Wickwerks Gives Juniors More Gearing Options – Without a special Cassette!

@Andrew they’re referencing the tooth difference on the chainrings. 44/33 narrow, 53/34 wide. Not the best phrase to use when talking about chainrings given the existing purpose for it, but meh, it’s a title.

So I think they meant they have a narrow range gearing option for junior racers (41/33). As well as a wide range gearing option (53/34). Hence the narrow/wide. You would think they would know better as that means something radically different in the industry.

I used WickWerks chain rings for a brief period on my MTB. Very impressed with shift quality. I would still be running them but my bike doesn’t jive with a FD so I went 1x (FD contacted a suspension link near full compression)

They make great stuff, they need to make more though. hehehe The 42/34 cx rings have been out of stock more than they have been in.

As noted, Shimano sells 14-28t cassettes, including an Ultegra CS-6800 11 Speed version.

Maybe someone more familiar with junior racing can speak to the rule, whether it allows an 11t cassette with a max “26 foot roll out” or whether the 14t cassettes are required. I was under the impression it was the latter.

I coach juniors, the rule is 26 feet per revolution, in max gear, period. It doesn’t matter what gears you have.

The most common is the 52-14, with that, you’ll always pass, unless you have giant tires. For TT bikes, I have set up a 45-12, and as long as you don’t run bigger than an average 25 width tire, you will just barely pass.

With the 41-11, and my math, you are really really close to that 26 foot mark, to the point where you may have to only run 23 tires depending how picky your official is.

From what I can remember of my days of junior racing (almost a decade ago now, wow) they checked our gearing at the national/international level by looking at the gear as much as doing a proper roll out. This was back when you could block gearing and get away with it at the local level. I can tell you that the 45T chainring gets you a higher gear but the 52 was desirable because it looked better and the change was more dramatic.

There is a huge problem with these. At major junior races like nationals and any UCI races they always have neutral wheels with only junior cassettes. Say you flat during the crit at nationals. You have one free lap to grab a wheel. Now you have to have your own wheelset in the pits rather than just getting a neutral set. Otherwise you will be at a huge disadvantage running a smaller front with a junior cassette. Having raced some junior UCI races, nationals, and international I have seen people do this but with tons of headache and horror stories.

my son has a new bike with a dura ace 11 speed cassette…11-28.
it has a 52/36 chainring

I have a couple options.. Change to the new 41/33 chainring or go with a 44/34 and buy a new cassette as well in 12-28. I could also keep the 52/36 and put on a heavier Ultegra cassette in 14–28.

let me know some thoughts.