Wondering about the fastest, while wide-range, drivetrain

[Frito Bandito]

@3bs Thanks for your reply. A 34 ring might be just what the doctor ordered. Seeing what works for everyone should help me keep some of my money in my pocket by getting it right the first time lol. As for spinning out, it doesn't happen so often, but when it does you guys know how frustrating it is.

 

[Greg S]

Greg S:
Are you using a road link ( or similar) derailleur extender? What are your front rings?

Thanks
-Brad

No, no roadlink. My crankset is a Dura Ace 50x34 compact.

 

[Winded Lowrider]

Thanks Beano, did you have to modify the road link to fit the SRAM Etap? Several folks say it needs to be "filed down"....

 

[Don1]

I use r8000 11speed medium cage derailleur and 11-40 cassette with no modification. If you want a Shimano perspective. Shifting is exactly like my df ultegra... Nice.

 

[Winded Lowrider]

Don1, WOW I'm surprised it works so well for you without a hanger extension mod. Encouraging. I might just order the 11-40 cassette and see what happens...

 

[cpml123]

The nice thing with Sram is the cage lock to spread out the cage when changing the wheel. I have to say I liked the way Ultegra shifts better (seems smoother and less effort).

 

[benphyr]

FWIW I run a 50/34*11/40 with a SRAM Etap medium with a road link.

I’m fairly certain that I have seen dirtier fork, chain, cassette, derailleur, etc. Coming out of original packaging. Can I leave you alone with my bikes ?

 

[Beano]

Thanks Beano, did you have to modify the road link to fit the SRAM Etap? Several folks say it needs to be "filed down"....

Nah, went on as is.

EDIT: The filed down bit....on the back of the link there is a notch that sticks out, this part is the bit which sits against the bit that sticks out on the rear mech hanger where the b screw would go up against.

My guess is that some people have filed this down but this is a design feature to make sure that link sits nice and flush up against the rear mech hanger.

See attached pic.

 

[Beano]

I’m fairly certain that I have seen dirtier fork, chain, cassette, derailleur, etc. Coming out of original packaging. Can I leave you alone with my bikes ?

The bike was new when the picture was taken, the mech was not and it had a bit of dirt on it.

 

[ed72]

Thor......you are a very strong rider, 50 x 11 is too small for you, honestly. This is the main problem to solve. Personally, I use 56 x 11 for my top gear and 39 x 32 for the lowest gear. My cassette is 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 32 for 11 speeds. I had tried 50 and 34 crank (shimano) but I really did not need the 34 x 32 and I was always spinning out the 50 x 11 driving me crazier. A 53 x 11 is "ok".....I had considered a 12S with a 10 cog but efficiency losses with such a small cog and the huge money to upgrade did not make sense to me. I don't know if this makes sense but I select my low gear thusly, I just want to have one move gear lower than what I think I normally need. So, 39x28 is usually good and if I am tired, 39 x 32. If all else fails, I have the 24 inch gear (2 feet). I have Shimano stuff and SRAM. I don't think it matters which you use.

BTW.....I found out why my heart rate was so high and power relatively low (G3 Powertap) on Paris Brest Paris. I was not able to shift off the big chain ring. Why? Blown BB /crank bearings giving 5-6 mm lateral movement on each pedal strong. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had mounted the 53 toother for PBP. LOL. So, you could do 1X with a 53 up front.

 

[3bs]

When I tried a 40 dinner plate cassette, tapped a peg into my hanger in place of a longer b screw it worked, but the wolf tooth ameliorated the need, and then I resolved on the 36

 

[Tor Hovland]

Coming back to this old thread. I'm still looking for the perfect, wide range drivetrain. Hoping for some good ideas here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/14oiqhn

 

[cruzKurt]

nge drivetrain. Hoping for some good ide

Coming back to this old thread. I'm still looking for the perfect, wide range drivetrain. Hoping for some good ideas here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/14oiqhn

Are you looking for your cruzbike? I live where it is flat, so I guess I don't need as much range.

 

[Beano]

With the aid of a wolf link for the rear mech and a wickwerts link for the front mech I put together a 40/23 * 11-46 - a 52t capacity. You see in the pic I could run it in the 40 front 46 rear combination. The low gear of 23-46 was insane with me spinning out doing about 100rpm whilst only travelling 4mph .

It was an XT MTB 2x chainset with a 23t and 40t q rings both bought online. I needed to run a triple front shifter as the 23t was a 1x so the gate between the inner and outer chain rings was so wide the chain would get stuck in between the rings. I solved this by putting a couple of washers in between the outer face of the outer chainring and the mounting points of the spider, (you can see the washers just about in the pic). This positioned the outer chainring over by a couple of mm, problem solved.

