Ok...been on my Crux E5 Sport Evo for a few months now...about 400 miles on it. Have done gravel, road, single track, and two CX races. Bike is great! I got this Evo version based on the gearing...I though the 50/34 w/11-28 would give a better range than the same non-Evo bike with the standard 46/36. I was correct...and for road and gravel, perfect. Offroad single track..perfect..the 34 is a good gear. For racing...not so much. I just left it in the 34 the whole time and got lots of chain bounce with the chain so far down on the cassette and never used the 50 (tried a few times) b/c of the start/stop around all the tight corners. I understand now why the 36/46 is a better combo for racing..seems like a 34/46 may be nearly perfect for all around..even road.
50/34 vs. 46/36..my take
TiGeo
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Ok...been on my Crux E5 Sport Evo for a few months now...about 400 miles on it. Have done gravel, road, single track, and two CX races. Bike is great! I got this Evo version based on the gearing...I though the 50/34 w/11-28 would give a better range than the same non-Evo bike with the standard 46/36. I was correct...and for road and gravel, perfect. Offroad single track..perfect..the 34 is a good gear. For racing...not so much. I just left it in the 34 the whole time and got lots of chain bounce with the chain so far down on the cassette and never used the 50 (tried a few times) b/c of the start/stop around all the tight corners. I understand now why the 36/46 is a better combo for racing..seems like a 34/46 may be nearly perfect for all around..even road.
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I turned my crit bike into a 1x10 this year and the largest no-drop ring that i could find was a 46t. I thought it'd ok for crits but for real group rides or fast road riding i'd get dropped like a bad habbit..not the case, i never really get dropped because of my smallish ring. So for cross yea, that standard and pleanty. I've only seen a few CX pro's with a 50. CX is way to punchy and slow speed to need that big of a ring.
My CX setup is a 42x11-36 and thinking about turinging it into my main winter roady
My CX setup is a 42x11-36 and thinking about turinging it into my main winter roady
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198 Posts
I've been racing on a 46/34 and 11-28, which has been the perfect set-up (45+ cat 3). I can ride most flat courses with short climbs in the big ring only, and then have the bailout when I need to spin (or just dead, say after a run-up). This is a great combo for the mixed terrain adventures as well when the season is over, although I may put a 12-30 in the back if I'm doing a lot of long sustained climbs.
I race a 1x with a 38 up front, and an 11-32 rear, older Sworks tri-cross. Unless you're really-really fast, you don't need bigger than a 38 for racing, I was just over 2min behind the winner in my cat 1/2 age group last time, if you can spin-out a 38x11 on gravel a half hour into a race, you're freaky fast.
TiGeo; if the chain slap is bugging you, can you shorten the chain at all?, and maybe got with a 34x46?, or the 36x46 and a wider range cassette? My Spec dealer was able to order me a slightly longer derailleur hanger, the 11-32 runs well on that bike.
TiGeo; if the chain slap is bugging you, can you shorten the chain at all?, and maybe got with a 34x46?, or the 36x46 and a wider range cassette? My Spec dealer was able to order me a slightly longer derailleur hanger, the 11-32 runs well on that bike.
I have a 34/50 and 46/36 for my bike, I use the bike for mixed surface riding mainly "gravel", dirt roads and training when weather is nasty but I still have that desire to get outside. I never use the 34/50, I have a 34 inner ring I put on the cx specific crank and now just run 34/46 with 11-32 or 11-28 cassette, I can ride just about anything don't find the 46 limiting and can climb just about anything reasonable for a road bike with the 34 and larger cassette. Versatility is key for me! If I ever seriously decided to race CX would like just go single 42 or 44 up front and be done with it!
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I've been running a 46/34 with a 11-28 cassette. This setup works from everything from cx racing to long gravel grinders.
The 34, 28 low is sometimes not low enough for the terrain I mostly ride, but I've come to make do
The 34, 28 low is sometimes not low enough for the terrain I mostly ride, but I've come to make do
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I run a 46/34 with a 12-32 cassette. I don't race, but this setup seems perfect for all around riding. The gearing is a little taller than on my mountain bikes, but the bike is lighter also so I feel I can push a slightly higher gear. I guess the tires have a little less rolling resistance also.
I set my CX bike up with 46-34 for gravel grinding a couple of winters ago. When CX race season came around I left it, mostly out of laziness.
Last year I thought it was great. I was using the big ring for almost everything, and I felt like it gave me a bit of a boost -- a little more speed with each shift.
This year I spent most of the summer not riding and came into the fall in horrid shape -- no cardio, no power -- and have been trying to race myself into shape. In this condition, I feel like the setup is not good. I've been having to keep too low a cadence in the 46T ring, and if I drop down to the 34T I just end up going really slow.
For me at least, the "magic" of having a 34T small ring was that I was afraid to use it. I knew that if I raced long in that ring I'd be off the back in no time. I was only ever using it as a granny gear for hills that were short and steep but not quite run-ups. Without the power to make the 46T work like a 1x setup 90% of the time, I've been in trouble. I put a 36T ring back on there earlier in the week.
A couple of years ago Katie Compton was running a 42-34 setup.
Last year I thought it was great. I was using the big ring for almost everything, and I felt like it gave me a bit of a boost -- a little more speed with each shift.
This year I spent most of the summer not riding and came into the fall in horrid shape -- no cardio, no power -- and have been trying to race myself into shape. In this condition, I feel like the setup is not good. I've been having to keep too low a cadence in the 46T ring, and if I drop down to the 34T I just end up going really slow.
For me at least, the "magic" of having a 34T small ring was that I was afraid to use it. I knew that if I raced long in that ring I'd be off the back in no time. I was only ever using it as a granny gear for hills that were short and steep but not quite run-ups. Without the power to make the 46T work like a 1x setup 90% of the time, I've been in trouble. I put a 36T ring back on there earlier in the week.
A couple of years ago Katie Compton was running a 42-34 setup.
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