I bought my first gravel bike at the beginning of last month — a Triban GRVL 520 from Decathlon. I used to ride mtb for several years, but had a long break until this purchase… The problem is that the groupset ratio on this bike isn’t making my return to the sport any easier.
Right now, my setup is:
- Cassette: MICROSHIFT CS-H110 11-speed 11/34
- Crankset: PRAXIS ALBA M30 48-32T
- Chain: KMC X11-1 + CL555 11S / 112
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 R7000 (long cage)
I live in a hilly area, and this groupset ratio feels quite heavy, making my rides less enjoyable.
What do you think I could change? I was considering swapping to an 11-42T cassette (maybe a Microshift H11?), but for that, I’d need to install a Wolf Tooth RoadLink, right? There’s also the option of reducing the chainring sizes, but I’m not sure how much that would help.
Would going 1x with a larger cassette be a good option as well?
I’d like to keep the costs low for these upgrades, so if you have any recommendations on what components to get, I’d really appreciate it!
by NeighborhoodOne9437
4 Comments
You’ll need to double check, but you should be able to fit a 38 or even a 40 tooth cassette on without changing anything else. My triban rc120 was able to handle a 38t with no problem
Looks classy, makes me want to build a new bike!
a lot of people have done 11-42 2x with a grx rd. not sure how big your budget is but that’s something i wanna try myself for a 2x system.
Don’t mean to be that guy, but is it the bike or do you need to build up a bit of stamina?
If you’re struggling on hills I wouldn’t swap to a 1x. Changing the rear cassette might be the easiest way to mess around with gearing down a bit