chain ring question

[berty bassett]

hi everybody - guess its silly question time again
just got a different bike with campag compact chain rings - the inner one being 34t as is the norm if you live in a place with mountains everywhere - however i live in a reasonable flattish northants and even if i venture out to leicester or rutland i rarely go into 1st on a 38 chain ring . I am thinking of going down to 36 t but is there a cheaper compatable ring rather than the expensive campag rings as wifey has stopped my spending money since i went out and brought this bike 36 seems like a good compromise between mashing and spinning like bees wings

 

[oldroadman]

Going "compatible" may cause mionr problems. Why not just stick with the compact and use one sprocket higher, it does seem a solution to a probelm that you may not actually have. Unless you are competitive and reasaonably quick, there is little point in riding bigger gears than are comfortable. If you are a bit quicker then the 50 outer combined with an 11 or 12 sprocket will probably give you all the big gear top range you'll need. It makes me smile to see people in sportives and just out riding with 53/39, 11 up setups. Just a look shows where any use is, and usually it's not much above the 53x17/18 range. So 50x16 would be fine for most quicker riding, just learn to spin those legs a bit. Save your money and keep the boss happy!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

The first thing I did when I got my Verenti was to ditch the 34 tooth ring, I replaced it with a 42 tooth ring, 42/50 suits my legs better, the 50 is a little too high to be comfortable, unless I'm going down hill with a tail wind, and the 34 was too low to get any speed up and not necessary in Warwickshires rolling countryside.

http://www.dotbike.com/p/3593