If you ever want an easier hill-climbing gear, it is easy to achieve on your setup. All you need to do is replace the 9-spd SRAM cassette with one that has a larger cog, e.g., a 12x32 instead of the current 12x26. I'll do that on my rig when the new 10-spd hubs come in ranges higher than 27T.
It may be possible to get a smaller 28T inner chainring instead of 30T -- that is is what we both have -- but I don't know how well that option will work on your setup because your inner ring is 42T: that would be a 14T jump. It's only a 11T jump on my triple. I'm thinking about trying that option and I would for sure if I planned to tackle some big hills.
Last edited by wagathon; 04-19-05 at 03:08 PM.