Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
For the past two Tech Talks, we’ve been discussing lowering the gearing on slightly older bikes (thanks for all the helpful comments with your tips on how you did it to your classic bikes). If you were so distracted following the Tour de France that you missed those articles, here they are: The Long Story of Lowering the Gearing on My Old Road Racing Bike and Your Feedback on Lower Gearing.
A Question Left Unanswered
While reading your comments and thinking more about my upgrade, I realized I didn’t answer a question that some of you might have. I said that I wanted to upgrade to a cassette with a 36-tooth largest cog because I noticed some riders in the Tour were using them.
I also said that one option would be buying one of the same bikes the pros ride to get the gearing I want. But I dismissed that as too expensive an option. So since you might be wondering, what I want to do now, is to look at a few bikes that come equipped with the 36-tooth cog cassette and that are more reasonably priced as well.
These won’t be as high level as the pro bikes but they’ll feature the same basic frame design as the Tour model and similar component features so they should provide nearly the same performance. And they’ll have the lower gearing.
Plus, the three bikes here that I found with a little searching are under 5K, almost a third the price of Tadej Pogačar’s Tour winning Colnago – well his actual bike is now surely priceless! [DISCLAIMER: Some of these bikes are currently showing sale prices, which will probably change once the sale’s over.]
The common denominator on two of these bikes is SRAM’s Rival AXS 12-speed groupset, which comes with a 35/48 crankset and a 10-36 cassette. That provides a lowest gear of 26.25 gear inches, which is lower than my upgrade (I only got it down to 29.25). Shimano does make a 105 11-36 cassette in 11- and 12-speed, however I did not find complete bikes setup with it in my search. The Cannondale on the list sports Shimano 105 components with a 34/50 crankset with an 11-34 cassette for a lowest gear of 27 gear inches, so almost the same as the SRAM Rival’s 26.25.
Here Are The Three Bikes
Trek Madone SL 6 AXS Gen 8 (marked down right now from $6,499.99 to $4,599.97)
This is similar to the Trek Madone SLR bikes the Lidl-Trek team rode in the Tour.
Specialized Tarmac SL8 Comp ($4,499.99)
This is similar to the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8s ridden by the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/tarmac-sl8-comp-sram-rival-axs-/p/4292996?color=5464716-4292996
Cannondale SuperSix Evo ($4,499)
This is similar to the Cannondale LAB71 SuperSix EVOs the EF Pro Cycling Team piloted.
https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/race/supersix-evo/supersix-evo-3
A Third Option
I didn’t dig deep enough to find accurate up to date pricing, but what I did discover suggests that there’s a good chance you could put together a SRAM Rival AXS group to get lower gearing plus upgrade to electronic shifting too. The best I can tell, the whole group for disc brakes will run about $2,000, which means less than half what the new rigs I found cost.
I believe it’s also possible to substitute the disc levers for cable levers if you wanted to upgrade a rim brake bike. That might save a few more dollars since you wouldn’t need the disc calipers or rotors that come with the full groupset. And that would upgrade a classic road bike to lower gearing options with SRAM’s eTap electronic shifting, which many riders agree is the most intuitive to operate.
If You’re Bike Shopping…
Please comment on the bikes you’re looking at and why if you’re in the market for a new ride. It’s always fun to dream about upgrading.
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
I’m eyeing the Canyon Aeroad bikes – they look like a flying wing – eTap, disc brakes, fully integrated, aero wheels. Different animal than the 15-yr old titanium Seven I ride and adore now – I just hesitate spending more money to upgrade a rim-brake bike at this point. Further rationalization: I haven’t bought a bike in 5 years, and I’m convinced I’ll start flying like VdP
Thanks for the great comment Chris. The Aeroad would have made my list in the article if it had come in a build less than $5K. It does look ready for takeoff.
Thanks!