For me I'd start with some online gearing calculators, my thinking with the above combination was with the highest gear of 40-11 with a RPM of 95 gives about a 49kph top speed. Would you want to go any faster on the flats? Downhills you'll have to compromise as you spin out at 110-120 rpm, beyond this you are letting the aero and added weight of the bike do the job of increasing speed.

You have to ask what you actually want from your riding and what are you riding for? A fully loaded touring bike, you would go with the above combination as it would get you over pretty much anything. For a day ride or an audax it is probably under geared, not to mention the added weight and chain. With the above combination I could not use the lower 3-4 gears in the lower chain ring as their would not be enough tension in the chain. By in large I run it as a 1x system with using the smaller gears to get over any serious 'bergs.

FWIW I ditched the 11-46 cassette for a 11-40 as the jump in gearing was big so I had trouble finding the right gear. Also with a 40t lower gear with the newer mechanical rear mechs from Shimano, with the b screw moved all the way out, you can accommodate a 40t lower sprocket without the need for a wolf link which makes the shifting that little bit crisper.

 

[Tor Hovland]

Yes, this would be for the Vendetta. On my do-everything upright I currently run 50-34 front and 11-36 rear. But the Vendetta needs a higher top gear and a lower low gear! It currently runs 50-34 front and 11-42 rear. That low gear is just about right, but I need a higher top gear. I can't just switch to a 53-39 crank, because that would affect the low gear, but a 10-42 cassette would be great. A 55-34 crank would be great as well, if such a thing exists. But the problem with any of these is to find a rear derailleur with enough total capacity. I'll have to look into @Beano's setup above.

 

[cpml123]

Yes, this would be for the Vendetta. On my do-everything upright I currently run 50-34 front and 11-36 rear. But the Vendetta needs a higher top gear and a lower low gear! It currently runs 50-34 front and 11-42 rear. That low gear is just about right, but I need a higher top gear. I can't just switch to a 53-39 crank, because that would affect the low gear, but a 10-42 cassette would be great. A 55-34 crank would be great as well, if such a thing exists. But the problem with any of these is to find a rear derailleur with enough total capacity. I'll have to look into @Beano's setup above.

I have a V20 with 52/34 front. 11/40 rear. Yes you can swap out the 50 to a 52 ring. It does work, although not perfect. But good enough.

 

[Tor Hovland]

I understand how a Wolf Link allows the use of a larger cassette, but not how it extends the total capacity. It even says it doesn't on their product page:

• Does not change the derailleurs total chain wrap capacity.

@Beano So it is a mystery how you got that 52t capacity. My guess is your rear derailleur only actually provides 47t (if it is an M8000, same as mine, the one with the most capacity I've found), it just happens to more or less work up to 52t. In any case, that's good news. Actually, could you dig up the exact model of the rear derailleur you used?

Anyway, Shimano doesn't provide a 10-42, only SRAM does, so that's another challenge. Although changing the 50 to a 52 may be another option, as suggested by @cpml123 above.

 

[Tor Hovland]

Looks like people have good experience matching SRAM 10-42 cassettes with Shimano derailleurs:

10-42 XD cassette on Shimano drivetrain? Who's got it.

Who is or has run an XD (9 or 10-42) cassette with Shimano drivetrain? (Yes, cranks, shifters, and derailleurs). I am down to making choices in the next day or two on my 2x11 Shimano drivetrain. I would like to run 10-42 cassette (XD) on my XT-8000 2x11 drive train. Not a fan of much SRAM...

www.mtbr.com

I could also change to a 53-39 crank, expand the cassette to 11-50, and add a Wolf Link to handle that big cassette. That would be a 53t range. It's a lot. The 50-34, 10-42 option is only 48t, so probably better. And by staying away from 34/10, it's within specs of the M8000 derailleur, and wouldn't even need a Wolf Link. I still need that Jtek Shiftmate, though.

Maybe this is as good as it gets?

 

[Tor Hovland]

How odd. There is an electronic version of the M8000, but only in medium cage, not long cage.

 

[Beano]

I understand how a Wolf Link allows the use of a larger cassette, but not how it extends the total capacity. It even says it doesn't on their product page:



@Beano So it is a mystery how you got that 52t capacity. My guess is your rear derailleur only actually provides 47t (if it is an M8000, same as mine, the one with the most capacity I've found), it just happens to more or less work up to 52t. In any case, that's good news. Actually, could you dig up the exact model of the rear derailleur you used?

Anyway, Shimano doesn't provide a 10-42, only SRAM does, so that's another challenge. Although changing the 50 to a 52 may be another option, as suggested by @cpml123 above.

I worked it out to be (40-23)+(46-11)