Originally Posted by
cccorlew
For me, the real question is about how much the large gaps between gears would bother me.
I didn't mean, just 11 & 32 on the cassette, I meant an 11 speed cassette with 11 on one end and 32 on the other, I just didn't feel like typing all those numbers. So is the combination of a 34 on the crank and 32 on the cassette low enough?
See a 30 on the crank is available on a road triple, which is just over 3 gear inches lower (27.9 vs 24.6), that doesn't sound like much, until your touring and hauling 40lbs of gear up heart attack ridge. Shimano can fix this easily enough, simply add another ring option, a 46-30 would be the same tooth ratio as a 50-34, riders who want a lower low, probably don't mind a lower high.