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32 comments
I run a semi-compact with an 11-28. My bike came with a compact but that was too easy to spin out so I swapped. 52/36 is perfect, I reckon for sportive, etc., as you can get up anything. Might swap to a 53/39, tho, except for the exceptional.
What are you currently running, as in Standard or compact?
Why do you want to change?
I'd not call a mid the best of both really, it's another option.
I went compact to mid last summer, and swapped the cassette from 12-25 to 11-27 with it as well (was a new gruppo).
It took a while to get used to it, especially in the hills.
On a compact I was hardly using the inner ring, the mid forced me to use the inner, and made me think a lot more about gear selection, I'd agree with what a lot of people have said in the past that compacts teach you bad gear selection habits, and people are constantly cross chaining.
I'll use the inner a lot more now, allows me to get to the perfect cadence on the flat (lower down the block obviously) and then work my way up it on the climbs, works better for me.
I'd probably have been able to go for a standard, and got used to it as well.
It's not something I'd think lightly about changing, you'll need to re learn the gear habits and get used to it all again before you can preempt what gear you can get over stuff in etc.
What are you reasonings for wanting to change?
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