I’m an avid mountain biker, bought this older road bike for cheap just to try getting into it but the gearing is way too hard for climbing and i’d like a bigger range in gears and a smaller chainring(s)
It seems to Shimano Dura-ace up front and Sram Red for the Derailleur and Cassette. KMC chain. Unsure what kind of cranks i would get because i’m assuming Sram Red is only designed for Sram chainrings, but if Shimano is installed already, then i’m not sure how i’d make Sram cranks work with BB compatibility. It doesn’t shift great up front either and i’m wondering if this is part of the reason. Unless i’m missing something.
by Ok_Abrocoma4126
3 Comments
You have 2 separate issues here: Shimano shifters and SRAM derailleurs don’t play well at all. Pick one you like and move on.
Issue 2: the physical gears. Cranks, chain, and cassette usually *do* play well together regardless of brand (up to 11-speed) *as long as they are all the same #of gears* (10-speed SRAM cassette, 10-speed Shimano cranks, and 10-speed King County Metro chain will be just fine)
If this were *my* bike (or one I was building for a friend) I’d probably start with an 11-50 in the back (or as large a cog as the derailleur will handle) and a 50-36 up front. Once someone has “outgrown” that combination we will have a good idea of what direction to go.
This is the 2×10 stuff. Generally, for road groupsets 11 speed and below, chains, cassettes, and cranks work fine between brands.
If you want to keep your BB and cranks, you can just get smaller chainrings. This generation of cranks, Dura-Ace 7800, uses 130 BCD chainrings, so look for those.
It’s pretty worn, that’s one of the reasons, but overall front shifting is never going to be as good as with full groupset. Rear shifting should be spot-on as long as the derailleur matches the levers.
I’ve been riding mix matched road bike for 6 years now, that’s more than 30 000 km. 105 5700 levers, SRAM CX1 chainring, Ultegra 6650 cranks, XT 770 RD, SRAM 1050 cassette, Ultegra 6701 chains. It has been absolutely solid throughout.