The number of teeth on your chainring(s) is a deciding factor in your bike’s gear ratio, with a greater number of teeth meaning a higher (harder to push) gear, and fewer teeth meaning a lower (easier to push) gear.
What is 52t chainring?
The T is the number of teeth on the chainring, more teeth for a given gear set means a higher gear, less a lower gear. 52 is on the large side, often found as the largest chainring on a road bike as part of a triple chainring set. H.
What cranks do pros use?
Pros often use a 55×11-tooth high gear for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T. These days, they’ve joined the big-gear revolution like many recreational riders.
What is 32T chainring?
The smaller the chainring, the easier the lowest gear for climbing; the bigger the chainring, the faster you can go in the highest gear. A SRAM 10-42 cassette has a very similar gear range, but with a 32T chainring the lowest gear has a ratio of 32/42 = 0.762 and the highest gear has a ratio of 32/10 = 3.200.
How do I choose a new chainring?
Basically, large chainrings are for going fast and/or riding on the flat or on downhills. Smaller chainrings are for going up hills. Smaller rings go closest to the frame while larger rings go furthest from the frame. This is the arrangement that the front derailleur and the rear cassette is designed for.
What size chainring do pros use?
53/39T
Pros often use a 55×11-tooth high gear for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T. These days, they’ve joined the big-gear revolution like many recreational riders.
How big is a 32T chainring?
Chainring Diameter by Tooth Count
| Tooth Count | Diameter (mm) | Diameter (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 32T | 136.1mm | 5.38in |
| 34T | 144.2mm | 5.69in |
| 36T | 152.2mm | 6.01in |
| 38T | 160.3mm | 6.33in |
Why do the pro’s use 52T chain rings?
Usually the pro’s are using 52T or 53T chain rings. I don’t do time trials (and wouldn’t be quite at that level), so I’m just giving a theory: it’s to fine-tune the gearing to the terrain and conditions. One more tooth on the chain ring with the same cluster gives about 2% higher gearing.
Is the 53/39 chainset still a thing?
The 53/39 chainset is now a rarity outside the professional peloton. The last bike we tested that came equipped with one was in 2017, so we should probably stop calling it a standard crankset, because it isn’t.
What is the advantage of a 54 tooth chainring?
From what I’ve read, a 54-56 tooth chainring also allows the pro rider to stay in the middle of his cassette where drivetrain drag is at its minimum. Better to be in the middle of the cassette than on the 11 or 12 where the chain angle is more extreme and chain drag forces are much higer.
What is the difference between a 50T and a 54T rider?
The immediate answer is that the 54T rider can make a slightly smaller shift. Ratios let us ignore the actual gear and focus on the size of the shift. The 54T rider shifts to a gear 92.3% of their current one, the 50T rider drops to 91.67%.
