Have just received my new Esprit frame in brushed finish with polished decals. What a beauty!

I am planning to fit an Ultegra compact chainset. However, since I am used to a triple I want to save my legs from too much trauma by fitting the lowest possible gearing. My lbs advises that whether it is possible to combine a short cage Ultegra rear mech with a 32t sprocket depends on the form of the rear hanger. Does anyone have any experience of using such a combination on an Enigma road bike?

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Hi John



we have fitted 32T sprockets without any issues to gear change at all, we recently fitted 36T to an Etape, but an MTB mech is needed for this.


Best regards




Mark

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I can't speak about Shimano (take Mark's advice). However, with Campag on my Esprit, I've used a 34 front x 28 rear with a short rear and standard front mech to get up some serious Alpine climbs; but I think I'd need at least a medium cage to go any bigger at the back, to ensure adequate chain tension across the range. On my old steel frame I used to use 28x26 on a triple - I don't know what you've been used to riding but you may be surprised at how responsive the Esprit is