Gearing question

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

For my use the large chain ring ratios work pretty well, except for
the 12 tooth cog, which I would only use pedaling down a steep hill
(which we don't have) but the small chain ring rations really aren't
low enough. With the 34-26 ratio I am really puffing on some of the
smaller hills and some roads I don't even bother to ride. I have it in
my mind that a 48 - 14 high gear ratio and a 33 - 28, or 30 low gear
ratio spread would be more fitting to my physical capabilities.

My questions a

Are smaller chain rings available for the Shimano 110 bolt hole
cranks? So far I haven't found any.

Secondly. I don't see cassettes with, say a 14-28, or 14-30 cog set,
however I have read about people who have combined cogs from two or
more cassettes to get the ratios that they want.

I do understand that modern cassettes have contoured cogs that work
best in certain combinations, but have also read that people who
combine cogs report few shifting problems.

So - can anyone offer a suggestion where I can obtain a 48/33 chain
ring combination for a 110mm, 5 bolt, circle crank and (2) how much
difficulty will I have combining various cogs in the cassette?


Cheers,

John B.

In article ,
says...



My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

For my use the large chain ring ratios work pretty well, except for
the 12 tooth cog, which I would only use pedaling down a steep hill
(which we don't have) but the small chain ring rations really aren't
low enough. With the 34-26 ratio I am really puffing on some of the
smaller hills and some roads I don't even bother to ride. I have it in
my mind that a 48 - 14 high gear ratio and a 33 - 28, or 30 low gear
ratio spread would be more fitting to my physical capabilities.

My questions a

Are smaller chain rings available for the Shimano 110 bolt hole
cranks? So far I haven't found any.

Secondly. I don't see cassettes with, say a 14-28, or 14-30 cog set,
however I have read about people who have combined cogs from two or
more cassettes to get the ratios that they want.

I do understand that modern cassettes have contoured cogs that work
best in certain combinations, but have also read that people who
combine cogs report few shifting problems.

So - can anyone offer a suggestion where I can obtain a 48/33 chain
ring combination for a 110mm, 5 bolt, circle crank and (2) how much
difficulty will I have combining various cogs in the cassette?


Cheers,

John B.
Sram makes 11-28 cassettes in 8 and 9 speed and they are cheap on Ebay,
under $30. I use these for 9 speed, they work fine. You may not need the
11 but the 28 over the 26 will be noticeable and probably work fine with
your existing rear derailleur. Most likely your chain is long enough also.
You can't go smaller than a 34 in 110bdc I believe. If you need lower then
you'll probably have to go to a triple setup, new crank, chain, front and rear
derailleur and shifters. Not worth it on the OCR.

On Feb 4, 6:03*pm, john B. wrote:
My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

For my use the large chain ring ratios work pretty well, except for
the 12 tooth cog, which I would only use pedaling down a steep hill
(which we don't have) but the small chain ring rations really aren't
low enough. With the 34-26 ratio I am really puffing on some of the
smaller hills and some roads I don't even bother to ride. I have it in
my mind that a 48 - 14 high gear ratio and a 33 - 28, or 30 low gear
ratio spread would be more fitting to my physical capabilities.

My questions a

Are smaller chain rings available for the Shimano 110 bolt hole
cranks? So far I haven't found any.

TA makes a 33 ring for 110mm bolt circle diameter cranksets. Peter
White cycles lists it. Also Europe shops such as bike24 and dotbike
and spacycles.co.uk sell it. TA and Stronglight make 110mm bcd rings
in sizes smaller than 50. 48, 46, 44, 42. Sugino and Salsa I think
make them too.



Secondly. I don't see cassettes with, say a 14-28, or 14-30 cog set,
however I have read about people who have combined cogs from two or
more cassettes to get the ratios that they want.

