Compact cranks? (Page 2)

OK,

I put a compact (50/34 shimano) on my tri bike, and I would not hesitate to put one on my road bike. I ride in the Blue Rdge mountains and weigh 210.

I like having a wide range of useful gears on the big ring. With a 11-23 10 speed cassette i have 1-tooth jumps for most of the range. I can stay on the big ring most of the time. With a 53/39 I am shifting back and forth from ring to ring more often.

With the 34 when I go to climb a long, steep hill I have really low gears that have the same jump.

There is some minimal weight savings with the smaller rings and smaller cassette.

I have had the 50-11 gear up to 50mph on a downhill. I typically average 20+ mph on the bike leg of my tri's  (2:4X for HIM)

There is no downside to the compact for me. It's a complete myth that "compacts are for weak riders"

And what proof do we have that this is actually a picture of a road in Florida?  Looks more like somewhere in the Midwest to me. 

OK, so maybe there is a hill or two in Florida that's not man-made.

Or you could just go with a triple and really be able to bail yourself out if need be ... I actually have a triple and although I think I've only used the granny gear on a few instances it is nice to have it there in case I completely fry my legs... Although then you need new derailers and shifters, so not a great option if you already have everything geared up for a double.

Oh ya and you also lose a lot of the cool factor is you have a triple

Interesting perspective on why to use a compact.  From what I've heard here though I don't see that it has anything to do with being a weak or strong rider.  Seems to me it's about being a smarter, more tactical rider given the purpose.  I'm not a cyclist and I don't ever expect to be involved in any sprints or even short races where having a compact would be a negative.  Like I said, my standard gearing left something to be desired this past season and with my plans for riding this bike the compact seems like the common sense option for me.  I don't need to prove anything by sticking with a bigger standard set-up.

Here's my bottom line question...can I keep my low gear (hard gear) and get more high gear (easy spinning gear) by switching from a standard 39/54 12/25 combo to a compact 11/21 or 11/23 combo? 

A 50-11 is a little higher(faster) than a 53-12. A 34-23 is about the same as a 39-25. You are not giving away anything (gear-wise) with a compact. Go to sheldonbrown.com, plug the numbers into his gear calculator and see for yourself.

I drank the compact kool-aid.

And, FWIW, I will definately consider getting compacts for my bike if I decide to do LP next year.

I am not doing IM anytime soon but in a few weeks I’ll be riding the entire LP course with a few friends and my coach who are racing it this year. After that I'll let you know as I might change my mind about CC  

Jorge,

It's that second loop that will get you!!

Yep.  That's the one I'm thinking about.

I should have said: entire course TWO times for the entire 112 miles >>> I am sure that 2nd loop it is going to be fun... NOT!  

The next day should be eaiser as we will only ride one loop (with 1 mile swim before and 13 miles after - can I call it a IMLP 70 )