Originally Posted by
enfilade
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This is more of a Bicycle Mechanics question.. but saying my two lowest gears were 30 X 25, and 30 X 27, (it's a standard MTB drivetrain - FSA 27 speed), could I fit a new cassette with a bigger first gear, so it was more like 30 X 25, and 30 X 29... or even 30 X 31?
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The specs on that bike say 44/32/22 up front with an 11-32 cassette. Better count those teeth. If this is your setup, you should be able to climb walls with that bike, while pulling a trailer. That would be a low gear of 18 gear-inches. Most road riders have no need of a gear below 30 gear inches, and even heavy tandems and loaded tourers seldom go below 20 gear-inches.