Old 12-24-11 | 10:06 AM
  #23  
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old's'cool
curmudgineer
 
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,417
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From: Chicago SW burbs

Bikes: 2 many 2 fit here

For me, the beauty I look for in bike gearing is functional elegance, which I define as a range that results in the bottom as well as top gears getting used regularly in actual riding, while not constraining maximum speed or ability to climb the prevailing maximum grades; in addition, adequately close spacing of ratios in the cruising range (for me, 70-85") that permits maintaining a comfortable & efficient cadence on the cruising portions of ride.
My gearing of choice is a 2 tooth spacing in the smaller (13-19) cogs, and 3 tooth spacing between the two large chainrings, e.g. 49-52. A 36T "granny" gives ample downward extension of the range. There is no need for significant cross-chaining, and all my triple combos use a standard cage RD.
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