There are a range of different chainsets to choose from for your road bike, standard, a compact, a semi-compact or triple chainset. The chainset is made up of the chainrings and crank arm that turns when you pedal, it can make a big difference to your ride and is often determined by the terrain you are cycling on.
Road bikes often have a double chainset, a large and a small chainring. Riding on the flat, the larger chainring allows you to push and turn much bigger gears so you travel faster but the chainring is harder to turn. The smaller chainring is for lower gears which are easier to turn and more often used for cycling up hills and lower speeds. Some road bikes have a triple chainset or a “granny” gear which has three chainrings
Most chainsets used on modern road bikes have a 53-tooth outer chainring and a 39-tooth inner chainring. There are many manufacturers of chainsets and cranks the main players that are seen on most bikes are FSA, Campagnolo, Shimano and SRAM which have standard chainsets and a good variety of set ups to choose from.
Compact chainsets have become common as they are very good for steep hills and allow you to turn the cranks easily so you keep moving on the more challenging terrain. The compact chainset has a 50-tooth outer chainring and a 34-tooth inner chainring. There has been some research that turning a smaller gear along with a higher cadence means there is less stress placed on the knees.
The compact chainset can mean that as a rider you aren’t pushing a big enough gear on the flat which means you’ll lose speed and not hit your PBs. For this reason the manufacturers have responded with a Semi-compact chainset which has a 52-tooth outer chainring and a 36-tooth inner chainring. The Semi-compact chainset therefore is a great compromise which offers riders a range of gears for all scenarios.
A triple chainset has three chainrings where you can get some very small gears, these chains though means you have many duplicated gears as the sprocket combinations are repeated.
Two of the manufacturers offer a triple chainset, Shimano has the Sora, Claris and Tiagra which is known as their budget groups or lower priced chainset. The chainrings found on this set-up is 50, 39, and 30-tooth. The Athena is the groupset manufactured by Campagnolo with 52, 39 and 30-tooth chainrings.
The FSA SL-K Light BB386EVO ABS Chainset from Chain Reaction Cycles has hollow carbon fibre arms, this means the crank arms is lightweight but the carbon provides extra stiffness and has been adapted to fit a wide range of frames. The SL-K Light is fitted with the FSA’s Asymmetric Bolt Standard, all four bolts on the crank arm are set at 90 degrees to each other making the support of the arm a priority. The chainset has a multiple combination of chainrings 53/39 chainring combination, 50/34 compact or 52/36 semi-compact.
The SRAM Red GXP Crankset has been very popular in the past and the SRAM Red Exogram is no different, available with new graphics it looks as smart as it performs. The SRAM RED Exogram crankset is a compact chainset which has a completely hollow carbon fibre crank arm offers outstanding stiffness and is very lightweight which claims to be the stiffest crank ever. The crankset has hidden bolts, which offer a really nice design and has a very impressive weight of 568g. The GXP cranks are very easy to fit making the overall experience flawless.
The Shimano Dura Ace 9000 HollowTech II Double Chainset from Wiggle has a unique four-arm spider design and Hollowtech II construction which offers extra strength, like all the other chainsets it is quite advanced in stiffness and low weight. The Dura-Ace 9000 has an 11-speed cassette with a large choice of gears to assist on all terrains. The bolt system offered on the crankarm is the same for compact or double chainset making it easy to change to different chainring sizes. The quickness and stiffness of the arms makes this chainset one of the most popular brands on the market, the acceleration it provides on the first turn is astonishing, and that along with its durability, fit, high quality and lightweight makes it a chainset to seriously consider.
The Shimano 105 5703 Triple 10sp Chainset from Chain Reaction Cycles is in general the best performing chainset for the money, giving that extra help on those killer climbs. The Chainset has a good balance of lightweight and stiffness. This is achieved by the hollow anodised aluminium crank arms. The triple chainring teeth work well with a variety of chains for improved shifting up and down. The chainset as been design for easier installation, adjustment, and maintenance.
