Originally Posted by
ultraman6970
Sincerely i dont see the issue, if you do well good then
I live in that area and some stuff is pretty hilly but for a regular rider IMO to keep that 42 wont make any difference, I'm sure he is doing recreational riding too... lower gear makes life easier that's the logic but we did not have that 20 years ago and nobody complained, in a matter of fact the 42 was standard, even some shimano cranksets came with a 47, others with 45 too. Well is her problem after all, right?
dont see why the bitterness
... is cheaper for him do not change anything right?
No bitterness intended, just pointing out that the fact nothing lower than a 42 used to be available on road cranks doesn't mean we should still live with that limitation. Back then nobody complained because they didn't know any better.
As to the Sora cranks, the early versions (late 90's) were indeed 110 doubles or 110/74 triples but they are now 130 mm doubles or 130/74 triples so it depends on which one the OP has. If it came 52/42/30 i expect it's a 130/74 and the 34T middle chainring won't work.