Has anyone changed the cassette to increase gear range?

[NadiainLA]

I am finding that I cannot climb hills like I can on an upright. I realized that the v20 simply has fewer gears, so, on a hope and a hunch, I got a Zitto 11-36 cassette. Sadly, the derailleur isn't large enough to accommodate this. I have ordered a Road Link to see if that will offer enough to use the current derailleur, and asked my bike shop if they can recommend a larger derailleur if it does not.

Has anyone else found they cannot climb on a v20 the way they can on an upright? Has anyone else changed the gearing? I know that, even if I get a new derailleur for the new cassette, I may have to then mess with the shifters- but I am hoping it means skipping some gear combinations rather than actually buying new shifters. Thoughts/ tips/ solutions are so appreciated!

 

[Robert Volk]

Good question, I’ve looked into this quite a bit, there’s a few options, 32 is the max as is, The only other option I found was to go with srams electronic 12 sp shifting, however the frame won’t fit the flat mount calipers, As the v20 frame are a post mount only, sram only offers the flat mount unless you go red…. No thx. There are some hacks if you google ‘dropbar mullet’, but nothing I was willing to try…..1x11 opens up possibilities , but all of these options require new shifters it seems. Post if you find a solution you like

 

[LarryOz]

You can also just put a slightly smaller small ring on the front.

 

[Don1]

I run 11-36 using medium cage rear derailleur. Need to adjust b screw. Climbs ok. It's just different how you manage your power and cadence. Remember it took a while for you to learn to climb on a df, so allow some time for your body to adapt

 

[super slim]

You can also just put a slightly smaller small ring on the front.

Install a Shimano triple 24/39/53 crankset, to get the best of both worlds!!!!

 

[Frito Bandito]

As you know, a longer derailleur cage is required to fit that bigger cassette. With that said, and without considering getting your "bent" legs, DF riders switching to recumbents almost always have a lower power output on a bent, which of course makes climbing more difficult. I don't climb nearly as much on my V20 as some of the Billy Goats do on here, and even though my FTP is creeping up a little it is important to focus on just taking your lumps in the climbs knowing that on the descents and flats the V20 is going to make up for it.

 

[jond]

The vendetta like all cruzbikes uses standard road bike groupsets. As such it has the same potential gearing as any road bike. Mixing is common amongst the ten speed crown. Sram road brifter with sram mtb long cage and 11-36 or 11-40 cassette. 53-39. Or 50-34.

cruzbikes climb extremely well limited by rider skill set and balance. And finally wheel slippage up a cliff.

 

[twhbent]

I am finding that I cannot climb hills like I can on an upright. I realized that the v20 simply has fewer gears, so, on a hope and a hunch, I got a Zitto 11-36 cassette. Sadly, the derailleur isn't large enough to accommodate this. I have ordered a Road Link to see if that will offer enough to use the current derailleur, and asked my bike shop if they can recommend a larger derailleur if it does not.

Has anyone else found they cannot climb on a v20 the way they can on an upright? Has anyone else changed the gearing? I know that, even if I get a new derailleur for the new cassette, I may have to then mess with the shifters- but I am hoping it means skipping some gear combinations rather than actually buying new shifters. Thoughts/ tips/ solutions are so appreciated!

I have the V 2.o(I believe) version of Vendetta.
I'm no speedster/racer and find myself not using the highest couple gears of the gear range much. So I prefer to have more lower speed gearing.
My current setup is a 52/36 Rotor Q-Ring with a 11/42 sram cassette, sram x9 long cage rear derailleur and sram force 22 yaw front derailleur.
The shifting works great.
I'm in the process of switching the cranks out to 50/34 Rotor Q-Rings(upon arrival, held up in customs) and then try the Praxis 48/32 crankset.
Living in Central Illinois the 52/36 if fine. But for riding in Colorado,Wyoming,Iowa, and S.Dakota I find that the lower gearing is more beneficial so I will switch to the 50/34 or 48/32 for those rides.
I climb ok with the current setup but at times some more lower gearing would be beneficial for me. Would rather have and not need than need and not have.
I go plenty fast enough down hill/mountains just coasting.

 

[Robert Holler]

Triples will not work with the front end unless it is a specific one that is heavily modified (not worth it)

A double will get you a good range.

A single 1x system with a wide cassette and a smaller (38 or 40) ring will get you lower than most people can be realistically balance - lower than most doubles - but you sacrifice the high end.

IMHO 1X is the best setup and is the future of cycling. Triples are basically dead. Doubles are being relegated to a narrow range of upright style road bikes. I would not have said this 4 years ago.

With covid hitting overseas like a train, don't expect the "old gear" to be made anymore - factories are a year plus behind making the NEW stuff...

 

[cranky cyclist]

I have a 1x 12 speed set up with an Eagle GX shifter and an e thirteen 12 speed cassette 9/50. It works great but I had to do a little filing on the fork.

