Is changing from 10 spd 11-32 to 11-36 that noticeable for steeper hills ?

[Guitars and Bikes]

My caad8 has the full 5700 105 10 spd groupset with 50/34 compact and 11-32 cassette. I really do embrace the challenge of riding uphill and on Sunday past I rode in fairly quick succession 1 mile hill with 11% sections, 2km Hill with sections up to 15%, 2km Hill with sections of 12 % and a shorter 0.5km climb at 10%. Needless to say without 32/34 I would have struggled. I was contemplating 11-40 10 spd sunrace M3 cassette, but the gaps between some of the cogs are pretty big , so Im not sure about this one and the notion of "too easy" whirring away could become frustrating in a hurry. If I went for the shimano 11-36 10 speed would this give noticeably lower gearing on the steeper climbs I grit my teeth on all the way up when I am using 11-32 ?

 

[ColinJ]

The 36 would give you a significantly lower bottom gear than the 32, but obviously the 40 would be lower still. I would say that if you are gritting your teeth with the 32 then maybe the 40 would be kinder?! Are you sure that your groupset can handle that?

If you think that you would be too spinny on the 40 then you could use the 36 on that cassette instead and keep the 40 for 20+%.

I think that you would worry far more about running out of low gears than the gaps between the gears.

I have a 1x11 with an 11-42 cassette and the gaps between gears don't bother me, They must be similar to those on the 10-speed 11-40.

 

[Tigerbiten]

All 11-40 and 11-42 10 speed cassettes have the nasty 15-18 step in their range.
This 20% step will work out to be at the top of your most commonly used gears and will make shifting up hard work.
By dropping down to an 11-36 you remove that step by going 15-17.
The extra sprocket on an 11 speed also lets you go 15-17 and also removes the nasty step.
It a pity they don't make an 12-42 10 speed cassette as again it would remove the nasty step by going 16-18.

Have a look at the Shimano CUES 11-39 cassette.
It shifts the nasty step up to 17-20 so it's slightly smaller (17% vs 20%) and the steps across the whole cassette are more even.
In theory it's better but no idea how well it will work in practice.

Luck .........

 

[Punkawallah]

I find the difference between 28 tooth and 32 tooth to be very noticeable.

 

[Jameshow]

You can fit a 11-36 cassette without much effort changing to a 11-40 will be more problematic you will need a rear mech hanger extension at least.
If doing any longer rides or loaded rides then the bigger gear is just so useful I can tell you!

I climbed devils staircase last weekend loaded with camping stuff with a 36.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Yes it would.

I found that going from 32 to 34 very noticeable.

You can always use a lower gear.

 

[Spiderweb]

Can your rear mech handle a 36t cassette?
You maybe would need to swap to a long cage rear mech or fit a mech hanger extender.

I think you would need a longer chain.

A difference of 4 teeth would definitely be noticeable.

When the time comes to replace the front chainrings you could swap the front small with a 33t (the smallest you can go with a 110 BCD).

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I climbed devils staircase last weekend loaded with camping stuff with a 36.

Climbed that on my recumbent with touring gear a few weeks back. That’s a nice road if busier than some of the other mountain roads.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A 36 would give you a low gear of 88% of your current low gear. You’d notice the difference.

 

[Jameshow]

Climbed that on my recumbent with touring gear a few weeks back. That’s a nice road if busier than some of the other mountain roads.

Did you go over to tregaron? I found the second and third climb worse!

If T of B had gone that way WVA wouldn't have got GC!!🤣🤣🤣

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Did you go over to tregaron? I found the second and third climb worse!

If T of B had gone that way WVA wouldn't have got GC!!🤣🤣🤣

View attachment 706230

Yes Tregaron where I stopped at the shop for supplies. Some proper seated climbs along the way.

 

[Guitars and Bikes]

I have a wolftooth and Im not sure if I would need to use it with 11-36. I think I will try the 11-36 first as the gaps in the 11-40 are pretty big.

 

[Guitars and Bikes]

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/shimano-deore-hg50-10-speed-mtb-cassette

Guys would I be right in thinking there will be no issues running the deore 11-36 cassette with my 105 groupset ?

 

[Cycleops]

You won't need the Wolftooth.

 

[Dogtrousers]

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/shimano-deore-hg50-10-speed-mtb-cassette

Guys would I be right in thinking there will be no issues running the deore 11-36 cassette with my 105 groupset ?

Pushing it.

I think (but you'd need to look this up for yourself) that the 10 Speed GS 105 rear mech has a max sprocket of 32. Now, lots of people say this can be exceeded with a bit of judicious fiddling of the B screw so you might be OK.

The other question would be would your RD have sufficient capacity. With a 50/34 and 11-36 you'd need a capacity of 41 which I think (but you'd need to check) would exceed the capacity of a 10S 105 GS RD which I think is 30-odd.

So look up the max sprocket and capacity of your particular rear mech.