Replacing bike after accident (follow up)

Tony said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

My good roadie has a full kit of Ultegra including 12-27 cassette. I'm a fat old bugger (I mean I am a sprinter with a long cycling history 🙂 ) and it is highly suitable. Go the 12-27. Don't settle for less.

SteveA

Tony said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

It's your bike - you want 12-27. You probably have no use for an 11, so it's just taking up room from a more useful cog. 12-25 gives you a 39/25 low gear, maybe its ok for what you want.

Note also that a 12-27 will require a longer chain...

Ritch

SteveA said:

Tony said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

My good roadie has a full kit of Ultegra including 12-27 cassette. I'm
a fat old bugger (I mean I am a sprinter with a long cycling history 🙂
) and it is highly suitable. Go the 12-27. Don't settle for less.

SteveA

If your LBSG is rude enough to criticise your choices, there'll always
be another bike shop... make sure they know that.

Tam *my LBSG treats me like a princess*

Tony said:

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

It depends a lot on what sort of rides and terrain you do. If it's all
flat and fast a 23 will do but if you want to go for long cruises
through the mountains a 27 would be very handy. When you got've got 10
cogs on the back you may as well have some low ones.

Bruce.

"Tony" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

A few things to consider.. your cadence preference.. are you a spinner or a
grinder? What are the gradients you will be riding up.. are there many that
will really require a 27?

I run a 12-25.. suits me down to a tee at the moment.. although I wouldn't
mind an 11 for some downhills.. My riding has changed a fair amount in the
last few months... before this, the 25 felt like a monster gear... but I was
determined not to go any bigger on the back..

Now I can get away with working in 23 for most hills.. 'most' not including
a few of the nasties on the BR route! Speaking of.. if you are Melb based..
(or ever visiting) we expect to see whatever cassette you choose doing its
thing on a BR..

cheers,
GPL

Tony said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

Congrats on the new bike. I reckon a 12-25 is a good choice especially in 10 speed and I've seen it as standard on a lot of new 10speed equipped bikes as you get a low gear but the ratios are still fairly close. If you're an ok climber that would probably do you on all but the steepest (or longest) climbs. A 12-27 *may* find you wishing for an inbetween cog as the spread is wider. Maybe get a chain whip and a cassette tool and swap them when you want, you can pick up cheap 11-23s on the net.

Tony said:

can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

that sentence basically sums it up.
its all about their convenience and not your wishes, isnt it!

could always go for a miche cassette...

"flyingdutch" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

that sentence basically sums it up.
its all about their convenience and not your wishes, isnt it!

could always go for a miche cassette...

Alternatively.... http://tinyurl.com/9ayfh

cheers,
GPL

Tony said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).

Thanks in advance,

Tony.

Forget what the LBSGs say - lots of them don't have a clue anyway.

Ride what you want to ride.

My roadie has a 10sp 12-25 on it which is great for mountains. The 25T
gets me up Mt Donna Buang ok. I would think a 27T is probably a bit low
unless you do loads of steep hills, assuming you've got a 39T on the front.

But either way, make your own choice and ride it. You're the only one
who can decide what gears suit you best.

--
Nick

Thanks for your responses everyone.
I think I will settle for the 12-25 - and when that dies (and I'm older
and wussier) go for the 12-27.

Interestingly, 12-25 seems to be the standard 10 speed cassette for
high-end Trek and Giant bikes in the US (according to their respective
web sites).

I wonder why?

Tony said:

Thanks for your responses everyone.
I think I will settle for the 12-25 - and when that dies (and I'm older
and wussier) go for the 12-27.

Interestingly, 12-25 seems to be the standard 10 speed cassette for
high-end Trek and Giant bikes in the US (according to their respective
web sites).

I wonder why?

good compromise. few can push a 11T on the flat (well, nobody I ride with)
and up to 25 means no (too) nasty jumps

I have had a 13-29 on my 10spd (bought specifically for Alpine classic altho i reckons i could survive with a 26T next time, but i digress...) which was fine spread-wise altho on long climbs you do (well, i do) tend to sit in the one gear alot and spin

and yes, we do expect to see you on a BR(x) 😄

Geez, they sound like a bunch of wallys to me.

Tell 'em you want the 27 for the alpine classic, or fitz's or something 🙂

Cheers,

Suzy (rides a 13-26 normally - the 12-23 is only for racing)

ritcho said:

It's your bike - you want 12-27. You probably have no use for an 11, so it's just taking up room from a more useful cog. 12-25 gives you a 39/25 low gear, maybe its ok for what you want.

Note also that a 12-27 will require a longer chain...

Ritch

Longer chain, you say... Contemplating a 12-25 to 12-27 changeover, but hadn't thought of this aspect. How many more links would i need?
Simon

flyingdutch said:

Tony said:

Thanks for your responses everyone.
I think I will settle for the 12-25 - and when that dies (and I'm
older
and wussier) go for the 12-27.

Interestingly, 12-25 seems to be the standard 10 speed cassette for
high-end Trek and Giant bikes in the US (according to their respective
web sites).

I wonder why?

good compromise. few can push a 11T on the flat (well, nobody I ride
with)
and up to 25 means no (too) nasty jumps

Even with my 12-23 I only ever run out of gears going down hills...

....and behind trucks
;-)

--
BrettS

sim72 said:

Longer chain, you say... Contemplating a 12-25 to 12-27 changeover, but hadn't thought of this aspect. How many more links would i need?
Simon

I probably should have noted that a longer chain might be needed when going from a 23 up to a 27. The OP might be able to go from 25 to 27 without a problem. Basically, you want to be sure that the chain is long enough to go around the big-big combination. This protects you from accidental derailer breakage even though you probably wouldn't use the big-big combo.

OTOH, some people are happy to take the risk... in any case, the OP's bike is new from the shop and they can fit the correct-length chain.

Ritch

If you don't have cycling teams at your front door offering you contracts to
race in Europe, you don't need an 11-23. Even a 12 is unnecessary for most
riders. After all, Sean Kelly managed to win both the points and overall in
the Vuelta with a big gear of 52-13. This is what you do:

Get the 12-25 plus a couple of individual cogs - a 13t outer and a 28t
inner. You replace the existing 12 and 13 from the cluster with the 13t
outer, and put the 28t cog on the hub first, followed by the spare spacer
that you now have, to give yourself a 13-28 cassette.

The Dura-Ace rear derailleur copes fine with a 28t cog - in fact it even
copes with a 30, as on one bike I turned a 12-27 into a 13-30 by this
method.

Nick

"Tony" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

thanks to all those who pointed me in the right direction in choosing a
new bike. I now have a shiny new Giant TCR Zero to play with.
Although the bike shop people were generally helpful, they did recoil
in shock when I asked if I could swap the standard 11-23T rear cassette
for a 12-27T.
Basically their attitude was that swapping to a 12-27 was sacrilege on
a Dura-ace equipped bike, and that if that's what I really wanted, then
maybe I should be looking at the comfort range...(hey, but it's MY
bike, I thought)

Now, I don't consider myself to be a wuss, but it's nice to have those
larger cogs for use on some hills, especially on the odd occasion I'm
feeling a bit flat.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Should I give the 11-23 a go? (They
can't readily get their hands on a 12-27, but have a 12-25 in stock).