Originally Posted by
tyrion
That's the way it is now: most used gears are in the middle (of both cassette and chainrings). We're still stuck with the fact that the granny gear is used much less than the other chainrings.
My gears are pretty non standard (to some) but they do the job I need.
I've got bad knees, ankle, back, sciatica on both sides, emphysema and will be 70 in a couple weeks.
I basically ride my 3X9 as a 1X9, since I don't have hills to deal with.
The granny has still come in handy a few times when a strong head wind came up. I had an new "low range" with closely spaced gears. Someday I hope to have a strong tail wind and see what the large ring is like
.
My large ring is only 6T more than my middle and get used once in awhile when out of the city (stop lights/signs) and can actually just ride and a bit of a tail wind.
Use what works for you and don't worry about justifying it to anyone else. They probably won't understand anyway.