Road Cycling - Gear rings for Old guys?

I have beat this subject to death in the CX forum. But I'm going to ask for your advice - Because this is the kind of riding I will be doing most of.
I'm taking delivery of a Fuji CX bike soon and the dealer is going to set it up however I want. I know I can't handle the OE 38/48 front and need lower gearing. The bike comes with 105 components and the dealer says you can mix them up with other Shimano - like 105 & LX.
Here's my dilema:
My MTB has 22/32/42 and an 8S 11/28. I use 22-28 (3.7MPH) on two hills getting from my home to town. I guess the hills to be 8% grade. Rarely use the 42-28.
BUT
I intend to do road biking with a group. Ages 35 - 70.
Shimano's 105 triple is 30/42/52
Shimano's LX triple is 22/32/42
Shimano's XT triple is 22/32/44
OE Cassette is SRAM-9 12/26 (which I'd like to keep)
The new Fuji will be almost 1/2 the weight of the MTB and will have 700 tires.
All I want to do is ride and keep up!
Here are my questons:
Is the LX or XT chain ring just too low for average road riding?
Is there another combination that some of you are using?
Thanks for your advice!

FWIW, I'm 6mos younger than you and recently moved from a Canondale Hibred to a Specialized Allez Sport (had forgot how much fun Road Bikes were) with CR of 52/42/30 and Cassette of 12-25. Used the small Chain Ring on a hill that climbs 500 ft in 2mi. probably because I was too lazy to try a higher gear. To make a long story short I sold the Sport (which I upgraded to 105) and this week recieved my new LeMond Zurich - a WORLD of difference. Dropped the triple for a 53/39 CR and 12-25 Casette. Climbed the same hill with the 39CR and the 6&7 ring of the casette. You may not be giving yourself enough credit and may find the lower CR setup to be way too low. See if your LBS will let you try a couple of Casettes and CR combinations before you make a final decision. I'd bet money that if you have been riding your MTB regularly that you will think your Fuji can "fly". Good luck and good riding.

HOG - interesting that you chose an ALLEZ in between rides. The bike I'm contemplating is the ALLEZ Elite Cr-Mo 27. Seems to have all the trick stuff. Rode it today and the hill climb was just too much stock. BUT I think that a 32 or 34 rear will do me just what I want. Plus - I won't be so undergeared on the downhills. I hope !!!!!!!!!!

Hi,
can you cancel the order?

Late - what do you have in mind? A better bike?

Depends on your average speed. I'd say if you don't average over 17mph you don't need a chainring bigger than a 44 tooth. I have a 42/32/22 and a 12-32 cassette on my roadbike and only max out going down big hills with a 14-15 average. And those low gears are nice on the 5-10% grades around here. I'm 43 and I can only ride 1 or 2 times a week. Spin in low gears my friend.

Use Sheldon's gear calculator to determine the speed you can develop at various cadences with various combos. Even a 44-12 combo will take you up to 23-29mph at cadences between 80 and 100rpm. That should be plenty fast for most C or B-level rides, although you could conceivably top out on long descents.

You should ask the riders you plan to join about their average and peak speeds, and whether they wait for slow climbers. Most clubs spell out the parameters for each class of ride they organize. I rather expect that you'd be fine with the gearing you propose And if you're keeping that 12-26, you definitely will need the 22/26 combo for the climbs that you currently need it for.

What HOG says about climbing may be true in your case too, but you have to be honest with yourself about how much margin you have when climbing with a 22/26 combo now.

Personally, I *can* climb hills with the 39/25 combo on my Fuji that I normally drop to the 30/30 or even 30/34 on my Airborne for. But it's a near thing, it's *hard*, it pushes me to my limits, and I wouldn't want to do it every day. It's one reason I wouldn't commute on the Fuji even if I was willing to subject its wheels to Philadelphia's streets.

RichC