Originally Posted by grolby
I've never been on a real tour, but isn't going faster a little counter-productive on a loaded tour? Sure, that 52 will help you go faster down hills, but I rarely use my 50 tooth ring on my touring bike unloaded, and never when I have my panniers on it for commuting. I can't imagine being able to maintain a good pace for hours at a time in a 52. My bike has a 50, a 44 and 28, and I spend almost all of my time in the 44...
Just remember that the bigger your biggest ring is, and the higher your highest gear is, the less space you have for low bailout gears.
That's not quite right. I toured for many years with a 13-34 freewheel matched to a 52/40/24 crank. No problems with shifting it.
And I used the gears all the time. We have a lot of uppy-downy stuff here.