Compact Vs. Standard Cranksets: Which is really best? 

Best explanation ive ever heard, cheers man

Best video on the topic I have seen! @durianrider can explain things like this young man?

James Butler finally. Why is that so difficult for so many? All these guys out here spinning out on flats, 🙄they need to be on the tour beating Cav and Sagan on those sprints. 😂👍🏼

Today I thought to by 53 chai ring, because 52 and 50 I already have, but after this video I changed my desicion. When I gonna to buy 53 chainring again, I'll watch this video and save my money.

As if you're able to sustain upwards of 67kph on a 110 rpm for longer periods. Poser.

I have standard and I want to go to mid compact. But after reading your comment maybe I'm going to stick with the standard

Yeah, this is the issue i'm having with a 50, at 55-60km/h there's little feel from the chain. Will be trying out a 52 shortly.

LuisManuelHdez This is a great way to go and I really like this set up on one of my bikes.

Vegas Cycling Freak Spot on bro! I am 70 yo I ride vintage steel 53/39 on 13- 29 still a strong rider but I like to keep my heart rate under 150 bpm My bike with a compact drive train is a wall hanger :) For hilly terrain I use my touring bike which has a triple - best of both worlds :)

Thats why it comes that way on most bikes.

Don't do it unless youre maxing out your gears on the hardest regularly. If not, leave it on compact.

I just upgraded my 52/40 1986 Peugeot to a new crankset made by velo orange and here in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains I found even with a freewheel with 14/32 it was always exhausting to climb. I kept the same freewheel but now have 46/30. I couldn't believe how much better and faster I could ride keeping the cadence up. It was a couple of mph faster for the avg speed. That was huge for this 69 year old man. Good video. Thanks for your time and reinforcement.

@@joejones2700 is you inner ring 46 or the outer?

@@Terrifier1984 outer is 46

You need a 11 to 25 cassette for subcompact sprinting. Your not thinking outside the box

25 to 34 climbing is perfect look at a chart it's the same gearin you had with more even spread. You only lose a quarter a rotation wheel spin max from 53 to a 50 but it's a lot easier to spin

50x11 at 100 rpm is equal to 36 miles an hour if im not mistaken... Usually sprinter get to 120/150 rpm... Meaning you'd sprint faster than 36 miles an hour... How many times I go faster than 40 miles an hour while racing crits??? If I'm fighting towards the Finnish line for a podium I'll get to 1500/1600 w and maybe 43miles an hour... Other than that... Oh well I use I 50/34 with an 11/28 and that's plenty for me

Absolute Black make 46/30 oval chainrings that fit on a four bolt 110 mm BCD shimano crank

11-42t cassette 10 speed with long arm derailleur and derailleur extension piece just in case

Yes there is an answer to this. We all know how good we are, if we can maintain speeds over 40 miles per hour.... if not, compact. Simple.

Populations of cyclists, like all things, regress to a mean. The majority of people have zero business on a standard. You, like it or not, are almost certainly one of those people.

+kay poly most standard cranks have a bolt pattern that won't allow a 34 to fit. Besides, shifting would be very poor with such a gap between the sizes. In your situation I would just get an 11-28 cassette. Otherwise you would need a new crankset.

Exactly, check 110 BCD vs 130 BCD

Sorry, I made a mistake. I have a 52/39 but, now i run 52/36 11-34 I climb every piece of road thrown at me.

Shorter fulcrum (crank arm) = less torque generated coupled to standard gearing requiring more torque. That's the worst of both worlds.

A 52/26? Are you mad? Who in the hell wants to make that shift?

I believed that was a typo…52 36

Do you have a way to switch them on and off quickly? Isn't that a pain?

@@FrankZen The cassette..? It's just 4 steps, change the chain, remove the wheel, change the cassette then put the wheel back... Only need a chain plier, a hex wrench and a lock ring tool...

Yes as long as you got that 11teeth rear

@banksie

i had this semicompact for 3 years. it helped me build great legs but i suffered a lot compact with 11/34 for me

True, a higher caence makes you a less efficient aerobic motor. However, shifting the strain from your heart to your muscles comes with the downside of more lactic acid buildup, which limits the acual ride longevity because of your legs being clogged up. Those people most-likely used some sort of doping to achieve the needed recovery after grinding up a climb and wrecking their legs.

Yep but it's easier to build you aerobic motor than you muscles, also lactic acid build up from low cadence will make your rides shorter

Damon Thomas granny gears! Yay

Damon Thomas I agree. Triple all day every day. 50, 40 30 in front and 11-32 or 11-30 on rear freewheel.

The new Tiagra is available in triple.

Alex W 34 inner, usually refers to the smaller chain ring, on a double or compact (50-34) crank set. Standard / 53-39 Mid or semi compact/ 52/36. If someone had a standard (53 big ring) and changed the inner ring to 34, which I would never recommend , then skip over the comment. They don’t know what they’re doing. It would be a nightmare 😂

I live in New York City, where most climbs are going uptown or going over bridges. I'm upgrading my AR4. Is this best balanced,(34/50 11/28) and good for climbing?

@@kollinquinn1956 its a balanced one, if u see u cant do it with 34 and 28, then look for a 30 cassette ...

Wallace Pelletier you can spin out a 50 11!? Wow you must be super old man! You can be the oldest man in the Tour de France if you can do that on anything other that a down hill.

+Valentin Seician Sure it is- just requires some adjusting of your front derailleur. To keep it simple just get a Shimano Ultegra 50/34 crankset.You will probably need to shorten your chain by 2 links and lower/readjust your front derailleur and it will work fine.

Thank you very much. I will take that into consideration. Very helpful info.

I have three bikes one standard 53-39. 11- 36 rear capacity of 11-40 one mid 52-36 11-34 rear and one compact 50-34 11-32 rear. They all ride relatively the same in shifting and gear ratios. I have the same crank length on all the same 170. i have a gs rear derailleur for all three which is cheaper than switching a crankset and bottom bracket if your bike didn't come with one. you just need a wolf road, new chain and cassette. Keep old cassettes and chain for riding on different terrain flat rolling hills or steep hills. The lower end gears have more gaps in between gears as your chainrings get bigger. However this is less noticeable if you spin over 100 rpm cadence and let off when shifting for acceleration. My standard is on my tri bike and for fast on the flats I use 11-25 or 11-23 it actually feels like less friction with larger pulley cage. However I can take it anywhere rolling hills or up walls with 11-36 .My tri and road bike are di2 mechanical hybrid commuter. hope this helps. You can get an app to compare gear ratios to do math to know what ones equal what you looking for

If you absolutely feel you must switch get the new 4 bolt 105 or ultegra because when you get stronger and want to go faster they can use chainring sizes from standard to compact or cyclocross. They say 11 speed but work with 10 speed. which will be one less thing to buy if you upgrade to 11 speed. If the teeth on your current chainrings are not worn I recommend again changing cassettes and chain until price of new cranksets and chainrings come down unless money is no object but if that's the case buy another bike with components you want..

Thank you for the kind reply. It seems that with every week of riding I am getting more used to the bike, shifting gears and especially climbing hills. Got the road bike only 2 months ago. And being used to my MTB with 27 gears I used to climb hills with more ease, then got the road bike Scott CR 1 Team and I realised that it is much more difficult to climb hills, even when in the smallest cogs. But again, I believe it is a matter of training and getting used to the bike. I don't think it is worth for now to invest in a new chainring and modify the bike. Thanks again and cheers.

IMO you should go 2x11... More gears... But to answer your question, yes, you'd be ok with your setup