trueno92

I am working on a city bike that can also do trails occasionally as I have quite a few dirt/loose gravel paths that are great scenery for casual cycling..

My rear wheel is a 6sp shimano 105 hub so my rear ratios are sorta stuck between 12-21.. and as much as I'd like to make a climber with 12-28 or something like that, i figured changing the chainrings is easier/more economical (unless I stumble upon a rear wheel with a better config)

I picked up a 34t front chainring and went 42/34t on the front and this felt ok with a bit more to climb with, but I thought the spread would be more dramatic.. but instead there is a lot of overlap ratios - not sure if this is really a bad thing, but I'll ride with it as it for a few days and see how it goes.. I want to go easy on my knees and I don't mind being speed limited on the flats as this is my upright-ish, fendered/luggage bike..

If I find some downhill, I will prob throw on the 52t and run the 34t inside and see how that goes, but I see a lot of mtb cranks do a 42/34/28... which i find a bit odd since my experience is that the 42t doesn't gain much..

is a 46-48t going to gain me anything?