Choosing a groupset

[circleback]

I will soon purchase a new road bike and would like to get some opinions on what groupset is most appropriate for rides around northern Taiwan, ie. long, steep climbs. During the week I do short rides anywhere from 20 - 40 k to keep in shape. On the weekend I like to take longer rides of 100K or more. Obviously, some of the best riding is in the mountains where traffic is slightly lighter (depending on the route). So I've got my eye on two groupsets:
1. Shimano 105 with a triple chainring and a 12-27 rear cassette.
2. Sram Apex compact double with a 12-32 rear cassette.

They are both in my target price range.

Any thoughts?

[urodacus]

Sounds like you'd be strong enough to be more than happy with the compact double. I've been content for years riding around Yangming Shan and over near Pinglin way with a compact and an 11-25 cogset, though occasionally I could have relaxed a bit more with a 12-27.

Triple rings would add needless weight and complexity, not to mention greater difficulty in setting up for perfect shifting under load.

105 also is difficult to repair once you crash on the front, and almost all 105s I have seen have inevitably suffered from a shattered front plastic face on the brifters on one side or another.

Campy Veloce would be my choice for your purposes, but then I hate the ergonomics and the exposed cables of Shimano.

[Vorkosigan]

Circleback, I ride the SRAM Apex, 11-32. I am very overweight and not a strong rider, very slow climber. That's my bike there. I previously rode a 48-36-26 front with an 11-28 cassette on an OCR 2. The geometry on this new bike is such an improvement that the 34/32 granny gear is nearly as easy as the 26/28.

My fit friends have no trouble with the compact dual upfront and 11-27 in the back. But if those are your two choices, go with the Apex. The dual compact 50-34 gives you pretty much the same choices on flats that the 11-27 gives you, but that 32 tooth ring on the back is a lifesaver on steep hills. Hence of these two I feel it is the superior choice.

Another reason to chose Apex is the double tap system. Only one lever up front, very addictive. It is not a rapid shifter but it does the job. Easy and simpler than having the two levers up front, fewer things to go wrong, etc. And the engineering and production work are a cut above 105.

Michael

[irishstu]

circleback, what do you have on your current bike and how do you feel about it when you go up those steep climbs?

[circleback]

This is great feedback. Thanks all.

To answer your question Irishstu, most of my longer, tougher rides have been on a mountain bike with slick tires. I've done a few tough rides on a Giant Defy 3 with Shimano triple up front and a 11-25 8 speed in the back, and found it more challenging than on my mountain bike, even though it is about 5 kilos heavier. At the time I bought the road bike, it was Shimano's lowest level components and they have not stood up well at all.

Vorkosigan, thanks for sharing your experience with the Apex setup here TW. I was thinking along the same lines as you regarding the wide range of gears and the double tap system. Hitting a steep incline after 120k without a low gear to get my portly arse over the hill and safely home is what I am looking for! May I ask what frame you have in the picture you posted?

[irishstu]

To answer your question Irishstu, most of my longer, tougher rides have been on a mountain bike with slick tires. I've done a few tough rides on a Giant Defy 3 with Shimano triple up front and a 11-25 8 speed in the back, and found it more challenging than on my mountain bike, even though it is about 5 kilos heavier. At the time I bought the road bike, it was Shimano's lowest level components and they have not stood up well at all.

OK, that sounds pretty close to my situation when I changed from a mountain bike with slicks to a road bike last year. At first it came with 39/53 up front and 11-23 at the back and it just about gave me a heart attack the first time I tried to climb anything. I've since upgraded to a compact crank with 11-28 at the back. It's JUST enough I would say, though occasionally I'd like to have one more granny gear for those times when I'm just about to totally burn out, but could keep going if I could just slow it down a bit without stalling.

To be honest, I think either of the options you mentioned in your first post should work out OK for you, especially with that 32 at the back.

[Wookiee]

I'm in the unique position of having both--a Shimano 105 Triple with an 11-28 cassette on what I call my touring bike, and a compact with an 11-27 rear on the road bike. For anything tougher than the Balaka Road up Yangming Shan, I'll use the touring bike, but I really don't have to.
I would suggest the compact. It will be a bit tougher at first, but you'll adapt in no time, given the amount of riding you regularly do.

[greenmark]

If you find yourself cramping up quite often then go for the lowest possible gear you can get. I've once had to rely on my triple's 26T granny with a 34T cog as I was cramping up on the wrong side of a hill from Taipei and it was still a struggle to get home.

If you're young enough where you don't experience leg cramps, go for the compact.

[plasmatron]

Forget group sets, get a single speed, 53x11...

Okay lunacy aside, I'd probably go for the Apex 50/34 but with a 11-32 cassette so you've still got 50x11 for downhill. The only downside to the extreme cassette range is that to get from 11 to 32 they obviously had to spec bigger gaps between ratios on the cassette which can mean that folks used to a nice tight 11-25 may feel like they haven't quite always got a Goldilocks gear to ride in. Not really a big issue to most, but purists and the ultra finicky may feel otherwise. Also some folks don't like the aesthetics of the Apex's long MTB size derailleur cage on a road bike, but again a bit of a non issue IMO. If in time you come to feel the 32T cassette is a bridge too far, or for flatter days, you can always throw on an 11-26 or whatever for the closer spread. Apex is also available in white as well as black now if that fits your bike's color scheme better. Sram's chains are a little over priced as they are made in Portugal, so I would consider KMC who've recently dropped their already good TW pricing.

While the revised 105 series is a nice group now that they've eventually routed the shift cables internally, I just can't see a good argument for the additional weight, complexity and hassle of a lower level triple as a climbing solution, at least not against Apex. I also personally feel Sram's double tap is light years ahead of Campy and Shimano in terms of intuitive ergonomic shifting, but that's a swings vs roundabouts scenario.

[urodacus]

single speed 42-17 works for me on just about every road in Taiwan...

nice easy-to-find chainring coupled with a prime number cog to minimise wear spots.

max about 55km/h at about 130 rpm...