Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN

Have been using 52/42/24 front with Sram 11/32 eight speed rear. It is one and a half step gearing.



I have bought a 46t ring and plan to try 46/42/24 for half step gearing between the middle and large rings. I have noticed that it would be really nice to have a gear between my 51.6 and 60.1 gear inches, this change will also give me a 56.5 inch gear.

But, this change will mean I will lose a couple nice high gears for long shallow downhills. I rode over 20 miles one day a couple years ago with a long downhill that had a steady couple percent downhill grade. I almost never use my 112 and 122 inch gears otherwise but for those long downhills they are really nice.

Now my highest gear will be 107.8 inches, but I think that getting the 56.5 inch gear is more important than losing the two really high gears.