Turbo Creo gearing. Do you need/want a higher gear?

[eddief]

I was finding myself spinning out in the highest gear (46-11) sometimes with motor on or sometimes with motor off. I fixed that issue on my bike.
I installed a new DT Swiss XDR driver (freehub) and a SRAM 10-42 cassette. That one little lesser tooth at the bottom of the cassette really is all I was looking for and it works nicely. My bike has DT Swiss ratchet hubs and if you decide to do the switch it can be confusing which DT Swiss driver to get. And there is even more confusion on if XD driver will work or only XDR? My new XDR driver included a new end cap meant to work with 148 boost spacing and the XDR driver. The current end cap compatible with the Shimano freehub will not work with XDR.

 

[Nomadmax]

A 46x11 is a 110 inch gear; at 110 rpm that's right at 36 mph. I have a smaller "big gear" on my analog race bikes and never find myself looking for more (50x12, 108 inches).

 

[John.JCAT]

I must be a lot less fit than you guys, but...Here's come of what I just put on my Intro post:

I have one issue with the CREO SL Comp in the conditions that I ride, and that is the gearing. At the speeds we do - between 25 KPH and 42 KPH on the flats, I find the small cogs too far apart for comfort. The gearing is 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 32, 36, 42. I am almost always riding in the 11, 13, 15 range, and when I am at my physical limit looking for a better gear, I find the almost 19% difference between the 11 and 13 and the close to 14% difference between the 13 and 15 too big. I end up either in a gear that is too big, or the next one that is too small. There is a reason why the road bike gearing is in single cog increments for the smaller cogs!

So after 4,000 KMs of riding this year, I decided to fix the situation. I had thought that it would be a simple matter of finding a cassette that had more like road bike gearing. I never use the 42 in our neighborhood on the road, and I don't use this bike as a "gravel bike". So I looked for better gearing. Turns out that the smallest cogs gearing that the Shimano RX812 GX, Shadow Plus, 11-speed rear derailleur will handle is 11-40, which still leaves me with 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 on the small cogs. So I looked to change both the cassette and derailleur. I found the Ultegra 11 Speed CS-R8000 cassette that has 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, ... up to only 32 and the Ultegra RX (Shadow RD+) Series RD-RX800-GS derailleur to go with it. However, because the original gearing is "mountain bike" gearing, the spacing on the freehub is different that the "road bike" R8000 needs, so to avoid having to replace the whole rear wheel, I had to have the large cassette cogs machined so they would fit. I now have gearing that works much better for my riding conditions, but had to spend an additional more than $300 CDN to make the change.

I bought the "road bike" version of the CREO SL Comp rather than the "gravel bike", but it turns out that it really does not go all the way to a "road bike". It would have been nice if I knew that up front, or if Specialized had put "road bike" components on the back wheel of the "road bike" version of the CREO rather than mountain bike components. Spending an additional 3% to get my road bike gearing isn't show stopping on an already expensive bike - it's just annoying on an otherwise remarkable eBike!

 

[arod2051]

As a not-so-strong rider, I am good with the gearing. I do find I spin out on the 11 when on a decline or a flat with wind, but then I just slow down and am good with the gear. I have gone to the 42 on an uphill, but since I am not strong, I tend to spin and use more motor than legs. I like the range for my level of fitness. I feel like Specialized did gear this toward riders like me. I have room to grow with this gearing and if I get stronger can see changing things up.

For now, this fits me well.

 

[jodi2]

I'm riding the Evo version for gravel and I would prefer lower gears. Maybe someone want's to take four teeth from my front chainring? ;-)

 

[eddief]

***I'm riding the Evo version for gravel and I would prefer lower gears. Maybe someone want's to take four teeth from my front chainring? ;-)

My Creo is the EVO model too but I don't ride gravel, only pavement. So I turned mine back into a road bike by changing tires, removing dropper, and going to more normal bars. With the 10 tooth cog it is nearly identical with my Roubaix with 11-36 and 48/32. All good.