For 9 and 10 speed casettes, there are 11-28 and 12-27 road
cassettes. And 9 and 10 speed mountain cassettes in 11-32 or 11-34.
Not sure anyone makes a cassette that goes up to 30. Shimano makes a
12-34 in 9 speed in XTR I think. Expensive. And Shimano 10 speed in
12-36. You can sort of mix and match cogs between cassettes, BUT.
You would need a Shimano junior cassette such as 14-25 to get your
first starting cog, its unique. Then mix and match cogs from the rest
of the cassettes to end up with a 14-32 for instance. Maybe $75-100
if you are lucky. And you have the problem of some cassettes having 2
or 3 or 4 cogs all bolted together on the same carrier so you have to
use the whole set. Such as the 32-28-24 are one set. No mix and
match with those cogs. And the 22-20-18 are one set.

You might be best to just use a regular 11-32 cassette, 9 or 10
speed. And use a 46 or 44 outer ring on your compact with the 33
inner. Or just keep the 34 inner since you now have a 32 big cog in
back. Its a tiny difference going from the 34 down to the 33 ring.
If you have a clamp on front derailleur you should be able to get it
low enough to just clear the big ring, now 48 or 46 or 44. Should
shift the front fine.





I do understand that modern cassettes have contoured cogs that work
best in certain combinations, but have also read that people who
combine cogs report few shifting problems.

So - can anyone offer a suggestion where I can obtain a 48/33 chain
ring combination for a 110mm, 5 bolt, circle crank and (2) how much
difficulty will I have combining various cogs in the cassette?

Cheers,

John B.

On 2/4/2011 6:03 PM, john B. slocomb wrote:

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.[...]

Schlumf bottom bracket and Rohloff hub.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

"john B." wrote in message ...

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

[snip]

I have success with two low geared 9 speed cassettes running with a 50/34 up front. One is a standard Shimano mountain bike 11-32 cassette and the other is a Shimano 12-27 dropping out the 14 and putting a 32 single cog behind the 27. The second option works best in flat to rolling country where the 32 is only used as a bailout gear if something steep comes along near the end of a long sportive for example.

You might have to adjust chain length and wind in the "B" screw on the rear mech to get it to clear the 32. That will depend on which mech you have and the length of your rear mech hanger.

Graham.

On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:40:47 -0800, Ronko
wrote:

In article ,
says...



My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

For my use the large chain ring ratios work pretty well, except for
the 12 tooth cog, which I would only use pedaling down a steep hill
(which we don't have) but the small chain ring rations really aren't
low enough. With the 34-26 ratio I am really puffing on some of the
smaller hills and some roads I don't even bother to ride. I have it in
my mind that a 48 - 14 high gear ratio and a 33 - 28, or 30 low gear
ratio spread would be more fitting to my physical capabilities.

My questions a

Are smaller chain rings available for the Shimano 110 bolt hole
cranks? So far I haven't found any.

Secondly. I don't see cassettes with, say a 14-28, or 14-30 cog set,
however I have read about people who have combined cogs from two or
more cassettes to get the ratios that they want.

I do understand that modern cassettes have contoured cogs that work
best in certain combinations, but have also read that people who
combine cogs report few shifting problems.

So - can anyone offer a suggestion where I can obtain a 48/33 chain
ring combination for a 110mm, 5 bolt, circle crank and (2) how much
difficulty will I have combining various cogs in the cassette?


Cheers,

John B.
Sram makes 11-28 cassettes in 8 and 9 speed and they are cheap on Ebay,
under $30. I use these for 9 speed, they work fine. You may not need the
11 but the 28 over the 26 will be noticeable and probably work fine with
your existing rear derailleur. Most likely your chain is long enough also.
You can't go smaller than a 34 in 110bdc I believe. If you need lower then
you'll probably have to go to a triple setup, new crank, chain, front and rear
derailleur and shifters. Not worth it on the OCR.

Well, let me pose another question. As the 11 tooth cog is of no real
use to me (we don't have hills around here steep enough for me to use
it :-) I wonder whether I can take the 12 tooth small cog off my
existing SRAM cassette and replace the 11 tooth cog on the 11 - 28
cassette?

On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 23:46:55 -0600, Tºm Shermªn™ °_°
" wrote:

On 2/4/2011 6:03 PM, john B. slocomb wrote:

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.[...]

Schlumf bottom bracket and Rohloff hub.

And how many dollars ?-)

On Sat, 5 Feb 2011 09:34:07 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:


"john B." wrote in message ...

