Originally Posted by
TulsaJohn
For touring, you really don't typically need a higher gear unless you are a really strong rider who uses really lightweight gear. Go back to Sheldon's calculator and see what speed you are doing when you are spun out (pedaling as fast as you COMFORTABLY can). This is your max speed on flats and slight downhills. It is most likely around 22mph which for me is plenty fast for touring. If you are going down a steep hill, just coast.
Yeah. My first tour (x-country) I had MTB gearing. I spun out once, and that was only because my RD was junked up and I couldn't get into my smallest cog. It happened on the High Line (U.S. 2) in central Montana. Straight, flat with an unbelievable tailwind. I sustained 32.5 mph for several miles. Finally spent to much time in the red and had to dial it back to 28 mph. Even then my cadence was not what I would call comfortable, but I kept it up since a couple of us were chasing down our tour leader. He got to the campground not even 1 minute before the first chaser, but he had had at least a 4 minute head start.