Originally Posted by
TomJD
My bike is a triple set up as half step plus granny. Rear freewheel is 14-17-20-24-28, front chainwheel 50-45-30. Don't try and shift sequentially through the gears. Instead, rough tune gear ratio with the rear derailler to match larger changes in terrain, then fine tune with the front. Very easy to shift between large and middle chainwheels since the difference between the two is relatively small, and I have 9 different gear ratios using the two large chainrings (avoiding large-large crosschaining). Perhaps not optimal for racing, but I think it works well for day touring.
Well stated Tom. I've converted to half-step + granny on all my mainstay bikes, and would never consider anything else on a utilitarian bike. Most of my riding is daily commuting (21 mile round trip), but I throw in some local shopping trips and 20 mile workout rides now and then.
On your gearing, with the 14-28 freewheel as a given, I'd say your middle and large chainring combo is close to optimal, but you'd get a little more even spacing between ratios with a 46 instead of 45 middle ring.