 

[NadiainLA]

@Robert Holler Thanks. So, bear with my limited knowledge that leads to this question! The argument of having a 1x because there is enough of a gear range w/o overlapping gears makes sense to me. So, if I change the cassette the v20 shipped with to an 11-36 cassette, does that qualify for a "wide cassette", and then, to get the 1x set-up, I would need to change the stock chainring to a single 1x-- and change the derailleur, I assume? As I said above, just trying to get the 11-36 to work, I have ordered the Wolf Tooth Gear Link, and am not even sure that will help enough. My next step was going to be to change to a larger derailleur. Does all this make sense, and would your suggestion be: get a single chainring only or a single chainring AND a larger derailleur if the Gear Link doesn't make the current one functional with an 11-36? The Wolf Tooth site has lots of chainrings, but I wouldn't know what Tooth Profile/ Count to choose for my v20!

Thank you to EVERYONE who has commented. Lots to think about!

 

[NadiainLA]

@Don1 That is really interesting b/c the bike shop said they absolutely tried to adjust the b screw and it wasn't big enough. I'll add, I do feel like it's a competent bike shop. But, you saying this, makes me wonder why you could make it work but they couldn't!

 

[jond]

@Don1 That is really interesting b/c the bike shop said they absolutely tried to adjust the b screw and it wasn't big enough. I'll add, I do feel like it's a competent bike shop. But, you saying this, makes me wonder why you could make it work but they couldn't!

because don works at a bike shop and has a medium rear mech. 11-36 with a compact chain ring 50 - 34 is able to climb anything and at the limits of balance depending upon skill set and boom set. I.e an angled boom with smaller chainstay is easier than a horizontal boom for ultra low speed balance. . See 5 klm per hour. Walk.

Most of us downhill a big down hill will pedal out the 50-11. So go 52 -36 and swap in a 34 if need be. Don’t overthink it. Get fitter you know you want to.

 

[NadiainLA]

because don works at a bike shop and has a medium rear mech. 11-36 with a compact chain ring 50 - 34 is able to climb anything and at the limits of balance depending upon skill set and boom set. I.e an angled boom with smaller chainstay is easier than a horizontal boom for ultra low speed balance. . See 5 klm per hour. Walk.

Most of us downhill a big down hill will pedal out the 50-11. So go 52 -36 and swap in a 34 if need be. Don’t overthink it. Get fitter you know you want to.

Ha! Yes, I want to, but you can't get fitter when you can't even PEDAL the bike up certain hills, haha.
@Don1 , is your bike shop in LA? Wouldn't you like it to be?! ;-)

 

[vosadrian]

I have the standard V20 gearing which is lowest 34-32. I have to say that at my fitness (which is OK for climbing), I don't see that going much shorter than that is going to be of much benefit. Unlike my DF, stability is an issue on a Vendetta. Once you start going the sort of speeds you can do at around 50 cadence with a 34-32, you are going so slow that balance is difficult in reclined position so I have to pull myself forward which is difficult for a longer climb. At low speeds, it is a hard effort in this position, and it takes some effort to ride in a straight line (not great on a road with traffic). Also, at this sort of incline (>15%), tyre grip is an issue and I am slipping the tyre on each stroke... especially if it is wet. I don't think it makes much sense to go ultra low gearing on a Vendetta.... unless your fitness requires that lower gearing in the 8-12% range. On my DF I can climb >20% with stability, and gearing is what sets when I can climb seated verses having to stand. I would happily take 34-40 so I can climb seated for a long time at <5kph on a DF. I think on the V20, at that speed I would be putting a lot of effort into just not falling over or going all over the road.

 

[bladderhead]

IMHO 1X is the best setup and is the future of cycling. Triples are basically dead. Doubles are being relegated to a narrow range of upright style road bikes. I would not have said this 4 years ago.

Should have asked me.

 

[vosadrian]

How does the single go when you want to pedal up to 60kph (53-11), but climb 10-15% climbs (34-32). I am guessing for absolute range, 2X is still best (since triple is not really doable on a Vendetta).

 

[bladderhead]

I am assuming that you mean a 53t ring and 11t cog. The old XX1 cog is 10-42. If my calculations are correct, a 48t ring will give very nearly the same top ratio. The nearest bottom ratio to the one you said is a 46t ring. The new 12sp cogs will definitely do it. If my arithmetic is solid.

 

[RojoRacing]

don't all V20 come with a mid to long RD from the factory? I pretty sure mine had a mid length sram rival RD before I pulled it off to go Etap. I've still got the original compete drivetrain in a box somewhere.

 

[vosadrian]

So there are cassette with a 10 smallest ratio. Are there any that suit 11 speed rear shimano? I was not aware you could get a 10t.

So 48-10 is similar to 53-11. To get the same bottom end with the 48t on front, you need around a 45t rear. But the 46t with a 10-42 sounds like a good option for many. It does not provide as much range as a 50-34 with 11-32 on 2X, but not far off. If you go frankenstien with the 2X you can get much more, but you may be able to do similar with 1X.

But I still like the 2X setup... on the 2X setup I am >95% of the time on big ring on my Vendetta. small ring only used on really steep stuff. So most of the time I get 11 tightly spaced gears which work very well... then the small ring just provide emergency gears for steep stuff. I know some Pro teams tried 1X on pro races, and the riders did not like it and I think they are all running 2X again now.