In my search to see if it's even possible, I ran across Saint Sheldon (for the millionth time!) and a description of his Hetchins set up with 50/28 TA crank. Here's his photo:



I figured, if he can do it, I sure as heck might as well try. But as a great Jedi master once said, "Do or do not. There is no try."

Not sure if it's visible below, but that's a Sugino Super Maxy crank (TA Pro Vis copy) set up as 50/26 (go big/small or go home!). The freewheel is 6s 14-28. With the stock Suntour Mountech derailleurs, it actually works! Out of 12 possible combinations I have 11 distinct, usable gears with a 394% range! You can see that "big/big" is tight, but it works. As Sheldon stated: It's not idiot proof. I have to be very conscious about how I shift into big/big, from the 26t chainring to the 50t, and into small/small. But it doesn't take much time to get used to the quirks and the drivetrain works very well. The picture below is a beta-test of a low-rider bike-camping test run after 33 miles of mostly gravel and a number of >10% gradients with 27# of gear in the packs.

For everything up to small rolling hills, I use the 50t. When the going gets tough, the 26t gets used. But when I crest the hill, a very gentle upshift gets me back into the 50t ring without complaint, and off I go!



What else is out there?