Jim
In 2007 I installed 50/34 Chainrings and an 11-34 cassette. People in the bike shops told me to train harder on the hills. I told them I ride audax, sometimes for 2-3 days straight and I get tired. You race 2-3 hours don’t tell me to train harder… how times, gearing and cadence have changed for some eventually
Good choice Pat, audax riding definitely requires that the gearing suits the cyclist, terrain and conditions too.
Thanks,
Jim
I do not believe that SRAM sells electronic shifters with cable operated brakes anymore.
From SRAM’s web sight: EB-FRC-D1. $248. You could also go with blips and a blip box.
Appreciate you providing the part # for Doug Chris. Thank you,
Jim
Great article! As I approach 80 I’m still riding my “terminal” Merlin Cyrene, with mostly Campy components. I have installed a Record triple with a small 30 tooth granny up front and have an IRD Cassette with 11-36 in the rear. Do I use that combo often? NO, but it’s there when needed as I still do some climbs that are steep enough to use it. Yes, I can push through without using that gearing, but it’s there when needed and keeps me riding the terrain I like to ride, without damaging my joints and ending my ride in the emergency room.
Keep up the great writing! Thanks Again, Glenn
Jim, one other thing worth mentioning is that most rear derailleurs will handle a slightly bigger cassette than the maker claims. I’ve “cheated” Shimano groupsets for years, running a couple teeth more than their claimed range. You can’t push much beyond 2 teeth — but buying a slightly bigger cassette is surely the least expensive option to get slightly easier gearing.
That’s a good point John, thanks for mentioning this, appreciate it.
Jim
I built my Raleigh Grand Prix using Sensah levers, cable rival rear, 11×52 cassette and Rene Herse 1x crankset. Plenty of gearing and no annoying front derailleur.
I built my Raleigh Grand Prix using Sensah levers, SRAM cable rival rear, 11×52 cassette and Rene Herse 1x crankset. Plenty of gearing and no annoying front derailleur.
I have a 11-40 rear cassette on my 105 which allows me to climb anything the Alps throws at me. I rode the Cingles du Mont Ventoux and cruised it. I ride a Polygon Strattos I bought in Geneva for $1500 and added my cassette from home. It took 10 minutes to swap out the old 32 that came with it.
Despite SRAM fussing about 36 and beyond, a simple twist of the b screw had me dialed in. No need for an extension on the derailleur either. Just don’t do a big- big or you will be screwed.
I changed my Waterford to a 105 triple 30,36,50 then put a Wolf Tooth 28 in place of the 30; on the back a 10 spd. 12 – 32 with the std. Ultregra derailer.
Just a generic comment but what kind of rider needs both a 26″ low gear and a 126″ high gear (48/10).? While I have appreciated the lower gears available with a standard compact chain ring set, these super-wide gearing ranges just mean jumps between gears that are just too big. Once you get a bit over 30 mph on a downhill, you are faster in a tight tuck than when sitting up and pedaling. That means that a top gear of 100 inches should serve for anyone who has learned to spin and is not doing out-and-out downhill sprints.
Jim,
I have always ridden and been a Trek fan as my LBS has taken great care of me for 35+ years. I have a 13 year old Trek Madone. I will admit though I have been “eyeing” the Lauf Ulthad. The bike is amazing and at an amazing price as well. Comfortable, stable, geared 10-36. I am looking to get the Race Wireless E1 at $4690. Bike has great reviews.
Thanks for the interesting and helpful comments everyone, appreciate it!
Jim Langley
I just found this post and great thinking about lower gears, a few years back I did installed an XO rear derailleur with my mechanical Apex shifter which allowed me to use 11-36 cassette, because they use the same Exact Actuation. It works perfectly, but this are pretty old components on a 2012 Tarmac. Another option could be install SRAM Blips, you don’t need any lever on your bike, the bike shop can use other lever to configure the blips.
Juan Ramirez
What about the Van Rysels used by the Decathlon AG2R?