Originally Posted by
Mithrandir
I just don't want to run into the situation where I have to constantly switch between mid and big rings because my legs have now increased into an overlapping range. I used to do that a lot on my old MTB and it didn't annoy me then, but these past 8 months being stuck in mostly 1 ring has opened my eyes to how much easier it is to ride in one ring.
It's precisely for this reason that I abandoned my triple crankset and installed a wide-range double. I'm currently running 26/45 up front. I spend 99 percent of my time in the 45t ring, with the 26t as a bailout option that I seldom use. I suppose you could call it a 1x9 plus granny. What enabled me to do this was a wide-range 11-36 cassette. Of course, the spacing between gears is relatively large, which I know is not what you're looking for. But I live in a really hilly area, and you might be able to get away with a more closely-spaced cassette. If the 48t ring is a little too tall at the moment, why not replace it with something a little smaller and then put it back on when you get stronger?