hills in the Surrey Hills, not long I’ll admit, but plenty of steep stuff, which is where the low gears are useful after all!

Plenty of decent hills in the Surrey Hills, not long I’ll admit, but plenty of steep stuff, which is where the low gears are useful after all!

They see me trollllinnnnnnnnnn……..they hateinnnnnnnn 😛

I see your Box (mole) Hill and raise you Rossendale Chimney.

double post glitch

i’m a scrawny pathetic weakling.

i found a 34-25 a bit much on the steeper hills of the peak district, especially with tired legs, so now i’ve got a 28t cassette – it’s just a little bit easier.

if you’re more scrawny and pathetic than i am, AND live somewhere hillier than the peak district, then you MAY need something easier than 34-28

i doubt this will be the case…

I see your Box (mole) Hill and raise you Rossendale Chimney.

Box Hill is not one of the climbs I was thinking. I can comfortably ride that in (53t) big ring in the saddle, it’s a nice gradient, but tough it certainly isn’t!

Steepest climb I can see around Rossendale that’s of a decent length is this one, 1.2 miles, 6.2%, couple of bits at 12%.

This one is 0.9 miles at 9%, with a fair few sections over 20%.

Just sayin like, snot all flat here.

Better tyres required. Must admit the one time I used a cheap winter tyre it was utter toss, span all over the shop. Decent tyres and it never happens.

Not really (I use Ultremo ZX’s or Conti GP4seasons), mostly it’s case of the rider not getting the weight distribution right but leaves/bit of mud etc. can be a PITA on a steep climb (15%+) so if I know the road is a bit crap I prefer to try and stay sat down but know I’d struggle doing that on a 25 a lot of the time

Fair enough! I know when I used Hutchinson Equinox (I think they were) I could spin the back in the dry, was ridiculously annoying! Not had it on GP 4 Seasons, even in the wet, so yes, perhaps weight distribution issues going on!

http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?col=Rosedale-Chimney-Bank&qryMountainID=8699

Average: 11.9 %
Length: 1.47 km
Height start: 137 m
Height top: 312 m
Gradient: 175 m
Maximum: 33 %

Almost certainly the steepest section of road in Britain, Rosedale Chimney Bank is often included in the Tour of Britain as it is a true 1 in 3 climb at one point…………a very steep second corner and unforgiving section after it. The climb then relents to about 20% before easing off to the top

Anything that ends with “eases to about 20%” wins the steep hill argument 😛

Beastly! Still plenty of decent climbs down here though, which was the point, Box Hill just isn’t one of them!

Edit: out of interest I looked at the toughest in the UK on that ‘climbbybike’ website – it reckons “Fish Hill” in Berkshire (although it actually seems to be Worcestershire) is 23.4% for 2.7km, shirley not?

If your a “keen mtber” as stated in your first post, you have a decent level of fitness already?

At that point, I’d go 11-25 for the tighter spacing. Road bikes are supposed to be fast, not easy. Unless you live in the lakes or wales, that will be more than low enough to deal with the odd 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. Working harder in a higher gear will do your mtbing fitness no end of good too.

I’m another “scrawny pathetic weakling” – 5’10” and 10stone and can just about cope with 53/39 and 12-25 in the Peaks. I can get up everything, but spend far more time standing than I should. A lower gear would probably be more efficient, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… If I ever decide to take the roadie to some proper mountains i’ll be investing in some lower gears though!

Had the same dilemma quite recently when switching to a compact for the first time. In the end I went 11-23 but as everyone says it depends upon how powerful you are. In the future when power meters come as standard on high end bikes, perhaps manufacturers will start to recommend cassettes according to an individual’s functional threshold power – would make a lot more sense.
njee – thanks for the info re:climbbybike 🙂

In the future when power meters come as standard on high end bikes, perhaps manufacturers will start to recommend cassettes according to an individual’s functional threshold power – would make a lot more sense.

Even if you had that information it’ll depend on your riding style anyway, things are never straightforward, nice to have the choice!

njee – thanks for the info re:climbbybike

TINAS linked to it, first time I’ve seen it! Interesting, if of dubious accuracy!

Fish hill is ‘only’ about 200m, someones got fr and m mixed up by the looks of it, the sumit might be 920ft above sea level rahter than 920m from bottom to top?

The chimney really is as steep as it describes though, and the cattle grid is an absolute f***er

The notion that wide ratio cassettes are not for road bikes seems to be peculiarly British one – continentals gear their bikes down for hill/ mountain riding, even the pros. If you can’t get up the hills near you on a 34/25 then there’s your answer.

As for top end, 50/11 is more than enough for everyone except Cav.

I am holidaying near honiton in Devon and riding an 11-32 (should have been 12-34 but the seller sent the wrong item) and the 32 is useful for when you have been climbing for ages and then come up to a 20 precenter. Allows you to sit and spin the 32 where you would normally be standing in the 28, and if you are knackered then the variety is good.

The new midcage shimano mechs work fine with that cassette.

The notion that wide ratio cassettes are not for road bikes seems to be peculiarly British one – continentals gear their bikes down for hill/ mountain riding, even the pros. If you can’t get up the hills near you on a 34/25 then there’s your answer.

You missed the important point that…….

UK Hill

Continental Hill

As for top end, 50/11 is more than enough for everyone except Cav.

Wrong, 50×14 is probably enough for most. 50×12 if you are a cat1 rider. 50×11 is just for pub talk. 😉

You missed the important point that…….

You missed the important point that UK hills are often much steeper than Alpine climbs. They are of course much shorter, which is such an obvious point that I didn’t think it needed to be said. If you can’t get up them with your existing setup then change it, and ignore the tragic people.

Wrong, 50×14 is probably enough for most. 50×12 if you are a cat1 rider. 50×11 is just for pub talk.

I said that “50×11 is more than enough”.

Wrong, 50×14 is probably enough for most. 50×12 if you are a cat1 rider. 50×11 is just for pub talk.

Really? 50/14 at 90rpm is only 25mph, I’d certainly not want to be in top gear at that point and starting to spin! Up to 30 is nice for those times when you’ve got a tailwind!