My road bike has a low gear 34-34 and I love the 1:1 ratio since I hit 15-20% grades on every ride. However, the top gear is 50-11 which is shorter than my last bike, which was 52-11. It seems a small difference, only about 4%, but I actually do notice it. Occasionally I go fast enough on downhills that I spin out in the 50-11.
So I'm considering replacing the 50 with 52 on my R8000 cranks. I've read that Shimano doesn't officially support this, yet everywhere I've read, people say it works just fine. What say you all?
The only reason I ask is because those chainrings cost $150-$200 ?!?! I must be getting old because that seems ridiculous. If it were less expensive I would just buy the 52, try it, and toss it into my used bike parts bin if it didn't shift well.
So I'm considering replacing the 50 with 52 on my R8000 cranks. I've read that Shimano doesn't officially support this, yet everywhere I've read, people say it works just fine. What say you all?
The only reason I ask is because those chainrings cost $150-$200 ?!?! I must be getting old because that seems ridiculous. If it were less expensive I would just buy the 52, try it, and toss it into my used bike parts bin if it didn't shift well.