I almost never use the front chainring during commuting, however there are times when I do hit a long uphill stretch at a point when my legs are gassed and end up dropping all the way down. I did save my knobby tires to use as a mountain bike on occasion, so while the low range may not see much use in commuting, it would be useful to have. It is a good point about the steps between gears, I do need to give that some more thought. Thanks
Originally Posted by
dabac
Well, yeah, 28-28
is fairly high for a MTB.
But consider your own words:
On paved roads and light loads, a 1:1 ratio should get you up plenty of hills.
Do you really need that? Honestly, how often do you use the 28:28 combo?
Have you done the math on that?
Why not pay a visit to
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/, punch the numbers and see what they say.
Unless you really need the lower offered by the 32, seems like there's a possibility that you'll end up with bigger steps between the gears with that setup.
You've got a 6 tooth overall range increase, and two more gears to spread it over. Might not do that much.