Originally Posted by jimmuller

Sarals, you got a lot of answers and some are even helpful. But some fundamental perspective might help. Then you can implement the solution however your budget and existing components allow. It isn't complicated...

Barrettscv hit it close with his gear chart. In the old days they used to compute gear number as the equivalent wheel diameter you would have if your cranks were connected directly to the pedals like a highwheeler. Doing that calculation is easy. Divide your chainring tooth count by the rear cog tooth count. Since you are interested in the low gear, use 34 / 25. Then multiply that by the diameter of the rear wheel. For the accuracy required here you can just use 27". That gives you a low of about 36.7 "gear-inches", or just 37 inches.

Now for the perspective part. In the old days, i.e. the 70's bike boom, a general-use 10-speed (i.e. 2x5) sport bike came with a gear range of 38 to 100. Anyone who bought a new bike back then and did their first riding discoverd that 38 was good enough for minor hills but not for real ones. Your 36.7 isn't really lower enough to be different.

However a gear closer to, say, 30 will feel much easier. That's 18% lower than yours. You can get a gear like that any way you wish. My two bikes use 34/28 (for 32.8 inches) and 36/30 (for 32.4 inches). Any combination of this large a chainring and this small a cog will do, as long as your derailleurs can handle it.