Front chain ring

My 62 year old legs are loosing some power and I ride hills a lot, big
hills. I have two chain rings up front, a 50 & a 36. I have a 10
sproket cluster in back going from 12 to 25. I want more climbing
geers and wonder how to do it. Should I simply go to a 42 36 chain
ring up front or a different sproket in back?

On May 24, 3:17 pm, wrote:
My 62 year old legs are loosing some power and I ride hills a lot, big
hills. I have two chain rings up front, a 50 & a 36. I have a 10
sproket cluster in back going from 12 to 25. I want more climbing
geers and wonder how to do it. Should I simply go to a 42 36 chain
ring up front or a different sproket in back?

50/36/30 triple crank if you really need gears is the only way to go.
You'll need a rear mech and a chain as well. What you suggest will
only get you another click.

On May 24, 1:44 pm, landotter wrote:
On May 24, 3:17 pm, wrote:

My 62 year old legs are loosing some power and I ride hills a lot, big
hills. I have two chain rings up front, a 50 & a 36. I have a 10
sproket cluster in back going from 12 to 25. I want more climbing
geers and wonder how to do it. Should I simply go to a 42 36 chain
ring up front or a different sproket in back?

50/36/30 triple crank if you really need gears is the only way to go.
You'll need a rear mech and a chain as well. What you suggest will
only get you another click.

I'd be more inclined to go to a new cassette with a 34 tooth cog.
That'll give you a low gear 27% lower than you have now whereas the
suggested triple would only be 17% lower. And the cassette can be
switched back and forth pretty quickly for rides in flatter terrain.
Either way would require a new rear derailleur and the bigger cog will
probably also require a longer chain.

On May 24, 1:44 pm, landotter wrote:
On May 24, 3:17 pm, wrote:

My 62 year old legs are loosing some power and I ride hills a lot, big
hills. I have two chain rings up front, a 50 & a 36. I have a 10
sproket cluster in back going from 12 to 25. I want more climbing
geers and wonder how to do it. Should I simply go to a 42 36 chain
ring up front or a different sproket in back?

50/36/30 triple crank if you really need gears is the only way to go.
You'll need a rear mech and a chain as well. What you suggest will
only get you another click.

Keep in mind that that chainring combo will require a FD designed to
handle a 14t gap. I know from experience that Campy Triples won't
work, nor will Shimanos designed for a 52-42-30. The chain on the
middle ring will be too low for the ramp to derail it onto the granny.
Ultegra 6603 and Dura-Ace 7803 are the only ones I know of that are
even close, with their 52-39-30 combos.

Also, until very recently, most STIs were double/triple specific, so
there's a reasonable possibility that the OP couldn't go to a triple
without _considerable_ expense.

I like the 11-34 cassette idea. I paired one with a 50-34 crank on my
CX bike, and I have a 1:1 low gear, which can't be said for most Road
Triple setups.

wrote:
My 62 year old legs are loosing some power and I ride hills a lot, big
hills. I have two chain rings up front, a 50 & a 36. I have a 10
sproket cluster in back going from 12 to 25. I want more climbing
geers and wonder how to do it. Should I simply go to a 42 36 chain
ring up front or a different sproket in back?

I'd try a 48/34 x 11-28 first personally. That would drop you from 38
gear inches to 32 hear inches, which is about a 15% gearing reduction.
Your current derailleur will handle that. If that's still not enough,
swap your derailleur and use the 11-34 cassette.

--
Dane Buson -
Come, muse, let us sing of rats!
-- From a poem by James Grainger, 1721-1767