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I currently own a 2012 Specialized Secteur and I am interested in upgrading to a 52/36 crankset. I have a the original crankset (S150) and the 50/34 chainrings. My cassette is SRAM Apex, 10-speed, 11-32t
If I have to upgrade to 52/36, do I have to upgrade the crankset and bottom bracket as well ?
Please advice what all needs to be upgraded ? Is the SRAM Rival set a good option ?
Full bike specs are here https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bike-archive/2012/secteur/secteurcompapexcompact/35153
Because you say you have Apex rings and the specs list the S150 crank, it's not clear which crank you have, Apex or S150. Either could have the rings swapped to 52/36 just by getting new rings. If you were to do that, the simplest path would be getting the SRAM 10spd 110x52 and 110x36 that are still available, although you may have to hunt around for them a little. If you were to use another brand or 11spd SRAM rings, you could probably get it working fine, but it wouldn't necessarily "just work" as easily, may require thin spacers with the 11spd, etc.
If you have any Apex GXP crank you could switch to any other GXP road crank without having to mess with the BB. If you have the S150 that means you've got a Powerspline BB, which can only go on other Powerspline cranks if you wanted to re-use it.
Depending on prior chain sizing choices you may (probably) need a new chain to accommodate the 52. Even if not, it's still a good idea to pair new rings with a new chain. If your cassette is fairly worn it's good to replace that at the same time. Don't worry about it if it's pretty fresh. If it's somewhere in the middle it's a judgment call, but depending on how $$$ of a cassette you go with it can easily be the more economical choice in terms of saving chainring wear.
