Hey all,

I am looking to go to an easier gearing than what I am currently running in order to spin up more hills in San Francisco. I've been experiencing knee pain and despite constant stretching, attention to form/saddle height and forward/aft position, cleat adjustment, etc., I feel like at the end of the day, the real culprit is that I am still mashing and not spinning on my current setup. Since I am a Clydesdale (down from 300 lbs. to 235-ish now!), I regard the suggestion of the typical combo of a 50/34 compact crank + 11-28t rear cassette as somewhat of a joke. Ha!

I am currently running an Ultegra 6503 Triple Crankset (52-42-30t), 105 5500 front derailleur, Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur, and a rear cassette of 11-30t. This is all 9-Speed (I have 105 9-speed brifters). I have been through several options in my head, but maybe you guys can help me sort out what is best for me?

I could:

1) Switch out the granny ring for a smaller one. But would this make shifting to the middle ring more unreliable?
2) Switch to a mountain crankset. But would this sacrifice my higher gears? Would I need a new front derailleur?
3) The option I'm leaning towards, go to a bigger cassette, like a 11-34t mountain cassette. I have been told this is impossible with the Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur due to the B-screw's limit but that I could swap it for a Saint or and XT. If I go this route, would I look at the Saint M800 and M772 (SGS)? Which one would be better for me?

Are there any other options I'm missing? What would be the cheapest/easiest way to go to an easier gearing?

Here is a picture of my ride: