90s Road Double paired with 11-36 9 speed rear cassette

[Brenton Eastman]

Hi,

I am thinking about going NOS or near-new-vintage crankset for a build. Nothing against modern stuff, but eBay seems to have a plethora of nice shimano 105/600 cranksets in great shape for under $100.

I know 90s road bike gearing was more focused on racing with small cassettes in the rear. But has anyone had success or suggestions for/against getting an older shimano square taper road double with 53/39 or 52/42ish and paired with an 11-36 9spd cassette? Seems like Riv doesn't offer any doubles with outer ring bigger than 46 and the smaller rings are in the 20s. 

I have a triple on my Sam and spend 90% of my time in the middle ring, even on tough climbs, and I've had several doubles on vintage road bikes/CX bikes in the past.

[Joe Bernard]

The only theoretical concern I can think of is you may get some skating between front rings from a 9-spd chain on cranks spaced for 6/7/8-spd. But in reality - assuming front friction shifting - you'll just make sure you're shoving that chain over properly and all will be well. 

Joe Bernard 

[Bill Lindsay]

I think the reason folks are "giving away" their 53/39 cranksets is that the 53 is useless.  A 53x11 is good for one thing: pedaling at >>45MPH.  For those of us who only reach 45MPH on steep descents, that's a useless gear.  I'd just unbolt the 53, lose the front der, and run the bike as a 1x9 with a 39 tooth ring and 11-36 in back.  That would do everything I would need to do on a light road bike.  My absolute max I ever go to on my builds is a 4:1 top gear.  That used to be a 52x13, then it was a 48x12, and now it's a 44x11.  44/28 with an 11-36 would be sensational.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

On Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 10:11:45 AM UTC-8 brenton...@gmail.com wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

A 53 can be perfectly useful if you use something like a 15-25 or 26 9 speed as I once did, tho' in my case I used a "compact" double, 52 X 38. That gave me a closely spaced range from 94 down to about 40" with cruising gears in the middle: 78/74/70 --- well, the cruising gears were really the 74" and the 70', but close enough.

The 52/38 X 15-25 replaced an also-very-nice TA 42/28 or so X 12-23 or somesuch, replaced because I thought that the DA 7410 cranks is one of the prettiest ever made.

I got the cogs for this custom cassette from Miche. I think I've read that "junior" racing cassettes start with the 15t.

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Patrick Moore

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[Garth]

There's nothing wrong with simply not using the 11t cog you know :) Conversely, , I think 11t cogs are worthless myself. I'd rather ride a larger ring and a larger 12t or 13t cog. Anyone that rides big rings and big cogs knows how sweet that feels. It doesn't have to be a 53t, a 46t-52t is fine.  Or get yourself some 7sp FW hubs and ride a 13-32, 14-34 or 13-28 FW. I find it funny that only FW's offer usable and rideable gears these days. The Sunrace 14-34 has a nice 14/16/18/21/24/28/34 progression. A 53/14 is still a big gear for most people in most conditions. That's just me though, as I never got the memo about more than 7 cogs being a good idea.

[Piaw Na]

11t sprockets are not useless when you have a 1x drivetrain. I use my 11t on the tandem (38t chainring) and on my single (40t chainring). They don't get used frequently (which is good, since they'd wear out quickly otherwise), but once in a while they get used, which wasn't the case back when I had a triple with 24/39/50 up front.

[JohnS]

Hello Brenton,

I use the Shimano CS-M770 XT HG 9sp cassette, 11-34 paired with either a Sugino or FSA crankset that have 130BCD with 46/34 chainrings. That gives me a nice range for the hilly terrain where I live. If you really want the to use one of the 105 cranks with 130 BCD then changing the chainrings to 46/38 might work for you. Otherwise you might want to consider using a TA Tripleizer like Will did on his Cuevas. He used a Dura Ace 130 BCD crankset, with a 42 Tripleizer and a 32 inner ring. The only problem with it is the relatively high cost of about $100.

https://www.rivbike.com/blogs/news/wills-65cm-cuevas?_pos=24&_sid=0ac774f30&_ss=r

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/tach.php#alize

Good luck and happy trails,

JohnS

[Joe Bernard]

Adding to my post: I don't think you're asking if the gearing will be too high. Yes it will work and you can use whatever gearing you like! 

[KenP]

Brenton,

   I ride road barend shifters, a ten speed 32/52 front and 11-28 rear with a modern Shimano clutch derailleur and a Tan-Pan adapter.  Gives me lots of gears.  When  keeping a  50+ in the front and a 36 in the back, if the chain is long enough to fit the large front ring and the large back ring, then, the derailleur probably won't wrap up the small front ring and the small back ring.

Ken P.