Originally Posted by
tpelle
My Surly LHT is set up with:
48-32-26 in the front
11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34 in the rear
I figure that gives me about 21 gear-inches.
I have almost the same setup - LHT, 11-34, 26-36-46. With the 34 in back and the 36 in front (and no load) I can go up almost any hill without using the granny. That said, I'm putting a 24 on the front before I take it on tour this summer. I climbed a couple of gnarly mountain passes last summer with my old bike. I had a 24 on the front, but not a very big sprocket in back. I was constantly searching for a lower gear that wasn't there. I don't want to have the problem this summer. (I wonder if I should skip the 24 and go for a 22?)