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Old 01-13-13, 01:14 AM
  #17  
anotherbrian
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Also, if you want to get the most absolute stump-pulling/wall-climbing gearing, a road triple will allow you to mount a 24T granny. I'm somewhat proud to say I have a 24/34 gear on my recumbent for the steepest of hills. At 70'ish rpm that is good for ~4mph, and sometimes a necessity on the recumbent where I can't stand on the pedals and mash.

I use an XT long cage derailleur on the rear, though even it doesn't take up all the slack in the granny and smallest gears on the cassette (I just avoid using the granny with anything smaller than 24T'ish on the back). I don't get real crisp shifting off the granny, and because I don't use a chain keeper need to be careful shifting on to it, but when the hills got steep and long, it's really nice to have such a low gear that'll let me keep my cadence up.
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