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Want to lower my gearing on 5-6 year old XO/ Upgrade rear cog or go to a smaller front cog?

1123 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Sparticus, Oct 25, 2021

powderchaser

Discussion Starter · Oct 15, 2021

I have a 5-6-year-old Ibis Ripley V3 with XO components. My bike shop mentioned I could replace the largest cog in the rear (Adds 2 teeth) but the cheaper route would be to simply change the front from a 32 to a 30 I believe. That would obviously decrease my heaviest gears versus upgrading the rear. Wondering which solution ultimately gives me a lower gear and your suggestions? THanks

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Juansan

· #2 · Oct 15, 2021

This is my opinion and I'm sure there will be some nay-sayers. Its better, and in most cases cheaper to swap out your chainring. When you go to a smaller chainring you lower your gear range for all your gears. If you change your cassette to get one lower gear, lets say you want to go from a 42 to a 46 or even a 50 tooth cog, you end up with a too wide of a ratio between your two lowest gears. In my opinion any change of more then 5 teeth between your two lowest gears is too much. I find that a Shimano 11-42 cassette with a 28 tooth chainring is good for most all single-track XC riding. Right now I'm running a 26 tooth chainring and only when I'm on a dirt road downhill do I spin out in my highest gear. I hardly ever use my 42 cog on climbs but its nice to know its there when I need it. I'm running a Race-Face Turbine cinch crankset with an XT 11spd Shimano 11-42 cassette. Is your crankset direct mount ? What cassette are you running 11 or 10 - ?

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jrhone

· #3 · Oct 15, 2021

Replace the chainring. That keeps the gap between the gears the same. Otherwise you will have a big gap between your big gear and the next one and in some cases the big gear will be too easy and the next gear too hard.
.

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Jayem

· #4 · Oct 15, 2021

Front by far. And unless you are spinning out at 100rpm in the hardest gear, you are not really loosing anything on the top end. Back in the day we thought we needed 52t chainrings to go downhill, but turns out no one spins a gear that large fast enough to make it worthwhile. Racers have been going faster and faster on smaller chainrings, so it's not holding anyone back.

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NWA_Tre

· #5 · Oct 15, 2021

Juansan said:
This is my opinion and I'm sure there will be some nay-sayers. Its better, and in most cases cheaper to swap out your chainring. When you go to a smaller chainring you lower your gear range for all your gears. If you change your cassette to get one lower gear, lets say you want to go from a 42 to a 46 or even a 50 tooth cog, you end up with a too wide of a ratio between your two lowest gears. In my opinion any change of more then 5 teeth between your two lowest gears is too much. I find that a Shimano 11-42 cassette with a 28 tooth chainring is good for most all single-track XC riding. Right now I'm running a 26 tooth chainring and only when I'm on a dirt road downhill do I spin out in my highest gear. I hardly ever use my 42 cog on climbs but its nice to know its there when I need it. I'm running a Race-Face Turbine cinch crankset with an XT 11spd Shimano 11-42 cassette. Is your crankset direct mount ? What cassette are you running 11 or 10 - ?

I run a 30t with 11-42 11spd. I haven't felt like I needed more climbing gear and the only times I've been on greenway I felt I had plenty of top gear. I don't race, FWIW

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chazpat

· #6 · Oct 15, 2021

How often do you use the highest gear and how much would you miss it?

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CannondaleF9

· #7 · Oct 15, 2021

When I first converted to 1x10, I had a standard 36t cassette, and I chose a 34t cog. After that I went to a 40t "Extender cog" that replaced the spot of a 16t (so it kept the lower gear spacing), and slapped a 30t on the front.

In my opinion, you won't want to go much below 30t on the front if you enjoy pedalling downhill at all. In my head at least (even though it's not accurate math)- Adding or subtracting one tooth on the chainring feels around the same as adding/subtracting 2 on the rear. Changing the chainring makes a lot more difference than adding an extender cog, which is also why there is a point of diminishing returns. As with a larger cog, it won't make you go any slower in your fast gears, but you won't feel as much of a benefit on the climbs.

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powderchaser

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 17, 2021

Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies. I have a 32 in the front so based on these answers think I will go to a 30 to give me a bit lower gearing. On the back I think it's a 50 so will leave that alone. I don;'t use my heaviest gears all that much so losing a bit of that won't be an issue. I love to climb however. Also being 60 I am looking forward to a slightly lower gear. Chime in if you disagree here?

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Tall BMX'r

· #9 · Oct 24, 2021

One thing that a lot of people leave out of this equation is wheel size. There's a difference between a 27.5 and 29 as far as torque. Less mass turns easier. So it's not apples for apples when talking about specific chainring or rear sprocket sizes unless your are on the same wheel size.
That said, I have 29" wheels and I switched from a Sram Eagle alum. 30T chainring to a Sram non-Eagle 28T X-sync w/ 3mm offset ( it's steel) and I LOVE IT! I'm almost 60 and it is such a game changer. Plus it's less than $20.....!

Amazon.com : SRAM Unisex's X-Sync 28T Direct Mount 3mm Offset Steel 3.5mm 11 Speed Chainring, Black : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

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Tall BMX'r

· #10 · Oct 24, 2021

Tall BMX'r said:
One thing that a lot of people leave out of this equation is wheel size. There's a difference between a 27.5 and 29 as far as torque. Less mass turns easier. So it's not apples for apples when talking about specific chainring or rear sprocket sizes unless your are on the same wheel size.
That said, I have 29" wheels and I switched from a Sram Eagle alum. 30T chainring to a Sram non-Eagle 28T X-sync w/ 3mm offset ( it's steel) and I LOVE IT! I'm almost 60 and it is such a game changer. Plus it's less than $20.....!

Amazon.com : SRAM Unisex's X-Sync 28T Direct Mount 3mm Offset Steel 3.5mm 11 Speed Chainring, Black : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : SRAM Unisex's X-Sync 28T Direct Mount 3mm Offset Steel 3.5mm 11 Speed Chainring, Black : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

Why can't like my own comment? Because I really like that chainring!

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frdfandc

· #11 · Oct 25, 2021

Tall BMX'r said:
Why can't like my own comment? Because I really like that chainring!

I liked it for you.

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metcalfe

· #12 · Oct 25, 2021

You've already got a 10-50 eagle cassette. To go bigger in the rear you need to buy a new cassette and new gen eagle rear derailleur.
As mentioned, the super simple upgrade is a 30t or even a 28t chainring.
You might like an oval chainring while you're at it. I find they smooth out your power a bit. Instead of pedaling squares when you're grinding at your limit, you're pedaling circles.

Looks like your bike has boost spacing so make sure you get a 3mm offset chainring.

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Reactions: 1

Sparticus

· #13 · Oct 25, 2021

Tall BMX'r said:
Why can't like my own comment? Because I really like that chainring!

I liked your comment too, cuz I also use a steel 28t ring and love it.
=sParty

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Reactions: 1

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