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Darby wrote:
I am trying to determine a reasonable distance between gears. The IRD 12-32 cassette is 12,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28,32. If I were to go with a compact crank, I could use a 11,12,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28 cassette which would give me about the same top and bottom end ratios.

I had heard some where that there shouldn't be more than a 10% jump between gears. The range of 12-32 is a fairly large range.

What do you think?

Bruce

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IMO? Don't over-analyze it. Sure there are 'ideals' but often they can't be reached when trying to achieve your goal. Realistically you don't do a bunch of shifting during a long, hard climb. So the 'Ideal' gear spacing doesn't matter anywhere near a much as having the *right* gear for the climb.

Depending on which ride I was going to do, I've used 12/27, 12/28, 12/32 and 11/34 rear cogsets. The latter two had larger than the 'ideal' 10% jump between gears, but I had to climb mountains, not worry about ideals.

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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.

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