on my 1xN (it was 5, later 6, and now is 7), I ended up settling on a 44t front, and a rather wide range rear (13-32, I think) and this gave me a rather good range of gears, albeit rather widely spaced. this bike uses a mountain derailleur (originally an old Suntour, now an Altus since the Suntour got completely worn out)


edit: disclaimer: above bike is a 'cruiser', heh. a fast light weight geared cruiser I built up in the late 70s