[EastCoaster]

Another one of those newb to road questions.
Without getting into gear inches, etc.

Can standard front rings be run with an 11-28 rear with a short der?
Will it handle the shifting smoothly?

This would be for a new, Rival group.

I am used to a 48/38 and a 12-23 on my Surly Cross Check. Rarely need to ever use the 38/23 combo on our hilly, southern PA terrain.
Am rarely ever in the 38 at all actually.

Just with the thought of standard rings on the new group, making me think the 11-28 would be nice if I ever need a "bonk gear".

Thanks.

 

[JRogers]

Assuming by standard crank you mean a 53-39 then you shouldn't have a problem. Google "SRAM Rival chain wrap." The chain wrap capacity is the total of the tooth differences you can have. I saw some sites say 31 and some 33 for the short cage Rival (looks like the 33 is for newer stuff maybe?). In either case: 11-28=17 and 53-39=14; 14+17=31. So you should be fine. Max tooth capacity is listed at 28T so that is no problem. Shifting may be slightly slower, but I have changed cassettes numerous times on Shimano (23, 25 and 27 or 28) and have not noticed much of a change.

But given what you said, I'm not exactly sure why you would want an 11-28 cassette. Getting a bigger chainring makes sense, as 48T is pretty low for road riding. But if you are almost never in the 38-23 gear, why do you need a 39 (or 38)-28? That is a pretty big difference. Going to an 11-28 will give you a bigger spread, but will also make bigger jumps between some gears. You might not like that (I wouldn't, unless I really needed the lower gears...which I probably would need). It sounds like you could live with a standard crank and an 11-23 (with more use of the small ring) or at least an 11-25. Why not run something like that and get more usable gears for the majority of your riding? Just a suggestion...

 

[SuspectDevice]

Larger cogs and rings have less(noticeably IMO) friction than units with a smaller tooth count.

My personal setup is a with a 130bcd cranks with a 50/39 setup and either a 12-25 or 12-27 cassette. I might have cassettes with 11t small rings too. I don't really care though because I'm going to be tucking if I'm in the 50/11 or 12 anyway...
It's tall enough for me to win field sprints and on most terrain you barely need to get out of the 50. The 39 gives you a better gear range on the flats than a compact little ring though.

 

[EastCoaster]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah...53/39 is what I meant. Should've stated that. SRAM also makes an 11-26 rear. Just despite what I was OK with using the cross check for road gearing wise... getting a true roadie means more road riding... and with that, is going to come riding with a couple of friends that I have that I don't road ride with...at all... as they're GOOD road riders. One, a Cat 1.... These rides would be friendly and not of training nature. But, I anticipate riding above my level some......needing a bonk gear and the 11-28 was my thinking. Knew that standard was the way to go based on the cross bike gearing and what I did and didn't use...
But I'm not fit either..... I could probably be fine with either the 11-26 or 11-28 and will probably appreciate the smaller gearing as fitness improves.