road biking: front chainring question

[upallnight]

BTW, UAN, keep your cadence in mind. You will want to average 85-90 rpms...If you can do this in the valley in your highest gears, you are a monster! I think you *might* be pushing too tall of a gear, a bit too slowly for maximum effinciency. Show up on a tuesday night group ride after the 'TdJackson, you will learn a ton. Hey, Ya wanna ride to Idaho Falls today? I'm leaving at two if my truck is ready! Only 70 miles from victor!

great points...i am probably not pedaling fast enough. that said, i think i am spinning out on the fastest descents i've done (which are around 40mph so far). switching to an 11-25 in the rear could be good -- and less complex/costly than switching things up in the front.

i'm still a roadbiking JONG, so no need to tiptoe--you can be blunt. i'm probably doing other stuff wrong, but i'm starting to learn a bit with varying what i've been doing over this first 200 miles.

i'm definitely afraid that a 39T small ring in front will be too much for me. (i *definitely* anticipate running 34-25 for a climb up the pass.)

i just got in from a 50 mile ride (my longest in the 1 week i've been on a road bike!) w/ about 3k climbing. figured it would be good to do some activity before stepping on a plane. have to be in seattle the next couple of days...with no real time for workouts even though seattle is such a great town for it. probably should take my running shoes, but i have meetings starting so early (and i'm NOT a morning person) and ending so late that i doubt i could even get out. a jog would be good for the knee.

[upallnight]

I had the same issue a while back. 50 was nice for training, but useless if the speed went up. You can move up to a 52 / 36 set up on a compact which would give you a 50km/h gear and a good range of climbing gears. I don't think you'd be able to find a 53 ring to fit the compact cranks, but things might have changed.

hmmm...i have these FSA cranks (50-34) and supposedly they also come in a 53-39. the 39 is too much, for sure -- at least right now.

haven't heard about/seen the 36, but it sounds like a nice option. adding a 27T cog in the rear would probably come close to making up for the jump from 34-36.

[upallnight]

I also like to hit trails on the cross bike, so I am not ashamed. Often times the small ring ends up being much faster over the long haul, as fatigue is not as crippling.

i considered a cross bike....sounds like it's pretty awesome to be able to hit some trails and stuff but still get a solid road workout.

i stuck with the roadbike primarily for rehab reasons.