Will a bigger chain ring make that much difference?

[LizardEye]

I'm currently commuting on a Giant Defy 3, and there's a couple of places on the route where I run out of gears at the top end.

My big ring is 50t and I can get a 53t for about 25 quid.

Thing is, will I really notice that much of a difference?

I know that technically it's a 6% increase in top speed for the same cadence, but I'm not sure I'd notice.

Any thoughts.

Bit annoying as I'm carting round the three biggest sprockets that never get used.

cheers

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

According to this you probably have a 12-25 9 speed cassette, if so a 11-21 sram 970 e.g. will be a better first step imho. If that is still not high enough then you can consider having a 53T chain ring.

By going that way you can avoid getting exposed to issues of rear mech capacity or different chain length requirements. Running a 53/34 chainset will likely breach front mech capacity, however, so it is worth looking more carefully into that issue before commitment.

 

[Aushiker]

I agree with RecordAceFromNew. It would be handy to know what your rear cassette is but.

 

[byegad]

I've upped my Kettwiesel outer ring from 50 to 52, I noticed the difference and when I wore that out to 53. The 52 to 53 is a subtle difference but I do notice it and from 50, where the trikes was undergeared on almost any down slope, to the 53, where there are a lot less hills where I spin out early, was a massive change.

 

[GrasB]

I'd swap the chainring for £25. Oddly people tend to be able to spin a bit faster on larger chainrings so you'll gain a little more than the ratio, also running a smaller cassette can increase chain & sprocket wear quite a lot depending on your shift patterns & preferred gears.

As for front mech capacity, that'll be the capacity on a 78 deg seat tube, with a 73-74 deg seat tube you'll have a fair bit more chainring capacity (on a 75 deg ST I've run a 33/53 setup with room to spare).

 

[amaferanga]

Sorry if I'm insulting your intelligence, but have you checked that the £25 53t chainring has the same BCD as the 50t one?

Change it if you want, but it won't make you any quicker and if your inner chainring is a 34t then shifting won't be great. You might need a new front mech as well.

 

[LizardEye]

Thanks for the replies

Sounds like it is worth doing, after checking a couple of things.

 

[Hacienda71]

On a 50 : 11 I spin out at over 40mph as others have said it might be easier changing the cassette if you are not already 11t on the back as the front mech will work with a new cassette.