stapfam

To me- compact gearing is a lot lower than you roadies use, but just a couple of point.... Triple crankset of 48/36/24 Rear sprocket of 11/32-- Completely different gearing to the rest of you but it is surpising that on the road- we use that 36/32 a lot, and surprising how few occasions we use the 48/11. Alright its a mountain bike- but a very fast tandem one with slicks fitted so does not hang about. If we are using 48/11 it will be downhill and on the flat we will be lower geared and still be pushing at 25-30mph- possibly with a higher cadence than others but leaving some very fit roadie's. On a mixed ride with the roadies we find that it has to be top club racers to push us at that speed aswell.

I have tried some of the road gearing on a lightweight road bike, but never used that tallest gear, and always felt that a lower gear should be available.