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

[snip]

I have success with two low geared 9 speed cassettes running with a 50/34 up front. One is a
standard Shimano mountain bike 11-32 cassette and the other is a
Shimano 12-27 dropping out the 14 and putting a 32 single cog behind
the 27. The second option works best in flat to rolling country where
the 32 is only used as a bailout gear if something steep comes along
near the end of a long sportive for example.

You might have to adjust chain length and wind in the "B" screw on the
rear mech to get it to clear the 32. That will depend on which mech
you have and the length of your rear mech hanger.

Graham.

Thanks. I thought from reading various sources that it is likely that
a mix and match cassette is probably the best solution. I've read
several references to doing this and every one repeated that the cogs
are contoured to match the cogs on either side. and then a remark "but
I didn't seem to have any problem with shifting".

On Fri, 4 Feb 2011 18:54:47 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Feb 4, 6:03*pm, john B. wrote:
My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.

For my use the large chain ring ratios work pretty well, except for
the 12 tooth cog, which I would only use pedaling down a steep hill
(which we don't have) but the small chain ring rations really aren't
low enough. With the 34-26 ratio I am really puffing on some of the
smaller hills and some roads I don't even bother to ride. I have it in
my mind that a 48 - 14 high gear ratio and a 33 - 28, or 30 low gear
ratio spread would be more fitting to my physical capabilities.

My questions a

Are smaller chain rings available for the Shimano 110 bolt hole
cranks? So far I haven't found any.

TA makes a 33 ring for 110mm bolt circle diameter cranksets. Peter
White cycles lists it. Also Europe shops such as bike24 and dotbike
and spacycles.co.uk sell it. TA and Stronglight make 110mm bcd rings
in sizes smaller than 50. 48, 46, 44, 42. Sugino and Salsa I think
make them too.



Secondly. I don't see cassettes with, say a 14-28, or 14-30 cog set,
however I have read about people who have combined cogs from two or
more cassettes to get the ratios that they want.

For 9 and 10 speed casettes, there are 11-28 and 12-27 road
cassettes. And 9 and 10 speed mountain cassettes in 11-32 or 11-34.
Not sure anyone makes a cassette that goes up to 30. Shimano makes a
12-34 in 9 speed in XTR I think. Expensive. And Shimano 10 speed in
12-36. You can sort of mix and match cogs between cassettes, BUT.
You would need a Shimano junior cassette such as 14-25 to get your
first starting cog, its unique. Then mix and match cogs from the rest
of the cassettes to end up with a 14-32 for instance. Maybe $75-100
if you are lucky. And you have the problem of some cassettes having 2
or 3 or 4 cogs all bolted together on the same carrier so you have to
use the whole set. Such as the 32-28-24 are one set. No mix and
match with those cogs. And the 22-20-18 are one set.

You might be best to just use a regular 11-32 cassette, 9 or 10
speed. And use a 46 or 44 outer ring on your compact with the 33
inner. Or just keep the 34 inner since you now have a 32 big cog in
back. Its a tiny difference going from the 34 down to the 33 ring.
If you have a clamp on front derailleur you should be able to get it
low enough to just clear the big ring, now 48 or 46 or 44. Should
shift the front fine.

Somewhere, maybe one of Sheldon's articles, I think I remembered a
comment about several cogs being riveted together and instructions to
"just drill out the rivet".

Is that good advise? Or not?


difficulty will I have combining various cogs in the cassette?

Cheers,

John B.

On 2/5/2011 5:39 AM, john B. wrote:
On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 23:46:55 -0600, Tºm Shermªn™ °_°
" wrote:

On 2/4/2011 6:03 PM, john B. slocomb wrote:

My current bike is a Giant OCR-2 with a SRAM 12-26 cassette and 50/34
chain rings on a Shimano FC-4550-s crank set with a 110mm bolt circle.

I usually ride where much of the area is flat, or nearly flat, with
some rolling hills, however I'm not as young as I used to be and think
I would be more comfortable with somewhat lower gear ratios.[...]

Schlumf bottom bracket and Rohloff hub.

And how many dollars ?-)


If you have to ask...

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.