A brief word on gear combinations.
Most casual or "rec" riders think that using the small chainring and the smallest cog amounts to "5th gear" on an old 10 speed setup.
(or 6th of 12, or 7th of 14,etc.) This is why you find so many garage sale bikes with rusty chains frozen in this combination.
(That is also the resulting combination of broken cables in most setups.)
As pointed out earlier, this combo does not represent the middle of the available gear ratios, but rather, much closer to
the higher end of the range.
There are usually several large ring and larger cog combinations available that are easier to pedal than the small/small combo.
BUT, large/large is just as much taboo as small/small, as both induce more lateral chain deflection than should be used,
which results in premature chain wear. In fact, in the this day of narrow chains necessitated for more cassettes, I always avoid cross-gearing
to the 2 cogs at either extreme of the cassette. But, that's just me.........