11-32 cassette v 11-34

[CXRAndy]

It all depends on weight and power of the rider, W/Kg Some folk will need 34t and others 32t

I have a buddy who is super light and use a 53/39 with an 11-28 cassette and sails up mountains on the big ring

I on the other hand sometimes need 26t chainring and 35t cass cog but I weigh nearly 100kg

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Well, FWIW, I`m 6ft and when I did the Alpe last year I was 12st 8. I`m, er, currently not that weight just now lol - I am 53 tho!

 

[TheDoctor]

No-one ever says "I wish I didn't have a lower bottom gear."
Get the 34. Unless you can get a 36, in which case get that

 

[CXRAndy]

No-one ever says "I wish I didn't have a lower bottom gear."
Get the 34. Unless you can get a 36, in which case get that

Sram do 11sp 11-36

Im fitting one to my inlaw's bike for Tenerife. He struggles at the end of the week with shot legs. This will allow him to spin more, save those pins for the last day

 

[Pale Rider]

I understand the OP is talking about a road bike, but a 39 front/34 rear is not especially low for a bicycle.

A modern 'one by' mountain bike might have a low gear of 34 at the front and anything up to a 50 at the back.

Tyre circumference for a road bike and a 650b mountain bike on podgy tyres is similar.

 

[Milkfloat]

I understand the OP is talking about a road bike, but a 39 front/34 rear is not especially low for a bicycle.

A modern 'one by' mountain bike might have a low gear of 34 at the front and anything up to a 50 at the back.

Tyre circumference for a road bike and a 650b mountain bike on podgy tyres is similar.

Op has a compact 34/50, so is looking at 34 / 34.

 

[Pale Rider]

Op has a compact 34/50, so is looking at 34 / 34.

The point still stands.

Many mountain bikes have a lot lower bottom gear than 34/34.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Yeah, I could get up the Croix de Fer on my triple ring MTB no problem but surely I`ve got to look the part

 

[Mike_P]

A Shimano 11-32 has 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32 while the 11-34 has 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34. Someone close their limit on the 28 on the 11-32 will already have dropped down to the 30 on the 11-34 meaning potentially a lot more tiresome spinning (not everyone has Froomes cadence). Always wondered why the 11-34 does not go 25-28-31-34 which would be an even spread of the gears.

 

[CXRAndy]

A Shimano 11-32 has 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32 while the 11-34 has 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34. Someone close their limit on the 28 on the 11-32 will already have dropped down to the 30 on the 11-34 meaning potentially a lot more tiresome spinning (not everyone has Froomes cadence). Always wondered why the 11-34 does not go 25-28-31-34 which would be an even spread of the gears.

Its not always about spinning high cadence 90+rpm. But with an extra easy gear or two, you can bring your cadence into the region which you are most comfortable with, whether its 60/70/80 rpms Nothing worse that facing a climb run out of gears and stuck with such a low cadence

 

[Vantage]

Are we talking an 8 speed cassette or 9+ cassette?
The reason I ask is that the difference between the 32 and 34t 8 speed cassettes is friggin huge.
Shimano simply bolt a bigger 34t cog on and left all the other sprockets as they were.
It's the main reason I swapped to 9 speed gearing.

 

[Mike_P]

Are we talking an 8 speed cassette or 9+ cassette?

I was referencing 11 speeds.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Are we talking an 8 speed cassette or 9+ cassette?
The reason I ask is that the difference between the 32 and 34t 8 speed cassettes is friggin huge.
Shimano simply bolt a bigger 34t cog on and left all the other sprockets as they were.
It's the main reason I swapped to 9 speed gearing.

Mrs SJ's last bike (Circa 2003) was eight speed Shimano with a 34t sprocket. I think the next one down was a 23.

 

[ozboz]

I put an 11 speed , 11-36 on my road bike, it was an 11-25 , being a little bit more elderly and not 100 % with muscleloss in one leg , riding up inclines was a problem, the conversation was a massive improvement on hill climbs, I did some riding around the Surrey hills and was amazed how much of an impact it made , I did have to go from an ultegra to 105 derailleur and put a wolfs tooth gizmo on also , but well worth it , I’d go for the highest sprocket you can fit in there,
Have a good trip !

 

[Ajax Bay]

A Shimano 11-32 has 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32 while the 11-34 has 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34. . . . Always wondered why the 11-34 does not go 25-28-31-34 which would be an even spread of the gears.

The cassettes are both seeking to optimise the jumps between each sprocket, and this is best expressed not in terms of teeth difference but in terms of the percentage increase in gear (however measured). 23-25-27-30-34 offers jumps of 9%, 8%, 11% and 13%. If the cassette went 23-25-28-31-34 the jumps would be 9%, 12%, 11% and 10%. The cassette designer must reckon that it's best having the biggest jump into the grandad gear.
Have a play with this: http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...5,28,32&UF=2135&TF=100&SL=2.6&UN=KMH&DV=teeth